Element 8 – Crossing the Threshold

March 1, 2025March 1, 2025 / mkmartinwriter / 2 Comments

Checklist time – you’ve introduced your MC, their starting situation, the main story problem, the MC has wrestled with whether or how to undertake the quest, and gotten some pointers/gear from a mentor. Now what?

Time to get to gettin’

There are several parts of this element. Pick and choose, mix and match as your story requires. Not every piece of The Hero’s Journey need be in your story, nor do they need to be in the order I’ve been discussing them.

So, let’s explore the parts of this one:

The threshold – this a physical boundary the MC must cross. It can be subtle, like leaving a room or obvious, like stopping at a border to make a production of taking the next step. Whatever form the threshold takes, consider how it can strengthen your story’s theme(s). A coming-of-age story might have your MC leaving a playground, symbolizing leaving behind their childhood. A romance might have your MC leaving the site of a failed relationship or entering an area where people pair up, such as a bar, speed dating event, or a shop full of Valentine’s Day wares.

The threshold guardian – a test or challenge to prove the MC’s commitment to the adventure. Up to this moment, the MC can be a passive – things are happening TO them, the world is changing AROUND them. Now the MC must take an active role. Sure, they agreed to the quest, but now they must do something to show, not just tell, the reader that they are willing to do what it takes.

Note: the threshold guardian doesn’t have to be a person – it can be an animal, a puzzle, an inanimate object, or difficult terrain.

Isolation – once the MC has crossed the threshold, they are alone, maybe only for a moment or two. Just long enough for them to realize: “There’s no going back now.”

Writing Exercise

Think back to a time in your life where you set off on a new chapter. What was it like? Butterflies in the tummy or stark terror? Did you leave slowly or suddenly?

Write the scene twice.

Start with the following line:

My adventures in [situation] started when I [way you crossed the threshold]…

First, write about your external surroundings and sensations. What did things look like? What familiar sounds did you hear for the last time? What new sounds did you notice? Smells? Touches? Tastes?

Next, write about your thoughts and feelings. Were you eager to get started? Reluctant to leave? A bit of both? Who were you going to miss the most? Why? Who were you going to miss least? Why? What were you looking forward to and why? What were you afraid of and why?

End with the following line:

Looking back I wish I had…

Element 7 – Meeting the Mentor

January 21, 2025January 21, 2025 / mkmartinwriter / Leave a comment

Mentors, those wise, often inscrutable, founts of wisdom. Every story needs one or two.

From the movie “Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical”, TriStar Pictures, 2022

In this post, I’ll help you shop for the perfect mentor.

But why a mentor, Precious?

The mentor has been there and done that. Often they have the T-shirt or knee pain to prove it.

Their role in the story is to help prepare the MC for what is to come. Or at least try to. Many MCs are very poor listeners.

Some helicopter-mentors accompany the MC throughout the story. Others prefer to boot them out of the nest and hope they can fly. Some mentors are very busy and only show up occasionally.

As with just about every character role in a story (apart from the MC) the mentor can and does moonlight in other roles. They can also be a best friend, a love interest, an elderly friend or even an antagonist as we see in the relationship between Elphaba and Madame Morrible from the book, play, and movie Wicked.

Obvious examples of mentors include teachers, trainers, coaches, grandparents and to some extent parents (although they are often the LAST person a young MC is likely to listen to).

It’s important to note that Meeting the Mentor scene(s) can be combined with Refusal of the Call, especially if the mentor is the person who talks the MC through their reservations about accepting the Call to Adventure.

Let’s learn more about what mentors do.

Any character can offer insight, wisdom, advice, council, guidance…okay, set the thesaurus down and back away!

So what makes a mentor different from a helpful friend?

Sometimes, not much; however, the mentor plays a specific role in that they not only encourage the MC, they prepare them to embark on their quest and often, but not always, help them throughout the quest.

But wait – there’s more. Not only does the mentor mentally prepare the MC to embark on their quest, they may also physically prepare them. Do they need special training? Equipment? A magical item or some kind of cool space McGuffin from the Planet Yürelliax?

Luckily, the mentor either has this or knows where and how to get it and will share that information with the MC.

