Hello, and welcome to Day 9!
There’s no housekeeping today. For me, the live Q&A is still ahead. For you, it’s already happened. I hope it went well!
So we’re going straight into today’s lesson.
Where we are in the journey
At this point, you’ve already done some really important work.
You’ve thought about:
your Hero’s Ordinary World
where they feel safe
how their core flaw protects them
and the destabilising moment that knocks that world out of balance
Now we arrive at the next beat in the journey: the refusal of the call.
This is the moment where the story pushes your hero towards change…and they push back.
What refusal of the call actually means
Refusal of the call doesn’t always look the same, and this is where people often get confused.
There are two main ways this shows up, and which one applies depends on something very simple:
Does your Hero have a choice about going on this journey, or not?
Option 1: the explicit refusal (the Hero has a choice)
In some stories, the Hero is genuinely offered a choice.
They are asked to step into the unknown, and they say no.
Clearly.
Classic examples of this are stories that follow the Hero’s Journey quite literally.
In The Matrix, Neo is asked to do something terrifying and dangerous, and his response is very direct: “I can’t do this.”
He refuses and walks away.
In Star Wars, Luke says no because he believes he has responsibilities he can’t abandon. The farm. His aunt and uncle. The life he thinks he’s supposed to live.
In The Hobbit, Bilbo actually starts to go…and then panics, turns around, and goes home. His refusal is fear-based and deeply tied to his need for comfort and safety.
In stories like these, refusal looks like:
a clear decision
spoken resistance
a reasoned explanation for why they won’t go
If this is your story, the refusal of the call is a moment. It’s a scene and/or a line of dialogue and/or an action.
Option 2: the lingering refusal (the Hero has no choice)
In other stories, the Hero doesn’t get to choose whether they go.
The destabilising moment has already forced their hand.
But refusal still exists, and it just shows up differently.
Instead of refusing to go, the hero refuses to engage.
This refusal is quieter. It lingers, and it’s more psychological than logistical.
In The Hunger Games, Katniss does not hesitate when Prim’s name is called. She volunteers immediately. She has no choice, because that’s who she is as a person.
But her refusal shows up later.
Her refusal sounds like:
I won’t emotionally engage.
I won’t play their game.
I won’t form attachments.
I’ll survive by staying invisible.
She is physically on the journey, but she is resisting it internally.
The same thing happens in Finding Nemo.
Marlon has no choice. His son has been taken, so of course he’s going after him.
But his refusal shows up as control.
His refusal sounds like:
I’ll do this my way.
I won’t trust anyone else.
I’ll hold on tighter.
I won’t change.
He is moving forward, but he isn’t engaging.
In stories like this, refusal isn’t a single moment. It’s more like a stance.
Why this moment matters so much
The way your Hero refuses the call tells us:
what they’re most afraid of
what belief they’re clinging to
how their flaw is still in charge
And that, in turn, shapes everything that comes next.
Tomorrow, we’ll talk about what finally forces the Hero to engage fully—the moment where they stop resisting and cross the threshold into the journey proper.
But today is about naming the resistance.
Your task for today
In the comments below, tell me:
Is your hero’s refusal explicit or lingering?
What does that refusal look like on the page?
If it’s explicit:
What do they say no to?
What reason do they give?
If it’s lingering:
How are they refusing to engage?
What strategy are they using to avoid change?
This one can feel slippery, so take your time.
Today’s chat
For today’s chat thread, I decided to do another Q&A and troubleshooting space.
If you’re unsure which type of refusal applies to your story, or you feel like yours is somewhere in between, bring it there. We’ll talk it through.
This beat is important, because the way your Hero resists change determines the shape of the entire journey that follows.
Make sure you’re also filling this into your book blueprint worksheet as you go.
And with that, I’ll see you tomorrow—or, technically, I’ll see you yesterday—or possibly already saw you live.
Honestly, I’ve lost track of time.
Good luck today. I can’t wait to read these.
