The Heroine’s Journey

When we talk about structure, I often reference 3-Act Structure and the Hero’s Journey. While many novels are based on those two, there are other formats that are equally valid, and it’s always good to have a brief overiew of each. While 3-Act and The Hero’s Journey are the most popular, there’s another format called The Heroine’s Journey that is helpful for writers who don’t immediately vibe with The Hero’s Journey but do still have a story with a hero.

Now, I want to clarify right here at the beginning–by heroine, we are not referencing a woman/femme character. We are simply talking about another story framework that doesn’t put the same value on isolation and doing everything yourself that The Hero’s Journey does. One of the things I love about The Heroine’s Journey is that the books that reference it talk about it being a less westernized view of your story structure.

By that, I mean that instead of the emphasis on doing everything yourself and the valuation of individuality, The Heroine’s Journey emphasizes cooperation, building relationships, and compromising or causing others to compromise to work out the ending. The Heroine’s Journey by Gail Carriger is a great deep dive into The Heroine’s Journey

Again, I want to stress that this is simply one form of story structure–there are so many others to choose from! But I found this one an interesting contrast to the individual challenges in The Hero’s Journey.

Here are 5 Notes on The Heroine’s Journey:

1. The Heroine’s Journey, like the Hero’s Journey, is a fiction template, but with key differences.
2. The Heroine’s “call to action” is almost always a familial break (ie death of a family member). A heroine can be male, female, nonbinary–it does not refer to gender.
3. This can lead to loss of identity, and most of the heroine’s journey will be about finding their place in the world.
4. The heroine will look to build relationships and alliances throughout their journey. They will also act as a “civilizing force.” By this we mean they may build civilizations or change them for the better.
5. While the climax of the Hero’s Journey sees a one-to-one battle, the ending of The Heroine’s Journey involves a compromise brought about by the heroine, and almost always involves secondary characters or other POV characters.

Have you ever used The Heroine’s Journey template? Why or why not? Have you used another fiction template that you’ve found more useful than the Hero’s Journey? Let me know!

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