1rZwMNa

The Ape, the Adman, and the Astronaut
The author’s job here is to give the hero hell. Torment him so that at every
stage he seems even further from his goal.
In the mythical structure identified by Joseph Campbell, the series of
trials and tests will culminate in the ultimate test. If the hero is a cop and
all seems lost, he will go to the bar, get drunk, and get into a fight. In
Thunderball, James Bond narrowly escapes being eaten by a shark. In The
Lord of the Rings, Frodo ends up in the web of a spider called Shelob. He
will die symbolically and be reborn a new man who will go forth for the
final battle and win the prize.
Either way, after undergoing the ordeal and emerging with the prize,
the hero has changed from the man he was at the start. He has learned;
he has grown.
Growth is good. Instructive. It teaches us things about the
human condition.
This, then, is the overarching paradigm; but in order to move the reader
along from beginning to triumphant conclusion, there is one great
danger to be avoided: the reader falling asleep (or throwing the book
away in boredom).
This is where the craft of writing a story comes in.