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Summary: Wow!
Review: This is a great book for writers, or for anyone who is interested in stories. It's amazing to see how the character archetypes and stages of the hero's journey can be seen in most books and movies. I felt as if I was privy to a backstage look at storycrafting; now I have a much better appreciation of stories such as "Star Wars" and "Titanic" (both of which are studied in the book). I'm constantly pulling this book out to look at the different sections. It's great!
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Summary: MUCH MORE THAN FICTION WRITING ADVICE
Review: -
This book is a difficult one to review - mostly because it is so complex in its simplicity. Vogler somehow condenses everything a fiction writer should know into a collection of typewritten words - yet as you read The Writer's Journey, you realize that there is something much more than fiction writing advice in this author's instructions.Cop out though it may seem, this is one of those books you really have to read for yourself to grasp how essential it is to you. Whether you intend to write professionally, or just want to better understand life, this book is just the elixir you've been seeking. When I first came across The Writer's Journey, I had been safe and secure in my ORDINARY WORLD (of closet fiction writing) for some time. Somewhere between page 1 (preparing for the journey) and page 94, (establishing what's at stake,) I heard the CALL TO ADVENTURE beckoning me to begin my journey to Published Authordom. Of course, my REFUSAL OF THE CALL kept me procrastinating for months, until a MENTOR urged me to cross the FIRST THRESHOLD. (That is, my best friend who was sick and tired of hearing me say "one day I'm going to write a book," actually dared me to sit down and write the durned novel.) Of course, as I progressed along the path toward my destination, the TESTS, ALLIES and ENEMIES abounded, (my kids, job and household responsibilities kept getting in the way) but with faith in Vogler's instruction, I was able to conquer those threshold guardians and focus my energies and talents once again on the journey I had committed myself to. As I made my APPROACH TO THE INMOST CAVE (got an agent) that is when the real ORDEAL began (negotiating with the publisher.) When at last I seized my REWARD (signed the contract and got the advance check), I was in for a rude awakening (little did I know the writing was not the most difficult part - - promoting the book is a much more daunting task.) I thought to give up, and let my precious work of art fade away into obscurity But, I did not give up, and instead traveled the country signing my name on the inside page of a newly released book no one had heard of yet. Fortunately, after a grueling tour, while on THE ROAD BACK, I was greeted by fans who had read and loved my novel, and the author in me experienced a glorious RESURRECTION which allowed me, ultimately, to RETURN WITH THE ELIXIR (an option from the publisher to publish my next book!) Those of you who've read Vogler's book will recognize that the capitalized words above are the stages of the hero's journey Vogler so deftly laid out. Consider this opinion a "Call to Adventure" and buy this book! You will be glad you did.
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Summary: My Number One Writing Reference
Review: Whenever I teach Common Problems of Beginning Writers at the Pikes Peak Writers Conference, I tell the audience that if you can only afford one book on writing, Christopher Vogler's The Writers Journey is the book to buy.
The hero's journey is a great structure to compare your plot to and thereby understand why you may have plot problems. His character archetypes help you better understand the functions your various characters are performing. Jimmie H. Butler
Founder, Pikes Peak Writers Conference
Author of The Iskra Incident, Red Lightning-Black Thunder, and A Certain Brotherhood
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Summary: Write On!
Review: If only Hollywood writers and producers would read this book and learn from it, audiences might not have to be subjected to what passes for movie and TV entertainment these days. This is a must for any writer who is serious about their craft.
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Summary: Basic Bible for Writers
Review: No writer should be without this book. It is the clue to putting together a good plot that will appeal to all readers. Vogler uses Joseph Campbell's "Hero with a Thousand Faces" to explain how our pscyhe's are geared to the mythology formula based on archetypal characters: the hero/heroine, the shadow character, the mentor, the trickster, the shape-shifter, the guardian of the threshhold. Vogler shows how our most popular stories use these components and points out how movies adapt them to the silver screen. You don't have to a screenwriter to understand or use any of these materials.
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Summary: A book every writer needs now!
Review: I don't promote many books about writing. Writers should write, and usually have to learn everything the hard way, by years of experience and mistakes. But Vogler's The Writer's Journey is a necessary book for writers, newbies and experienced ones alike. Much of his philosophy is based on Campbell's work. I really feel that it's important for writers to understand how myths work in our lives and in our storytelling. This book is also excellent for novel structure, for learning how to plot, and for keeping focused. All writers need that. Excellent. Highly recommended.
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Summary: If you find this fascinating...
Review: ...then I can highly recommend "Maps of Meaning" by Jordan B Peterson, which uncovered whole new layers for me of the meaning of myths in our lives.
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Summary: A useful guide
Review: I found this book useful, although the first edition of 1992 is better than this dumbed-down, politically-corrected second edition. I discovered that I'd always tended to use the "Hero's Journey" structure even before I'd ever heard of it, so this book is a useful distillation of Joseph Campbell's "The Hero With a Thousand Faces". Some reviewers have unfairly criticised the book for prescribing a formula. Vogler in fact doesn't do that; he acknowledges that there is no reason why a good story has to follow this structure, and that if you follow the 12 steps you'll have a story of some sort, but not necessarily a good one. If you find the "Hero's Journey" myth a useful structure for your own writing, buy this book - but better still, buy the first edition if you can find it.
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Summary: Improved my writing
Review: This book has greatly improved my story telling ability. But then again, it wasn't that great to begin with. I have been interested in Joseph Campbell's work for a long time. However, I found "The Hero With a Thousand Faces" to be too academic. Vogler did all the work of distilling "Hero" down to its essence so I didn't have to. I found some parts of the book to be redundant and wordy. At times you could tell that this book started out as a pamphlet because he seems to draw things out to fill the pages (something I see in a lot of books lately). The discussion of different archetypes, or character types has helped me to develop better characters and define their relationships. The discussion of phases of the hero's journey has helped me to better outline my stories. It also helps when I'm trying to figure out why a story line doesn't seem to make sense. It's usually because some important scene is missing. If you want to write for a broad audience in western culture this book is a good reference to have.
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Summary: the grammar of a story
Review: TWJ was a text in a screenwriting class I had in Chicago a few years ago. I've returned to it and referenced it often. It got me to read Campbell's The Hero With A Thousand Faces and more of Karl Jung. When you get it -- this book distills and elucidates the 'grammar' of what makes a story a viable story -- you find you start thinking of people in your life in terms of the archtypes -- threshold guardian, shape-shifter, mentor, shadow, trickster and you find this book spells out something key about how life works. TWJ is not the original scholarship and has no pretension to be such. It's an effective application of The Hero's Journey written for writers, mainly of screenplays. It's well worth reading for non-writers because the substance is simply profound.
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