Patterns in storytelling

You have probably read a book and and felt a tiny pang of déjà vu. Not surprisingly, there are certain patterns which are very common in literature and tends to show up in all sorts of colorful disguises.

Human beings are wired for storytelling. Long before Internet, around campfires and in shadowy caves, we told tales about monsters and mysteries, victories and betrayals. A lot of stories have common origins in the deepest myths of mankind since forever.

Writers today might dress up these stories in space marines or wizards with glowing swords, but underneath is that same old structure that’s been getting under our skin since long before we learned to fear the dark.

The hero myth pattern studies were first popularized by Joseph Campbell in his 1949 book “The Hero with a Thousand Faces”. Campbell was in turn influenced by Carl Jung’s psychology theories. They were simply naming something that’s as old as fear and longing.

Old-school content at Borders in San Francisco.

A classic sequence of events in mythology is:

• The foreshadowing: Some sort of prophecy is revealed, speaking of a Chosen One that will, for instance, bring order to chaos. Perhaps a rumor of danger or destiny at the edge of town.
• The leaving: The wanderers, including the Chosen One, will leave their homes embarking on a dangerous journey…
• The wilderness: …which will take them through a perilous path, quite often an enchanted forest or such.
• The crisis: The Chosen One must make a decision.
• The action: That decision will lead to an inevitable battle against the dark forces (there are always dark forces). Or if you will, a showdown with whatever it was that scared us in the first place.
• The transformation: The Chosen One will evolve according to the prophecy.

Finally, we often have the half-happy ending with a lesson to be learned for us all. Or else it would have been a bad story for the campfire.

You’ve seen it a thousand times. Many of these events appear in a lot of popular stories, especially when it comes to genres as fantasy or science fiction. But stories aren’t just entertainment. They’re the way we map our internal world onto the external one. Patterns repeat, but they should. So when you recognize a story you’ve never read before, don’t feel cheated. Feel connected.