Writing and Speaking > Writing > Heros Journey and the Single Idea
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Article rating : 0.00, 0 votes. Author : Kal Bishop
The Hero's Journey is the template upon which the cast majority of successful screenplays are built upon. Films as diverse as Gladiator (2000), Million Dollar Baby (2004), Raging Bull (1980) and Scarface (1983) were all constructed around the Hero's Journey Template.
One excellent side-effect of the Hero's Journey is the tendency to force writers to focus on one single idea.
With outer, inner and romantic challenges, with multiple antagonisms the norm etc - multiply ideas increase the tendency for messiness.
Using Gladiator (2000) as an example, the story is about Maximus and the conquest of his challenges. Though there are other interesting characters and points of view (Rome itself is a fascinating topic), the screenplay focuses on simply taking Maximus through the required steps until his journey is complete.
However, the single idea does not limit the number of characters involved in a story. In Million Dollar Baby (2000), the single idea is that "we can break free from the demons that haunt our past." Three strong characters are critical to this story.
Learn more…
The Complete 188 stage Hero’s Journey and FREE 17 stage sample and other story structure
templates can be found at http://managing-creativity.com/
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Kal Bishop
**********************************
You are free to reproduce this article as long as no changes are made and the author's name and site URL are retained.
Learn more…
The Complete 188 stage Hero’s Journey and FREE 17 stage sample and other story structure templates can be found at http://managing-creativity.com/
You can also receive a regular, free newsletter by entering your email address at this site.
Kal Bishop
**********************************
You are free to reproduce this article as long as no changes are made and the author's name and site URL are retained.
Kal Bishop is a management consultant based in London, UK. His specialities include Knowledge Management and Creativity and Innovation Management. He has consulted in the visual media and software industries and for clients such as Toshiba and Transport for London. He has led Improv, creativity and innovation workshops, exhibited artwork in San Francisco, Los Angeles and London and written a number of screenplays. He is a passionate traveller. He can be reached at http://managing-creativity.com/
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