1. DEN VANLIGA VÄRLDEN
2. ROPET PÅ ÄVENTYR
3. VÄGRAN ATT DELTA I ÄVENTYRET
4. MÖTET MED EN MENTOR
5. FÖRSTA TRÖSKELN
6. PRÖVNINGAR, VÄNNER OCH FIENDER
7. INGÅNGEN TILL DEN INNERSTA GROTTAN
8. DEN STÖRSTA UTMANINGEN
9. BELÖNING
10. VÄGEN TILLBAKA
11. ÅTERUPPTÅNDELSE
12. KOMMA TILLBAKA MED ELIXIRET

PERSONFUNKTIONER:

HUVUDPERSON/HJÄLTE
MENTOR
FIENDER
SKUGGOR
FORMSKIFTARE
TRICKSARE, CLOWNER
BUDBÄRARE
VÄNNER
VÄKTARE VID TRÖSKLARNA
SYMBOLISKA SAKER
SYMBOLISKA DJUR
 

STEG TIO: VÄGEN TILLBAKA

När huvudpersonen lärt sig läxan från den stora striden och hon eller han kanske firat segern, får de flesta hjältar ett val - antingen att stanna kvar i den speciella världen eller återvända till den vanliga världen. Den speciella världen har sin charm men de flesta väljer att återvända. De återvänder till utgångspunkten för berättelsen eller till en ny startpunkt i den vanliga världen.

Fråga: Hur väljer din huvudperson riktining efter den stora kampen eller utmaningen?

Detta är en plats i berättelsen där handlingsenergin som kanske ebbat ut i den stora kampen, nu återkommer med kraft. I psykologiska termer betyder detta steg en beslutsamhet hos hjälten att tillämpa de insikter och lärdomar som gjorts i den speciella världen. Detta kan vara tämligen svårt, hjälten har all anledningen att vara skeptisk. Kanske insikterna från kampen ändå inte håller i den vanliga världen? Folk kanske inte tror på den förändring som skett. Äventyren kanske rationaliseras bort av skeptikena.

Fråga: Vad lärde sig din huvudperson i den speciella världen? Vilka insikter gjordes?
 

Men de flesta huvudpersoner bestämmer sig för att försöka leva som förändrade personer. Som buddhistiska bodhisattvor har de sett den eviga planen och återvänder nu till världen för att berätta om den och dela med sig av livselexiret de funnit.
Vägen tillbaka markerar en tid då huvudpersonerna lär sig att leva ut sitt äventyr. En platå där de kan vila har de uppnått och de är dessutom stolta över denna platå. De har vunnit den genom egen inre vilja eller genom yttre faktorer.
 

Fråga: Vilar hjälten i din berättelse? Har hon eller har en behaglig period efter kampen i den Speciella världen?
 

Inner resolve might be represented by a scene of a tired commander rallying dispirited troops or a parent pulling a family together after a death or tragedy. An external force might be an alarm going off, a clock ticking, or a renewed threat by a villain. The heroes may be reminded of the ultimate goal of the adventure.
The Road Back is a turning point, another threshold crossing which Two to Act Three. Like crossing the First
it may cause a change in the aim of the story. A story about achieving a goal becomes a story of escape; a focus on physical danger shifts to emotional risks. The propellant that boosts the story out of the depths of the Special World may be a new development or piece of information that drastically redirects the story.
In effect, The Road Back causes the third act. It can be another crisis that sets the hero on a new and final road of trials.

The rocket fuel may be fear of retaliation or pursuit. Often heroes are motivated to hit The Road Back when the forces they have defied in the Ordeal now rally and strike back at them. If the elixir was stolen from the central forces rather than given freely, there may be dangerous repercussions.
 

RETALIATION

An important lesson of martial arts is: Finish your opponent.

Heroes often learn that villains or Shadows who are not completely defeated in the crisis can rise up, stronger than before. The ogre or villain the hero confronted in the Ordeal may pull himself together and strike a counter-blow.

Q: Does the enemy strike back in the story you are working with? Is it an inner enemy or an outside enemy?

A parent who has been challenged for dominance in the family may get over the initial shock and unleash a devastating retaliation. A martial arts opponent knocked off balance may recover his center and deliver a surprise attack.

