What is the Hero’s Journey? Definition, Steps, and Modern Examples
The Hero’s Journey is the Ultimate Storytelling Tool
In my years of writing, I’ve tested countless story structures, but few are as simple or enduringly powerful as the Hero’s Journey. Writers across genres, decades, and cultures have used it to shape stories that feel timeless and emotionally real.
Popularized by Joseph Campbell in The Hero with a Thousand Faces, the Hero’s Journey is a structure of plot points that recur in millions of stories throughout history. It follows a single protagonist through a transformative quest as they leave their ordinary world, grow through struggle, and return changed.
Campbell found that the structure existed, in some form or another, in myths and legends across cultures. For that reason, learning the twelve steps of the Hero’s Journey will help you connect to audiences and readers, whether you’re writing a screenplay, developing an advertising campaign, or outlining a novel.
Joseph Campbell and the Origins of the Monomyth
The Hero’s Journey comes from mythologist Joseph Campbell, who introduced the structure in his 1949 book The Hero with a Thousand Faces. After studying myths from around the world, Campbell observed a repeating arc that appeared across many cultures. This pattern followed a cycle of departure, challenge, and return.
He called this structure the monomyth, a universal storytelling model built on transformation. Each stage reflected emotional and psychological shifts that shaped the hero’s growth.
Campbell’s ideas influenced countless writers and creators. His work became the foundation of the Hero’s Journey, a structure now recognized in stories like Star Wars and The Hunger Games.
Why Every Writer Should Know the Hero’s Journey
The Monomyth: The Secret Inspiration Behind Star Wars
Did you know that the monomyth inspired one of the most successful film franchises of all time? Because as it turns out, George Lucas studied The Hero with a Thousand Faces and used the structure of the monomyth to shape Luke Skywalker’s arc in Star Wars.
Luke begins in the ordinary world, receives a call to adventure, meets a mentor, enters a world of danger, and returns transformed. That structure helped turn Star Wars into a global cultural event.
I’ve explored this exact framework while writing for New Rockstars, a YouTube channel known for deep dives into Star Wars, Marvel, and other major franchises. It’s clear to me that Disney has internalized this structure as they employ it across all their IPs. Whether or not you love every Disney-era release, the media they produce continue to reach audiences of millions all over the world.
How the Monomyth Creates Timeless Emotional Arcs
Humans are social creatures. Before we built our first civilizations or developed written language, we were telling each other stories. “I went to the valley, and I found food there. And I brought my spear because predators came out at night.”
These early stories helped humanity not just flourish, but survive and dominate. And they contain every element of the Hero’s Journey, albeit condensed. There is a hero, a goal, and an obstacle. The hero ventures out into the world and returns to their village with new knowledge.
The Hero’s Journey remains relevant because it mirrors human experience. We all face disruptions. We all get pushed out of our comfort zones. When a character enters the unknown and survives it, we feel empowered. As storytellers, we can use the empathy generated by the Hero’s Journey to connect with our target audience.
This is also what makes the Hero’s Journey so useful to writers. It provides a structure that resonates across cultures and formats. Whether you are writing for readers, viewers, players, or clients, the monomyth gives you a reliable way to guide emotional engagement. When used with intention, it becomes a storytelling framework that invites connection and delivers impact.
The 12 Steps of the Hero’s Journey (Simplified Guide)
Now, Campbell uses language that can be a esoteric, like “Threshold Guardian,” or phrases that are a little yikes, like “Woman as the Temptress.” Thankfully, in his book The Writer’s Journey, Christopher Vogler laid Campbell’s pattern into twelve easy-to-understand steps. These are the ones we’ll be discussing today!
1. The Ordinary World
Every hero’s quest begins in a familiar place. We call this the ordinary world, and while it’s okay, something is a little off.
The Hunger Games: This is District 12, where your only entertainment is flirting with the baker boy.
Star Wars: It's Luke Skywalker and the struggle of being a broke moisture farmer in Tatooine.
2. The Call to Adventure
Something unexpected shows up and changes everything. The call to adventure might be a message, a challenge, or a threat, but either way, it’s a signal that the ordinary world won’t be enough.
The Hunger Games: Katniss hears Prim’s name called and knows she has to throw down.
Star Wars: Luke sees a woman for the first time (citation needed).
3. Refusal of the Call
Do we leave behind what we have for the opportunity for something better? It’s a tough question, and the hero hesitates to answer it. They ain’t ready yet, but it’s necessary.
