In writing a first novel, I looked for a map to guide me. My bookshelf of how-to-write, how-to-plot, and how-to-find-the-right-word books was emptied. One book, The Writer’s Journey by Christopher Vogler, became highlighted and bookmarked with sticky notes. It was not a Triple A map, rather, my own map of geocaches and penciled-in circles to understanding the sketchy characters and roads not yet taken.
I couldn’t see the universal truths of mythical journey until I was writing without GPS. Pen to paper, my journey followed the journey of my characters like a person traveling across a dust devil-filled desert desperately searching for an oasis. In the midst of writing every day, my characters became real and told me how they felt and I recognized where they were going.
The Writers Journey is indeed the journey of the writer and the journey of a main character. Plot points are sharpened and transported as the story unfolds. Adding more index cards and refolding the story map leads you to your own true story. I wrote out of the story sequence, I wrote backwards, and I enjoyed the rest stops. Surprises that jumped from the manuscript pages were as exciting as finding an unmarked high waterfall in a desert mountain fracture. Folding up the map illustrated where the plotting fit and how each scene and sequel pulled the story along.
The fictional journey echoes the real journeys of life. But with fiction, you have the definitive control in seeing life in hindsight or with a crystal ball. A writer can turn everything upside down to find roads and destinations not realized until print hits the page, creating a new map to a story. The fictional journey becomes real bound in-between book covers and in the minds of readers.
THE WRITER’S JOURNEY by Christopher Vogler (Michael Wiese Productions, 2007).
