30: StoryMap Part 7: Tests, Allies & Enemies

32. An Interview with Danielle Hitchens

Danielle Hitchens had an idea for a book, she found her artist and then lead a successful funding campaign on social media that also resulted in a publisher picking up the book and creating a best selling series.

How Community Is Key in Tough Times

Brock and Chris catch up and talk about what has kept their writing and business lives going during tough times. Your hero relies on community to pull them through adversity...and so do you.

30: StoryMap Part 7: Tests, Allies & Enemies

Your hero’s journey of transformation has begun at last and it begins by learning the new rules of this new world. Who are your allies? Who are your enemies? What are the new skills you’ll need to survive? It’s all part of the first scenes of Act 2. Let’s dive in to adventure together.

29: StoryMap Part 6: Crossing the Threshhold

It’s time at last to leave your hero’s ordinary world behind. No more debating. No more delay. It’s Action...and time to throw this story into full throttle. Chris and Brock draw out the moment your story “breaks into two” and ushers your main character into a whole new world.

28: StoryMap Part 5 - Meet the Mentor

Great stories are filled with great characters. One of the most common characters in any story is the Mentor, a must-include character if you’re writing a Hero’s Journey story. In fact, the next step of the Hero’s Journey is Meeting the Mentor. Who is your hero’s Mentor, and how do they challenge them? Meeting the Mentor occurs after the hero has been Called to Adventure and discovered that the task ahead will be incredibly difficult. The Mentor then provides the hero with training (physical, mental, spiritual, or a combination thereof) and often accompanies the hero on the journey.  The mentor is frequently an older or “wiser” character no longer able to fulfill the heroic role on his or her own. If you don't have a character in the mentor role yet in your story...it's time you got one!