The Writer’s Journey Review

~ my review of Christopher Vogler’s The Writer’s Journey, 25th anniversary edition.

My Book Review of The Writer’s Journey (25th anniversary edition) by Christopher Vogler. Written originally in 1992, updated into new editions up to 2020. ~

Quality guide into the Hero’s Journey, the archetypes, and commonly effective storytelling techniques from one of Hollywood’s top script aces. Highly readable and organized in a way that builds upon itself.

Appreciate Christopher Vogler’s tastemaking instincts (the text is filled with examples and includes a massive multi-page filmography index at the end for your homework). He also writes with a respect for the artistry while being realistic about commercial pressures.

End of the day, storytelling via screenplays and novels is a business – and it aids every writer to understand these structures, to use or deviate from sensibly.

Highly recommended to writers and storytellers of all shapes and sizes.

Archetypes quote:

“The concept of archetypes is an indispensable tool for understanding the purpose or function of characters in a story. If you grasp the function of the archetype which a particular character is expressing, it can help you determine if the character is pulling her full weight in the story. The archetypes are part of the universal language of storytelling, and a command of their energy is as essential to the writer as breathing.”

On the wish of a hero:

“The expression of a wish, even a frivolous one, near the beginning of a story has an important function of *orientation* for the audience. It gives a story a strong throughline, or what is called a ‘desire line.’”

On unity and polarity:

“A story needs a sense of oneness — unity — to feel like a satisfying and complete expression. It needs a single theme — a spine ~ something to unite it into a coherent work. But a story also needs a level of two-ness, a dimension of duality, to create tension and the possibility of movement. As soon as you choose a single thought of character to unite your story, you have automatically generated its polar opposite, a contrary concept or antagonistic character, and therefore a duality or polarized system that conducts energy between the two parties. Unity begets duality; the existence of one implies the possibility of two.”