The Writer’s Journey

Last week, with limited writing oomph because of a sore thumb and a tired brain, I pulled out Christopher Vogler’s The Writer’s Journey and read it while thinking about my longer story. I worked my way halfway through a pad of paper, making notes about depth and imagining the later parts of the story.

Vogler takes the mythologist Joseph Campbell’s work on the hero’s journey, and applies it to screenwriting. It’s one of my favorite writing aids, because of the link to Joseph Campbell.

I also like books on screenwriting; I find them appropriate for writing for children, as I’m fairly visual, and I think writing for kids works well when it’s visual.

Now I’m back at work on the manuscript. I’ve edited the first four chapters, making sure I have the set-up I need, tweaking a little here and there. Next, I’ll move deeper into the story, editing and adding new scenes. And then on to the new writing, with a much better sense of where I need to go.

Maureen