The Hero's Journey storytelling structure

What do Frodo Baggins, Barbie, and Marlin the clownfish have in common? 

Their stories follow a common narrative structure known as the Hero's Journey.

Popularised by American writer Joseph Campbell in the 1940s, the Hero's Journey describes the narrative arc that sees a protagonist or 'hero' leave their ordinary life, face adventure and adversity, and return home to claim their reward. Often in the process, they or the world they live in undergoes a fundamental change. 

There are three key 'phases' of the Hero's Journey (Departure, Initiation and Return) and various analyses will break it down further into 12 or 17 stages such as the Call to Adventure, Belly of the Whale and The Crossing of the Return Threshold. (it's an interesting read, if you're keen to delve in) Once you know it, you'll see it EVERYWHERE.

But while this structure is famous for its use in fiction and folklore, there's a lot to be learned in writing for business too. Even in a professional context, we gravitate to stories that engage us - and the Hero's Journey is a tried and true structure for doing this. 

Think about how you could approach your brand's story in this way:

🗺 Departure: Where did your story begin? What prompted the start of your business? What problem existed that you wanted to solve? What drove you to be the one who did it?

🐉 Initiation: What has the journey looked like? What challenges and obstacles have you faced and how did you overcome them? What allies or partners have you met along the way?

🏰 Return: What have you learned? What has changed in your business and for the people you serve? How have you changed personally? Where will you go next?

I've said it before and I'll say it again: traditional storytelling and business storytelling may have different goals, but they can use many of the same tools and techniques. If you want people to read and engage with your content, you have to think about it as a story first and a business message second.