The psychological meaning of such counterattacks is that neuroses, flaws, habits, desires, or addictions we have challenged may retreat for a time, but can rebound in a last-ditch defense or a desperate attack before being vanquished forever. Neuroses have a powerful life force of their own and will strike back when threatened. Addicts who have made a first effort at recovery may fall off the wagon with a vengeance as their addiction fights back for its life.

Retaliation can take other forms. If you are hunting hear or killing dragons, you may find that the monster you killed in the Ordeal has a mate who comes chasing after you. A villain's lieutenant may survive him to pursue you, or you may find you have only killed an underling in the Ordeal. There may be a bigger Mr. Big who wants revenge for the loss of his servant.

Q: Is there any striking back in retaliation from another person than the enemy?

An avenging force may strike a costly blow to the heros fortunes, wounding him or killing one of his cohorts. This is when Expendable Friends come in handy. The villain might also steal back the elixir or kidnap one of the hero's friends in retaliation. This could lead to a rescue or chase, or both.

CHASE SCENES

In many cases heroes leave the Special World only because they are running for their lives. Chases may occur in any part of the story, but the end of Act Two is one of the most popular places. Chases are useful for torquing up a storys energy.

Q: Are there any chase scenes in your story? Do you feel them to energize the story? Are they logical and necessary to the story?

Audiences may get sleepy at this point, and you have to wake them up with some action or conflict. In the theatre, this stage is called 'racing for the curtain", a time when you want to pick up the pace and build momentum for the finish.

Chases are a favorite element of movies, and they figure prominently in literature, art, and mythology as well. The most famous chase in classical mythology is Apollo's pursuit of the shy nymph Daphne, who begged her father, a river god, to transform her into a Laurel trec. Transformation is often an important aspect of chases and escapes. Modern heroes may simply assume a disguise in order to escape a
tight situation. In a psychological drama, a hero may have to escape a pursuing inner demon by changing behavior or undergoing inner transformation.
 

MAGIC FLIGHT

Fairy tales often include a chase that involves a whimsical transformation of objects, known as the magic flight motif. In a typical story a little girl escapes from the clutches of a witch with the help of gifts from animals she's been kind to. The girl throws down the gifts one , by one in the witch's path and they magically transform into barriers that delay the witch. A comb becomes a thick forest that slows the witch while she gobbles it up. A scarf becomes a wide river which she has to drink.

Q: Are there any magical flights, any witches or small girls in your story?

Joseph Campbell gives several illustrations of inagical flights, and suggests the motif stands for a heros attempts to stall the avenging forces in any way possible, by throwing down protective interpretations, principles, symbols, rationalizations, anything to delay and absory' their power.
What the hero throws down in a chase may also represent a sacrifice, the leaving behind of something of value. The little giri of the fairy tales may find it hard to part with the lovely scarf or comb given by , the animals. Heroes of movie adventures sometimes have to decide what's really important, and toss money out the window to slow their pursuers and save their lives. Campbell cites the extreme example of ' Medea. Escaping with Jason from her father, she had Jason cut up her own brother and toss his pieces into the sea to delay the pursuit.

VILIAIN ESCAPE

Another chase scene variant is the pursuit of a escaped villain. A Shadow captured and controlled in the Ordeal escapes at this stage and becomes more dangerous than before. Hannibal "The Cannibal" Lecter in Silence of the Lambs, feeling betrayed by FBI agent Clarice, escapes and begins to kill again.

Q: Is there any villain escaping in your story?

King Kong, taken to New York to be displayed in chains, escapes and goes on a rampage. Countless movie and TV Westerns depict a villain trying to make a getaway, then being ridden down and tackled by the hero prior to a final fistfight or gun duel.

Q: Does you hero kill the enemy after an escape flight?
 

SETBACKS

Another twist of The Road Back may be a sudden catastrophic reversal of the heros good fortune. Things were going well after surviving the Ordeal, but now reality sets in again. Heroes may encounter setbacks that scem to doom the adventure. Within sight of shore the ship may spring a leak. For a moment, after great risk, effort, and sacrifice, it may look like all is lost. This moment in the story may be the Delayed Crisis spoken of carlier. It could be the moment of greatest tension in Act Two and should set the story on the final path to resolution in Act Three.

Q: Are there any setbacks for your hero?