The Writer's Journey

Christopher Vogler believes that film-makers are heirs to a great storytelling tradition, and that the best of them have used the principles of myth to create masterful stories which are dramatic, entertaining and psychologically true. Based on the work of the mythologist Joseph Campbell, this book examines how storytellers from Hitchcock to Lucas and Speilberg have used mythic structure to create powerful stories. Volger argues that they succeed because they tap into the mythological core that exists in all of us. The book is a practical guide for writers which analyzes films from from "The Wizard of Oz" to "Pulp Fiction", and "Star Wars" to "Four Weddings and a Funeral". Step-by-step guidelines for plot structure and creating realistic characters are accompanied by exercises designed to help writers solve problems and improve their own work.