Quick example: I’m at home and we need tomatoes from the farmers’ market. I grab some money and am heading out the door when my sister says, “You can do it. Get the best tomatoes ever. I believe in you.”

Aww, thanks, sis!

My other sister says, “Make sure you get the ones from the Wild River Farm co-op. They’re heirlooms and they taste the best. Tell them I sent you and they’ll give you some wild garlic, too. And don’t forget the shopping bag by the door.”

Here we have two encouraging sisters, which is lovely, isn’t it? But which is the mentor?

Since you’re smart (you’re reading this post so you must be), you can easily see that Sister #2 is the one providing helpful advice and equipment needed for the tomato quest.

While some mentors can be encouraging, they are frequently more of a swift-kick-in-the-keister kind of person. Unlike the MC, the mentor realizes the importance of the quest and if they could do it themself, they would. But they can’t, so now the MC has to step up.

Writing Exercise:

Write a scene where a mentor is encouraging the MC to do something.
Now rewrite that scene with a bad mentor. How can the MC still learn the skills they need or get the gear vital to their quest?

Element 6 – Refusal of the Call

January 20, 2025March 25, 2025 / mkmartinwriter / Leave a comment

Part of writing is about raising your reader’s expectations and then…

Wait a tick. Have you ever heard of the Try-Fail cycle? I first learned about it from Brandon Sanderson’s lectures. In a nutshell, when faced with a problem or conflict, your character will try to resolve the issue. This leads to “Yes, but/No, and”.

Let’s say your character, Maya, is running late for work. As she rushes out of the house, she fumbles in her purse for the car keys, but they’re not there.

Maya must now TRY to resolve her missing keys. She goes back inside and checks her coat pocket. Are her keys there?

Yes, BUT so is the note her lover slipped into her pocket to apologize for their fight, which Maya is only now seeing.
- Maya did find her keys, but now she has a different problem: should she stop to read the note and try to make up with her lover or get to work on time?
No, AND Maya’s beloved cat escapes through the door she left open.
- Not only is Maya going to be late for work, she also has to catch Mr. Scrufflekins before he gets flattened on the nearby highway.

Photo of a white woman with dark hair wearing polarized sunglasses. She is looking off screen with a determined expression. Background is indistinct mountains and trees on a sunny day. — Image by Marcin from Pixabay

Which brings us back to our hero and their recent Call to Adventure. A lot is happening really fast in their world. They’re facing a life-altering decision, or at least something that should feel life-altering to them. Even if they’re excited about this change, it’s still huge and humans tend to be a bit skittish around THE UNKNOWN.

The Try-Fail cycle can show up at any point in your story. Using the Try-Fail cycle helps your reader understand the causes and effects of story events and characters’ choices.

This is where you, dear writer, have to help your MC brainstorm some options. Why? Because that’s what people do. They imagine and reimagine scenarios and how they would deal with them.

Writing Exercise:

Take out a blank piece of paper or open a blank document on your favorite writing program
Number from 1 to 10 along the side
List all the things your MC might do to respond to the Call to Adventure
- Start with 2-3 obvious ones
- Add 2-3 ridiculous ones
- Add 2-3 boring ones
- Add 2-3 that would be totally out of character for your MC
Read over your list
Mix and match options until you get 2-3 that you like
Pick the best one – oh, yes, I know. It’s not that easy.
- If you have a good idea of where the story is headed, pick the one that creates the most drama, conflict, and difficulty for your MC to get from where they are now to where they’ll eventually end up.
- If you’re making things up as you go along (which is generally how I write my first drafts), pick the option that creates the greatest change in your MC’s situation. In other words, the option with the most amount of story potential.

“But what if my MC wants to go on an adventure?” you ask.

Good question and it ties in nicely with what we were discussing at the beginning of this post about expectations. Your readers expect your MC to be reluctant to go on the mission, to try to weasel of accepting the one last job before retirement, to put up a fuss at leaving the Shire.

But not all MC’s dilly-dally because of nerves or a lack of towel.

Your MC’s response to the Call to Adventure is going to land somewhere on the spectrum from Refusal ↔︎ Eagerness. Regardless of their feelings towards the adventure, they’re still going to hesitate. I suppose, we could reframe this element as “Debating the Call” rather than refusing, but who am I to argue with the greats?

