#Heroine

Russell F. Hirsch

Descriptive Language that Sparkles

Kill your darlings! Get to the point! Plot over prose! How many times have you heard advice about simplifying your writing for middle...

Russell F. Hirsch

SIWC - Simply Inspiring Writers' Conference

We all know the feeling of finding our tribe. Whether we were kids discovering new friends on the playground, teens navigating a new...

Russell F. Hirsch

Further Reading & Feminist Alternatives to the Hero’s Journey

Further Resources on the Hero’s Journey I hope you’ve found my summary of hero’s journey plot lines useful, but there is really no...

Russell F. Hirsch

The Hero’s Journey – Resolution

Happy New Year to all! We have reached the 10th and final stage of a hero’s journey plot line and a fitting stage it is for January 1st...

Russell F. Hirsch

The Hero’s Journey – Climax!

Huzzah! We have reached the Climax, the grand hurrah, the big shebang, a moment so exciting that only funny-sounding words can express...

Russell F. Hirsch

The Hero’s Journey – Reward

The Hero’s Journey – Reward Well that last post on the Ordeal was so frightening, I almost couldn’t go on! But after a bit of a break,...

Russell F. Hirsch

The Hero’s Journey – Crossing the Threshold

The end of the beginning is nigh! We move on to the third stage of a Hero’s Journey plot line, “Crossing the First Threshold.” This stage...

Russell F. Hirsch

The Hero’s Journey – Call to Adventure

Listen up, you! Yes—you! On we go to the 2nd stage of a Hero’s Journey plot line: the “Call to Adventure.” This is where the fun begins....

Russell F. Hirsch

The Hero’s Journey–Ordinary Worlds

Let’s begin! Authors and screenwriters often refer to the Beginning, Middle, and End of stories as Acts 1, 2 & 3. Over the next few days,...

Russell F. Hirsch

The “Well that was convenient… oh, wait!” Technique

I’ve encountered a lot of storytelling and screenwriting tips that say something like: “Coincidences are great for getting your character...