The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Storytellers & Screenwriters [Paperback]

Christopher Vogler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1992

The Writer's Journey is a guide to the patterns of mythology that lie nestled in all narrative writing. Based upon the work of Joseph Campbell, it offers the reader a set of useful myth-inspired storytelling paradigms and step-by-step guidelines to plot and character development. One of Hollywood's top studio heads made the rough draft of this book required reading for his executive staff.

"..the perfect manual for developing, pitching and writing stories with universal human themes that will forever captivate a global audience". -- Jeff Arch, screenwriter Sleepless in Seattle

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Christopher Vogler has served as a studio folklore specialist, and here comes up with a book that is, in one regard, much like the screenplays it seeks to strengthen: it's derived from other sources! An acknowledged distillation of, and meditation on, the work of Joseph Campbell, The Writer's Journey approaches the storyteller's craft as one of recounting the hero's mythic journey, replete with roadblocks and life lessons. But why the unspoken assent that movies hew to this structure, when we don't demand the same of plays or books? Could it be that the collective viewing of films is one of our last tribal rituals?

Product Details

• Paperback: 289 pages
• Publisher: Michael Wiese Productions; 1st edition (November 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0941188132
• ISBN-13: 978-0941188135
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #54,663 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Christopher Vogler is a veteran story consultant for major Hollywood film companies and a respected teacher of filmmakers and writers around the globe.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Journey Worth Taking, November 3, 2002

By 

S. Crudup "Sid" (Orlando, Florida United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Storytellers & Screenwriters (Paperback)

Christopher Vogler's "The Writer's Journey" is an open corridor to superb characterization. In preparing to write either your novel or screenplay, Vogler's vivid descriptions of the most common archetypes are truly indispensable and useful. Every fiction writer owes it to him or herself to be mindful of the qualities that each archetype possesses. My mind has been opened by studying the different characteristics of the Hero, the Shadow, the Mentor, the Threshold Guardian, the Herald, the Shapeshifter and the Trickster. Vogler describes each one's dramatic function as well as their psychological function. After teaching us the merits and peculiarity of the character, Vogler exhibits his own unique dramatization of Joseph Campbell's work. The Writer's Journey gives the writer a chance to develop a story to its fullest potential. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and have started to employ its direction in my own fiction writing. It will not only change the way we view our characters' and their prospective journeys but it will also help us to see some of their characteristics in our own lives. This is a great book. Every novelist and screenwriter must have The Writer's Journey. Kudos!!

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A road map straight into your reader's head and heart, May 13, 1998

By 

Connie Bennett ([e-mail] (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Storytellers & Screenwriters (Paperback)

I had already written fifteen novels and had two more under contract when I discovered Christopher Vogler's Writer's Journey, but couldn't have told you how I crafted a novel to save my soul. The world this book opened up to me changed that.

Weaving a tapestry of the common threads that make up the fabric of all myths, ancient and modern, Vogler illuminates the process of creating stories that is nothing less than a road map into the human psyche.

If you are a true storyteller, this book will speak to you in ways that won't just illuminate your stories--it can illuminate your life.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you write, read this, March 10, 1998

By 

S. Harwood "Steve" (West Coast) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Storytellers & Screenwriters (Paperback)

Vogler has deciphered Campbell and put forth the concepts and structure in a way that is accessible to all storytellers. This book not only works as a brilliant guideline for writing fiction, but also serves as a template for tightening and polishing stories so as to make them work on both entertainment and literary levels. A remarkable text.