I: Incentive - Call to Adventure

at Sunday, April 10, 2011

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Part 2 of the Hero’s Journey
At some point, our hero needs an incentive to set the story in motion. The Call to Adventure initiates the journey, by introducing some kind of problem or challenge. This also poses a question that holds the suspense for the rest of the film: will the hero be able succeed?

Often at this stage the characters meet (lovestories) or something bad has happened and action needs to be taken to find justice (revenge-detective story). In Star Wars again, it is Leia’s message that makes Luke join the rebellion. In E.T. it is the encounter of Elliot and the little alien, which starts a story of friendship, sharing experiences and helping each other.
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As a writer, this most often is the main idea of the story. It is the reason for our characters to set off. Without it, I would question the readability. Not all stages of the Hero’s Journey are always necessary, but this surely is essential.

 

8 Comments:

  1. Wendy Lu said...
    Sunday, April 10, 2011 5:55:00 am  
    So true!! Thanks for the writing tips. :) I love your blog layout by the way, so cool!

    Thanks so much for following my blog. :) If you're interested, come sign up for my 100-Followers Blogfest, titled "Inanimation," it's going to be great!

    http://xtheredangelx.blogspot.com/2011/04/100-followers-blogfest-inanimation.html

    ~TRA
    Apfel said...
    Sunday, April 10, 2011 7:00:00 am  
    The story would be incomplete without incentive. You make me look at things in a completely new light, Nahno!
    Kendal said...
    Monday, April 11, 2011 5:58:00 pm  
    Incentive is so important to a story. It's not until I figure that part out that a story begins to take off. Thanks for a great post!
    Laura said...
    Monday, April 11, 2011 9:51:00 pm  
    Hi Nahno - Thought I'd pop in and say hello - really enjoying your A-Z posts - sorry I've not been leaving many messages - have been hopping around like crazy! This post has really got me thinking though.. it still has me scratching my chin... I shall report back when I stop :)
    have a fab week
    Laura x
    FilmMattic said...
    Monday, April 11, 2011 11:25:00 pm  
    Oh so true! And I liked your two movie examples with E.T. and Star Wars!

    Great blog! Your interface has a very scholarly and crisp feel to it. Nicely done.
    Anita said...
    Tuesday, April 12, 2011 4:56:00 pm  
    Love the last line...I try to avoid unknown darkness, fer sure.
    Arlee Bird said...
    Thursday, April 14, 2011 5:18:00 am  
    If the hero doesn't have any incentive to act, why should the reader have an incentive to read on?


    Lee
    Tossing It Out
    Abhishek said...
    Tuesday, April 19, 2011 1:47:00 am  
    K!!! Got it!!

    Intro to other characters happens in this stage!! So you mean, Hagrid meets Potter, tells him about his parents!! Got the concept!!

    with warm regards
    CatchyTips for Writers

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