So why would an eager MC refuse the Call to Adventure they long to accept? Outside pressures. They have other responsibilities, other goals, more important things to do, etc. Do they want to go? Yes, BUT they can only move forward after addressing their external reasons for not boldly going.

As to our classic reluctant MC, adventure, or at least this particular adventure is the last thing they want. Even if there’s external pressure for them to accept, they resist. They don’t feel adequate to the challenge. They don’t want the inconvenience. This is clearly someone else’s responsibility, etc. Do they want to do? No, AND something or someone (see Meeting the Mentor) will propel them forward, whether they like it or not.

Does this mean by the time they set off, they’re reconciled to their quest?

Not at all.

In fact, the MC has only begun their internal transformation.

Element 5 – Call to Adventure

April 22, 2024March 23, 2025 / mkmartinwriter / 1 Comment

As I mentioned in the Inciting Incident, often the Call to Adventure is the same moment, but they can be separate events/scenes, especially if what changes the MC’s circumstances happens off the page and/or beyond the MC’s knowledge.

So, what is the Call to Adventure? It is the point where the MC is unavoidably faced with change to their previous existence.

Cartoon of a pirate with a mustache holding a burning torch and the caption "Adventure"

Example Calls to Adventure:

Accident – happy or otherwise, an adventure can begin with an accident
- On the train to school, Kaja’s phone runs out of battery and she has to ask someone else for their charger
Temptation – while the MC might have a mostly happy life, they do have desires (Remember needs and wants?) that could drive them to seek an adventure
- Happily married Irene is tempted to spice up her vanilla lovelife

Herald – this is a person – friend, foe, or neutral – who brings the adventure to the MC in the form of an invitation, challenge, or summons
- Friend – “Hey, did you see there’s an open trial for figure skating this weekend? Don’t you skate a little?” Jake asked.
- Foe – Max yelled, “No girls allowed!” Laura ground her teeth and resolved to get into the clubhouse, no matter what.
- Neutral – The pamphlet read: Free cookies with optional chess games in the library

Reconnaissance – the villain accidentally alerts the MC that trouble is coming while pursuing their nefarious agenda
- Jones picked up the papers on Miller’s desk, scanning them intently, which was strange because he had no ‘need to know’ for that program.

Ready or Not?

Most of us are familiar with the reluctant hero concept. Adventuring is scary, uncomfortable, and may involve more than the usual amount of gastrointestinal upset. On the other hand, adventuring is exciting, heroic, and may involve amazing prizes.

In Refusal of the Call, I’ll delve into how MC’s react to the Call to Adventure and we’ll look at how eager would-be heroes can and do refuse their adventure’s call, too.

Refusal of the Call can happen in the same scene as the Call to Adventure, or different one, but as with the Inciting Incident, the scene(s) should err on the short and sweet side of writing.

Element 4 – Inciting Incident

March 14, 2024March 22, 2025 / mkmartinwriter / Leave a comment

Here we are – everything is going swimmingly. You’ve got a flawed MC (internal conflict), or one who’s got a problem (external conflict) or one who’s dealing with both (better yet!). You’ve introduced your story world, decided whether your MC exists in a SOP or is seeking their version of one. And you’ve set up some lovely tension between what your MC wants and what they need.

Time to kick the tires and light the fires…of imagination!

The Inciting Incident is an event that changes the MC’s world, making it out of the question for them to stay in their starting situation. It’s possible for the Inciting Incident to not actually involve the MC at all. They might not even be aware of the Inciting Incident.

Or maybe they are. Often the Inciting Incident is also the Call to Adventure.

Let’s look at some examples of Inciting Incidents that stand alone and ones what are also the Call to Adventure.

Inciting Incidents alone

War breaks out far away
A natural disaster occurs
An ancient relic is found

Inciting Incident – Call to Adventure

War breaks out and your MC is a soldier
The first day of school
MC wins the lottery

Some thing to consider: The Inciting Incident should happen early, should be fast*, should be out of the MC’s control, should interrupt the MC’s life or change their life especially if it’s combined with the Call to Adventure.

* It’s okay to use a few scenes to set up the Inciting Incident, but don’t drag it out. Get in, get out, get on with the story.

M. K. Martin

Writer & Editor