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A review by londonmabel
The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers by Christopher Vogler
3.0
There's lots of good ideas packed into Vogler's application of the hero myth to movies, and that's what I would use it for--to spark ideas. But I can see why the book has also been criticized and is sort of out of fashion.
Once he said the "Ordeal" isn't the climax, he lost me. Even the unusual structure of Wizard of Oz, with a longish stretch between facing the witch and learning the lesson, still definitely climaxes at killing the witch--in terms of tension. After the ordeal, in modern stories, it's just dénouement--and unlike Tolkien, you can't spend half the book on it.
At that point, the monomyth pattern just starts to feel shoe-horned onto modern storytelling style (in late, out early).
Once he said the "Ordeal" isn't the climax, he lost me. Even the unusual structure of Wizard of Oz, with a longish stretch between facing the witch and learning the lesson, still definitely climaxes at killing the witch--in terms of tension. After the ordeal, in modern stories, it's just dénouement--and unlike Tolkien, you can't spend half the book on it.
At that point, the monomyth pattern just starts to feel shoe-horned onto modern storytelling style (in late, out early).