And we’re already on Day 5!
As I told you yesterday, this video is longer than the rest.
(I tried to make it as short as possible, but I needed to get all of the info in there for you.)
So…coming in at 30 minutes, it is the longest video you’ll have in this challenge. BUT, you can listen as you do the washing up or on your daily walk.
To make up for this, your only assignments for the day will take you under a minute!
We’ve officially made it through the “easing you in” part, which means you now have a really solid foundation in place: you’ve got your premise, you know who your narrator is, you’ve made your POV choice, you’ve chosen your tense…and now we get to the tougher (and honestly, more fun) stuff.
This is the meat of the challenge.
This is where it actually becomes a challenge.
So here’s what we’re doing today:
We’re looking at the story structure we’re going to use for your book, and how you’ll be filling out your blueprint. But we’re looking at it in a zoomed-out way, on purpose.
I don’t want you worrying about every tiny detail yet. The slides in the video are intentionally simple, because today is just about getting oriented and learning the terms.
Normally, when I teach this as a full lecture, it can easily be an hour, with lots of examples and way more depth than you need right now. That’s not what we’re doing here.
Today is big picture only.
Because as we go forward, each day we’ll take one stage of this journey, and you’ll fill out one box in your blueprint. We’ll go in depth as we go. Today I just want you to see the flow, recognise the shape of it, and start to imagine where your story might naturally fit.
Table of contents (so you know where we’re going)
Just like in the video, I want to keep you oriented, because I’ve always found it helps people stay engaged when they can see what’s coming.
Today we’re covering:
A quick intro (why we’re doing this today and why it’s zoomed out)
A little bit of my background (because it explains why I teach story this way)
The philosophy (why this structure works so well for modern readers)
A fast overview of the Hero’s Journey, and the stages you’ll be using
How the blueprint works (and how you’ll use it for the rest of the challenge)
Your two small assignments for today
Why I teach structure this way
This isn’t “about me,” but I do think it’s useful context.
My background started in film production. I went to film school in LA, lived there, worked on a major studio lot, and worked in development, which means I read scripts all day long, analysed them, wrote reports on them, and had to be able to explain whether the story structure was working and what needed to be fixed.
After that, I went down a more academic track. I did another bachelor’s degree in English and writing in the US, then came to the UK for a Masters in medieval and early modern studies (focused on Shakespeare), and then my PhD, which sat inside the School of English, but pulled in anthropology, folkloristics, and history.
My research was about the folktales humans have told for thousands of years, what threads remain, how those patterns persist, and how we keep reassembling them inside our current cultures.
So what I do, in the way I teach story structure, is blend ancient story psychology and cultural patterning with modern audience expectation, which matters a lot when you’re writing for people living now.
The philosophy
Storytelling is one of the most human things we do. It’s part of what makes us human. And when we tell stories in the way our brains are wired to receive them—in the way we subconsciously expect them to unfold—we satisfy the reader.
If you’ve ever read a book or watched a film and felt weirdly disconnected (like you don’t even want to finish) it’s often because the story isn’t meeting that underlying expectation your brain has about what “a story” is supposed to do.
The Hero’s Journey matters because it’s an ancient structure (updated for modern storytelling), and it shows up everywhere because it works. It’s the backbone of most contemporary Hollywood storytelling, which is relevant whether you love Hollywood films or not, because it has shaped what modern audiences are primed to recognise as satisfying.
Joseph Campbell formalised the pattern by studying myths and folklore across cultures, and what he found was that the same underlying beats show up again and again.
And once you learn it, you’re never going to be able to unsee it.
The structure overview
Here’s the very quick, CliffsNotes version of the 12 stages we’re working with. Read these once just to get the flow, and then let your brain relax.
Ordinary world: We meet the hero in their normal life and learn what “normal” looks like for them.
Call to adventure: Something destabilises the ordinary world and forces the hero to face change.
Refusal of the call: The hero resists because the change feels too scary, too big, or impossible.
Meeting the mentor: A guide appears and gives the hero tools, knowledge, confidence, or a push forward.
Crossing the threshold: The hero makes the decision to leave the ordinary world and enter the unknown.
Tests, allies, enemies: The hero faces obstacles, gains skills, meets allies, and encounters opposition.
Approach: The hero moves toward the final ordeal and hits that “everything is awful” abyss moment.
Ordeal: The hero faces the big final battle and does what they couldn’t do at the start.
Reward: The hero wins something — externally, internally, or both — as a result of the ordeal.
Road back: The hero begins returning home, realising life can’t go back to how it was.
Resurrection: A final proof-of-change moment shows the hero has transformed (want vs need becomes clear).
Return with the elixir: The hero comes home changed and brings something back that makes the world better.
We’ll take each of these slowly, with one stage (or one key element inside a stage) at a time. We’re also going to have days in between where we focus on things like tension, stakes, and that want-versus-need thread…because that’s what makes a story feel layered and emotionally compelling.
Your book blueprint
The button below will take you to your book blueprint worksheet.
You’ll need to make a copy so you have your own version to work from.
And then—super important: watch the 3-minute video that explains it.
If you have trouble, email me and I’ll help you: shelly@academyofstory.com
Your assignments for today (they’re small, i promise)
You have two things to do today:
1) Tell me your favourite film
Drop a comment below with your favourite film.
I know. I know. I dreaded this assignment in film school too. But it’s genuinely useful for me: as we go through the different stages, I’ll be able to pull examples from films you already love (and if certain films come up again and again, that gives me a shared reference point with the group).
2) Like the post if you’re participating
This is purely so I can get a sense of how many people are actually doing the challenge.
I can see how many people open emails, but I can’t see who is actively working along unless you comment or like. And I know some of you are quieter participants (which is totally fine). So if you’re doing the challenge but you don’t feel like commenting much, could you please just hit “like” on the post?
It would genuinely help me understand what’s happening behind the scenes.
Chat for today
Just like the last few days, I’m going to open a chat thread that doesn’t have a formal prompt; it’s more of a troubleshooting space.
If anything felt confusing, if I didn’t explain something clearly, if you want to sanity-check where your story might sit inside this structure, drop it in there and I’ll answer.
Before I go
Just a reminder: don’t fill out your plot grid yet. Today is about orientation, not execution.
Make sure you can access the blueprint, and email me if you have any issues: shelly@academyofstory.com.
You can also reply to this email, but direct email is usually easier (reply chains can get messy).
Alright. I’ll see you tomorrow at 5am.
Shelly x
