I was introduced to The Writer's Journey , and I haven't been quite the same since. Now, I not only know how to fit story pieces into a salable novel, I know why. And when my storyteller's instinct packs its bags for parts unknown, I have a much better idea of how to figure out what I've done wrong and how to fix it. Man has been telling tales around the campfire since the beginning of time, and there always has been and always will be a discernible structure to the progression of these stories. Our campfires these days have names like NBC, Cineplex, and Barnes and Noble, but the premise is the same.
Stories are as essential to man as water, light and air.
The heart of every story, of course, is the hero. Zeus or Jack Ryan, Aphrodite or Rose DeWitt Bukater, they all have some very important things in common. Popular fiction revolves around heroes who must leave their everyday world and embark upon a quest. Think Dorothy taking a flyer out of Kansas for Oz. Think Joan Wilder leaving the safety of her imagination for a journey that leads her to romance, a stone, and a new lease on life.