The Hunger Games: Now interestingly, Katniss volunteers immediately, so she doesn’t really refuse the call. But this shows us that these rules are, as Captain Barbosa from Pirates of the Caribbean would say, more guidelines than actual rules.
Star Wars: Luke does refuse the call. When Obi-Wan tells him he’s the son of a Jedi and should travel with him to Alderaan, Luke tells him he has better things to do than go on dope space adventures.
4. Meeting the Mentor
The hero meets their mentor(s), who help them level up.
The Hunger Games: Haymitch is a drunk bum, but he’s smarter than he lets on and teaches Katniss how to play the game.
Star Wars: Obi-Wan starts to train Luke and teach him the ways of the force. And yes, I know, Luke meets Obi-Wan before he refuses the call. But again, think of these as guidelines.
5. Crossing the Threshold
This is when the hero’s quest really begins. The hero leaves the ordinary world behind and enters the Shadow World, the opposite of the Ordinary World.
The Hunger Games: Katniss goes from the grungy streets of District 12 to the posh trappings of the Capitol.
Star Wars: Luke leaves dusty Tatooine dunes and finds himself in, alternately, the cramped interior of the Millennium Falcon and the gleaming halls of the Death Star.
6. Tests, Allies, and Enemies
Now the hero has to figure out how this new world works. They meet new people, face early challenges, and start forming their squad. In Hollywood speak, we call this the “fun and games” section. This is the part of the story where many of the moments used in movie trailers come from!
The Hunger Games: Katniss grows closer to Peeta, gets set on fire, and realizes she might actually have a shot.
Star Wars: Luke learns to deflect lasers, shoot TIE fighters, and get cocky.
7. Approach to the Inmost Cave
This is where the stakes rise, and the hero starts to realize what they have been missing. They’re not perfect yet, but the update has started.
The Hunger Games: Katniss gets lifted into the arena, and it’s all cameras, countdowns, and death.
Star Wars: In Star Wars, the Millennium Falcon is dragged into the Death Star, and Luke must rescue Leia. But on the personal side, he is learning that fighting the Empire is, in fact, the correct course of action.
8. The Ordeal
This is the central crisis. The hero faces death or a symbolic form of it. Everything they have learned is tested. This is often the emotional core of the story.
The Hunger Games: Katniss is dodging fireballs and other tributes. Then Rue dies.
Star Wars: Obi-Wan dies, and Luke fully understands the true threat of the Empire.
9. The Reward
Having survived the ordeal, the hero gains something valuable. It could be an object, knowledge, or self-awareness. This moment feels like a victory.
The Hunger Games: Katniss is gifted bread from Rue’s district, and it’s announced that two winners will be crowned. She and Peeta can both survive!
Star Wars: Luke joins up with the Rebels and has a whole new team of friends and mentors.
10. The Road Back
The hero begins their return. But leaving the new world is not always easy. There may be new challenges or unresolved conflicts. Note that “the road back” is figurative. In both examples, our heroes know what they need (the hope and desire to survive with their friends) and are moving towards it, even if they are not literally on their way home.
The Hunger Games: With victory in mind, Katniss and Peeta survive against the final tributes and mutant zombie dogs.
Star Wars: Luke flies with the Rebels against the impending doom of the approaching Death Star.
11. Resurrection
The final test. The old ways of the hero die, and they are resurrected in their final form... Until the sequel, of course. This step often ties to the story’s theme.
The Hunger Games: Katniss and Peeta would rather die than play the Capitol’s game, and they are allowed to survive.
Star Wars: Luke forgoes the targeting computer and trusts in the force, his mentor, and himself.
12. Return with the Elixir
The hero brings their reward home. They have changed, and they carry that change with them. This closes the loop and gives the story lasting meaning.
The Hunger Games: Katniss returns to District 12, a hero and a fledgling revolutionary.
Star Wars: Luke flies back to Yavin, and everyone but Chewie is given a medal for their service.
Keep What Works, Break What Doesn’t
You’ve seen what following the Hero’s Journey can do. Star Wars built a massive media empire with it. The Hunger Games built a somewhat smaller media empire with it. But if you don’t blend with it, then remember: these are not hard rules... but I think you’ll agree their pedigree is pretty great.
But that’s just, like, my opinion, man. Well, not the mountains of money George Lucas and Suzanne Collins sleep on—that part is real.
You can shift the order, leave parts out, or really, do whatever you want. But if you ever feel stuck on what to write or if something in your story isn’t working, returning to the Hero’s Journey can help you refocus. It offers clarity, momentum, and a way to connect with your audience.
For more breakdowns like this, check out the rest of my blog, Story Structures!
