The Writers Journey?

[TylerGred]

I am interested in getting the book The Writers Journey. Has anyone read this book and can tell me what you think? My film teacher recommended it, but he said it will ruin films if you read it. I think he said that if you read it then you realize how everything is clichéd. I don't know though, he is kind of weird to begin with. Thanks for any input.

[Thrillerwriter77]

Hi!

I haven't read The Writer's Journey, but if I can recommend a good screenwriting book, then it would be The Secrets of Action Screenwriting by William C. Martell. This book beats anything I have read on screenwriting. Definitely a must-have.

[UserName]

"The Writers Journey" has some interesting things to say about story structure. And although it might change the way you look at movies, I'm not so sure it would damage your enjoyment of them.

It's worth reading.

[matrixchick]

I ordered this book recently. Still waiting for it.

I don't know about cliched. From what I can tell this book lays out stages of the hero's (protag) journey. Why would it make every movie a cliche? From what I understand, Chris Vogler based this on Joseph Campbell's renowned book The Power Of Myth which has been paralleled to Jung's work on Archetypes while Joseph Campbell has been one of the foremost leaders on the study of Myths for decades.

If understanding the journey of transformation an individual takes (though not everyone's journey is the same - most are similar) when faced with a crisis or problem and using this 'truth' as character development in films makes it cliche, then so be it. But the thing your professor is missing is that some cliches are cliches because they are truths.

Webster defines cliche as:
1 : a trite phrase or expression; also : the idea expressed by it
2 : a hackneyed theme, characterization, or situation
3 : something (as a menu item) that has become overly familiar or commonplace

Perhaps, a hero's journey is cliche, but it seems to me that there are timeless truths about human nature that are above and beyond cliche status, particularly since this basic fomat/structure can be traced back to the writings of ancient Greece.

Personally, I think your professor is not looking at the big picture (and I don't mean a movie screen). If he studied literature at all, he'd understand that some things just ARE, and just because they become familar or you understand them better doesn't validate changing a timeless truth. That would be like a psychologist trying to restructure a person's grieving process because he's seen all his patients go through the same steps on their way to closure and now he thinks it's too familiar.

Maybe this book helps a reader anticipate what journey the protag is going to take, but without character growth and change, a film becomes flat.

[filmcarver]

It is an excellent book, and all you learn is that effective storytelling usually has a general flow since the days of old.

It's not about page numbers and plot points and all that, it's about storytelling and what we've learned over the centuries.

You already have an inherent knowledge of story beats because you watch movies. If you aspire to write, this makes what you know make more sense as you watch.

[Steve]

It's a good book. It's basically Joseph Campbell condensed for writers. I don't think it will ruin movies more than any other good book about structure. If you want to write movies you have to look behind the magic of storytelling and analyze the nuts and bolts. The only criticism I have of Vogler's book is that I think his paradigm applies more to one type of story than all stories so you shouldn't think of it as a blueprint for everything you write.

[hscope]

I agree with the others. It's a very worthwhile book to read. It makes a great deal of sense and really expanded my knowledge.

[Cornelius Pug]

Have to echo what everyone has said. I think it is an amazing book. Coverage suggested my screenplay structure was incorrect but offered no way out of the quagmire. I put it aside for a few months and read and read and read and thoroughly absorbed Vogler, Cambell as well as McKee.

Vogler enabled me to see where the structure fell down and what it's strengths were. Using it as a blueprint (which really is no different to the page 30, 45, 60 etc moments) I was able to understand how to change the structure to make a stronger story. With its help I was able to find the true heart of my story - something I would not have had the courage to do before.

Many people argue that using the Campbellian structure produces cliched screenplays. I would say that such structure is eternal to storytelling. When/if stories become cliche is entirely due to the writer and how he uses that structure. For example, I personally found Finding Nemo a tad unsatisfying as a story. I think it would have been far more interesting had it followed the structure a little more closely - for example having Nemo (as a fin-handicapped fish) search for his father rather than the other way round. The meeting with the whale could have been made a much more powerful moment had the whale been imbued with a kind of divinity (which to a little clown fish he would have been) - a meeting with the God of the sea. The storytellers made it too much of a comedic moment with Dory trying to speak 'whalsch' - when it really should have been given far more dramatic weight. For me this would have made the story more archetypal, and ultimately emotionally satisfying.

The Hero's Journey is everyman's journey and without getting into a metaphysical discussion is part of the development of our own souls. That is why it is so satisfying to watch.

Get the book!

Pug

[filmcarver]

As someone said, it will not apply the same to any given story, which for me gives it a higher resource rating for me personally.

Some stories don't demand every step, and the important or length of the steps varies according to the needs of the characters and the plot they are imbedded in. In stories that seem to have a "hole" you may find the approach refreshing in getting events focused back onto the MC conflict.

[Jami]

A development exec told me tonight that all screenplay coverage is based on the script's conformity to this book.

Jami