Here's what we'll be covering today:

Step 4: Descent - Taking a risk and leaving the perfect world

Step 5: Eye of the Storm - Your heroine is tested

To recap…

-Starting Point: The Perfect World - the heroine's everyday world when the story begins...

-Leads to: Realization/Betrayal - an inciting incident and decision point...

-Which leads to: An Awakening - the decision to take the journey & resolve the situation...

-Which leads to: Descent – taking the risk to go deeper into this “new” reality...

-Which leads to: Eye of the Storm – coming to terms with the tests and challenges she's facing

Descent

The heroine is committed to move forward, but she must be willing to face her fears and doubts. She must confront things in her life she’s been avoiding or pretending don’t exist.

This is one step towards the Underworld referenced in Inanna's story. She may not want to go into her sister's realm, but she's decided to take the risk. She's going into a place where she won't have access to the power she currently has.

Eye of the Storm

Her faith is being tested. She doesn’t know if she will be able to accomplish the goal, solve the problem, etc. At this point she's walking into the unknown after her Perfect World has been shaken up.

The Eye of the Storm is quiet while the winds are whipping up around it. It might be deceptively calm inside but one step out of it will land the heroine back into something unpredictable.

Quick Note: If your story is sagging in the middle, think about what trials and tests you can throw at your heroine. What are her fears? Where is she vulnerable? What can you do to push her to face what she doesn’t want to accept?

Though she's had an Awakening, that doesn't mean she's not afraid of what will come next.

Again, using the 1939 The Wizard of Oz movie as an example, here's how these two steps play out.

The Wizard of Oz

Descent

Dorothy wants to go home, but she must go to Oz first. All the while being chased by the Wicked Witch. This pushes her forward because she must get to Oz before the Witch can capture her.

She keeps moving forward because she has no choice. If she wants to return to Kansas, there's only one path she can take.

Of course she could just stay in Munchkin Land and be their queen. That would be safest, wouldn't it? Instead, she takes the risk to leave what appears to be a safe haven.

Eye of the Storm

Even though Dorothy meets new friends along the way, she's still not sure what to expect. Along the way the Witch threatens her, then the Cowardly Lion appears and (at first) seems to be a threat. In spite of all of the things jumping out at her, she must face her fears with every step.

Though she doesn't know it yet, she's growing and becoming more and more sure of herself as she navigates this magical world. And her courage inspires her companions.

Quick Note: At this point Dorothy has the power to go home, she just doesn't know it yet. If Glinda had told her that in the beginning, what do you think would've happened? Would she have believed it?

Consider your character. She has the power to make the changes in her life (and achieve her goal) but does she believe that? What will she have to experience in the story so that she finally does accept that she has the power?

Hades & Persephone

In the Hades & Persephone story, she's making her Descent into the Underworld (either by choice or by force) and now she must adjust to this new reality.

She's a goddess of Spring and now she's in a place that appears to be the opposite of growth and fertility. Whether she chooses to take this risk or not, it is a startling change from the world she's used to.

Even if she's chosen to go with Hades, this is still a new and potentially frightening experience.

Another Example

In my book, Hathor Legacy: Burn, Nadira decides to interrogate a survivor of one of the fires she's investigating. To her horror, she discovers that the woman is one of the psychic outcast group. The young woman has been trafficked to the city to be used against her will.

This shakes up Nadira's belief in her well-ordered world. She begins to wonder if the Guardians are really behind the fires because of their contempt for the members of the outcast group.

Her decision to continue to investigate and uncover the truth is one she can't turn back from. She commits herself to trying to help the survivor and ends up putting her own life at risk.

She must face her own fears, her shock that she can't trust her fellow Guardians and her disgust at how the people are being treated. If she continues, she must accept that people she has trusted are also capable of these acts.

Your Hero

The hero can also have an emotional journey as well. And his journey can parallel the heroine's journey.

For instance, in the book, Jonathan (the hero) has an old family friend who is warning him about the fires as well. There is more going on than either he or Nadira realizes, and it involves important people who are rich and powerful. He realizes that this investigation is becoming increasingly dangerous, and he's determined to protect Nadira as much as he can.

He must reconsider his own beliefs at the same time Nadira is reconsidering hers. Who can be trusted? Is success worth getting involved with forces that are willing to do anything for power?

These realizations bring them closer together; their relationship is growing as they find that they can no longer trust the people around them – or the rules of their world.

This is an example of how you can bring your hero/heroine together on their own emotional journeys while they each move forward on their individual paths.

Quick Note: The heroine/hero combination can also be heroine/heroine or hero/hero – this Journey is not limited by sex or gender. It also doesn't have to be a romantic pairing. For instance, in The Wizard of Oz, there are companions on a Journey together. Each of them has an objective to be reached and things to learn as they travel to Oz.

The Middle of the Story

Technically, we are now in Act Two – the midpoint of your story. But we won't cover the symbolic Death until the next lesson.

But, if you find that you have problems moving your story forward when you hit the middle, today's lesson may be a big help. Often, we have problems with "sagging middles" because we don't know how to move our characters forward.

If you keep raising the stakes, you will give your characters opportunities to grow and push through. It can be tough to do that, though. We might not want to be too hard on our characters. But, conflict is what makes a great story.

Keep putting your characters into situations where they must make hard decisions and learn to trust themselves.

In the next lesson, we'll look at:

Step 6: Death - the end and a beginning

Step 7: Support from the Community - friends/companions/family step in to offer support

That's probably more than enough for you to think about over the weekend!

Homework

(Please answer in the Homework thread)

Now it's time to think about how your current WIP/story idea

-If you ask your heroine what her deepest fears are, what would she say?

-What does your heroine really want?

-What is she willing to risk in order to get what she really wants?

-Have you had any problems with the middle of your story? If so, where do you feel stuck?

Please feel free to share excerpts from your WIP if you'd like.

If you prefer private feedback, message me here on Savvy Authors.

Use the Heroine’s Journey to Plot Your Novel with Deb Bailey