I can’t believe we’re wrapping up the first quarter of 2024 but I’ve already been on a Heroine’s Journey that you can use, too.

As someone who’s got a December 31st birthday, I’ve noticed I seem to think about the year a little differently than the people around me. For me, not only have we wandered through a 1/4 of the year already, but I’ve also wandered through 1/4 of my current age.

Which somehow always feels a lot more fire-starting than just the year itself.

It really puts everything into perspective… and reminds me to take care of myself and keep working towards my goals because time isn’t endless!

I’m looking at the end of this first quarter and seeing everything I’ve accomplished and everything I want to accomplish, and I’m realizing that I’m exactly where I wanted to be on my Heroine’s Journey.

So now seemed like a good time to dive deep into what the Heroine’s Journey is, and how you can use it in your writing (both fiction and nonfiction)!

Let’s Look at the Heroine’s Journey for Books

The Heroine’s Journey is a narrative framework that outlines a path of personal growth, transformation, and self-discovery.

It was originally proposed by Maureen Murdock, an accomplished psychologist and student of Joseph Campbell’s, but it’s evolved since then. Notably, Gail Carriger brought it up to date with modern media and pop culture with her book The Heroine’s Journey. Another acclaimed scholar, Maria Tatar, has also written a wonderful book on it (along with many other accomplished authors, of course!).

But here’s the Holly Ostrout take.

Unlike the Hero’s Journey, which often focuses on external achievements and conquests, the Heroine’s Journey delves into internal development, emphasizing emotional depth, relationships, and the reconciliation of conflicting internal and external worlds.

I like to say that while the Hero gets a quest (alone), goes off on the road to adventure (alone), meets a mentor (who then dies, leaving him alone), and fights the villain (alone), after which he’ll probably still die at least metaphorically, the Heroine takes a more reasonable approach.

For Heroine’s, we’ve got a community-focused cycle of descent into darkness, a search for identity and understanding, followed by ascent and integration of learned lessons into a balanced, fulfilled life. She goes through some tough stuff, too, but she doesn’t push away everyone who loves her while she’s doing it (cough cough, action movies).

And it’s non-gendered.

Harry Potter, for example, was a heroine, not a hero. So don’t let the wording put you off!

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The Heroine’s Journey for Novels & Nonfiction Books

For Fiction Writers:

• Character Development: Use the stages of the Heroine’s Journey to craft more nuanced, relatable characters who experience significant internal growth alongside their external adventures, without turning into unlikeable characters that readers are always yelling, “WHY did you DO THAT?!” at.
• Plot Structure: The journey offers a strong framework for plotting your story, ensuring that the narrative arc aligns with your protagonist’s emotional and psychological development. It creates an emotional arc that makes sense and doesn’t feel rushed or like the character makes decisions out of nowhere.
• Theme Exploration: The Heroine’s Journey allows for a deeper exploration of themes like identity, resilience, transformation, and the power of vulnerability, making your story resonate on a more profound level with readers. You want your book to have disappointed it’s over when they read the last page.

Check Out: The Ultimate Guide to Quickly & Easily Outlining Your Novel

For Nonfiction Writers:

• Personal Narratives: If you’re writing memoirs or personal essays, or adding these into your business-building nonfiction book, the Heroine’s Journey can structure your experiences into a compelling narrative arc that highlights personal growth and transformation. It helps readers relate to you.
• Self-Help and Development: For authors focusing on self-help and personal development, the journey provides a blueprint for guiding readers through their own process of self-discovery and improvement. Like with fiction, the Heroine’s Journey makes the transformation of the character (you, and them) make sense.
• Universal Themes: The Heroine’s Journey taps into universal themes of struggle, discovery, and renewal, which can help nonfiction writers connect with readers on a deep, emotional level. This builds Know-Like-and-Trust for your reader, which is how your book creates a top-of-funnel entry for potential new clients and customers.

Check Out: How Do You Change the World with Your One-of-a-Kind Book?

Stages of the Heroine’s Journey

The Heroine’s Journey is broken down into 3 phases (Descent, Search, and Ascent), each with 3 steps, for a total of 9 steps. It’s a cycle that looks like this:

The Heroine’s Journey breaks down into three powerful phases, each containing three key moments:

Descent: From Uncertainty to First Commitment

1. Seeing the Potential ✨ That first glimpse of “this could be different.” You’re succeeding on paper but something feels off. Life is demanding more than you can sustainably give, even if you haven’t fully realized it yet.
2. The Call to Change 🔥 A moment, big or small, that makes ignoring the problem impossible. Maybe it’s a health scare, a relationship crisis, or just the quiet realization that you can’t keep going like this.
3. Inner Wisdom Emerges 🔃 Your first real step toward change. It might be small, but it’s significant. You finally start listening to that voice inside saying “there’s got to be a better way.”

Search: From Vulnerability to Certainty

4. Embracing Vulnerability 🤌 Life tests your new commitment. External obstacles pop up, forcing you to prove you’re serious about this new path. But instead of breaking you, these challenges make you stronger.
5. This Is Who I Am 🌋 The big revelation that changes everything. Often what you thought you wanted isn’t what you actually need. This clarity transforms how you see yourself and your journey.
6. Reclaiming Power 🤌 One final challenge appears just when things seem figured out. But this time, you’re ready. You prove to yourself that your new way works better than the old.

Ascent: From Mastery to Transformation of Others

7. Wisdom into Action 🔃 Everything you’ve learned crystallizes into clear action. You’re not just talking about change anymore—you’re living it.
8. Harmonious Integration 🧯 Success feels natural now. You flow between different roles and energies with ease, handling challenges with grace and confidence.
9. The Empowered Heroine ✨ You’re not just succeeding—you’re inspiring others to transform too. Your journey has made you someone who creates positive change wherever you go.

Why be a Hero when you could be a Heroine?

By structuring narratives around these stages of the Heroine’s Journey, you can create compelling stories of transformation that resonate with your readers and your audience. It’s a framework that makes it so much easier to illuminate insights, create change, and bring out growth in both yourself as the author and your readers, too.

Most importantly, the Heroine’s Journey reminds us of the importance of our fellow human—both as sidekick characters and as real, live parts of our own community.

Share in the comments ways you’ve seen the Heroine’s Journey used in books or real life transformations!