This is Story Fanatic, a collection of articles covering story structure and analysis for
creative writers. Published weekly.
For the longest time, the world’s population believed the Earth was flat. They also believed that we sat at the center of the Universe. What was fundamental to their ignorance? A lack of proper context. This same deficiency permeates the world of story structure. However instead of the Flat-Earth Society, fans of meaningful stories find themselves facing off against the Protagonist-Centrist Society.
Avatar is an easy target for the online generation of YouTube haters. But what isn’t as well understood are the similarities between this latest Cameron sci-fi monstrosity and its doppelganger from the mid-70s, Star Wars. Those same detractors may have reason to pause if they took the time to fully appreciate what both films were trying to accomplish.
Archetypal Characters are a wonderful starting point when first starting out in structuring a meaningful screenplay or story. Great authors, however, break free of these standards and create complex characters that more closely resemble the people in our lives.
An examination of the usefulness and accuracy of Archetypal Characters as proposed by the paradigm of the mono-myth. While on the surface they may seem insightful, ultimately they provide little to no value in the structuring of a complete story.
Why there are Eight Archetypal Characters, and why you should be concerned with them.