Plot: Stages of Evolution and Revelation

Posted by Anjuelle Floyd | Filed under Articles and Essays, Musings

“A hero ventures forth from the world of the common day into a region of supernatural wonder.”

–Joseph Campbell, “The Hero With A Thousand Faces”

Every story is about the extraordinary, the uncommon experience or event that occurs in the constancy of ordinary time. Nearly, if not always, this occurrence upsets the routine of the daily round of life activities in the lives of the major character(s).

Chaos and change trample the ground of being on which the protagonist stands, and from which she or he views life. Things are never the same when all is “…said and done“.

Story depicts the moments of greatest intensity, the heightened reality, of what has taken place.

The protagonist undergoes transformation through her or his role, and participation in what is said, and the actions committed in response to the extraordinary events interrupting ordinary life.

She or he evolves through what she or he chooses to say, and do in response to the upheaval that has upset and toppled over her or his daily routine.

Christopher Vogler outlines these stages of growth and change in his book, “The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers“.

Vogler asserts that these stages offer not only a way to view the protagonist’s path of growth and change throughout the journey of the novel. They also offer a blueprint by which the writer can organize their protagonist’s story.

Just as characters viewed as archetypes provide fuel that catalyzes the change and evolution through which the protagonist goes in the course of the story, Vogler’s stages structure the path of evolution and plot of the trek.

Vogler’s stages also provide a magnifying lens through which the writer can begin to comprehend the experiences of their protagonist, and offer suggestions on how best to present the unfolding of these changes to the reader in clear, engaging and an entertaining fashion.

How do you view the course of a novel or story?

Who are your favorite novelists? What kind of stories do they write?

What do you like about their stories, and the way they deliver those stories?