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Writing Archetypal Character Arcs: The Hero's Journey and Beyond

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The Six Transformational Character Arcs of the Human LifeReady to take your story’s character arcs and themes to the next level? This latest book from veteran writing teacher and story theorist K.M. Weiland ventures far beyond the popular and pervasive Hero’s Journey to explore six important archetypal character arcs, representing key moments of initiation in the human



The MaidenThe HeroThe QueenThe KingThe CroneThe Mage
Found in every genre from fantasy to drama to romance to adventure, these transformational stories are the secret of powerhouse fiction—as shown through a wide variety of real-story examples throughout the book.

Writing Archetypal Character Arcs will teach archetypal beats for each of the six journeysWhich archetypes are right for your particular storyThe best way to use archetypes in a seriesHow to choose the right archetypes for supporting charactersHow to use archetypes to identify your story’s themeYou will also learn how to deepen your stories by implementing shadow archetypes (the negative sides of each positive archetype), resting or “flat” archetypes (the fixed stage between each of the main arcs), and archetypal antagonists (the epic antagonistic forces that oppose each of the positive archetypes in their journeys). The Hero’s Journey is just the beginning.

Learning about archetypal character arcs will change the way you view stories—and life—forever.
Find the Tools to Write Stories Readers Will Never Forget

286 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 30, 2023

277 people are currently reading
427 people want to read

About the author

K.M. Weiland

29 books2,526 followers
K.M. Weiland is the award-winning and internationally published author of acclaimed writing guides such as Structuring Your Novel, Creating Character Arcs, and Writing Archetypal Character Arcs. She writes historical and speculative fiction and mentors authors on her award-winning website Helping Writers Become Authors.

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
2 reviews
June 10, 2023
As human beings, we all go through seasons of experience and growth that force upon us—for good or ill—some measure of maturity. This fascinating book identifies six sequential arcs, or seasons, that comprise a natural lifetime, and applies them to the characters who drive our stories.

This book is not a system for labeling personalities; all personalities pass through these seasons, some more slowly or painfully than others. Rather, it provides a kind of tracking device to help writers plot how and when a character matures sufficiently to complete their particular arc with a satisfying ending.

To this end, Weiland offers tools and nuances—situations, settings, shadows, misplaced beliefs, and more—to help writers propel their story people to the next life stage. And when we identify a character’s current arc, our storytelling can benefit from the pit stops and pitfalls of our own experiences during a similar season. If the in-depth discussions of various arcs seem somewhat academic, do refer to the two appendices, which lay out an overview of the whole system in crystal-clear lists/charts.

And be forewarned: if things start to feel personal, you may suddenly grasp some life-changing realizations about your own life arc, complete with revelations to augment your journey to the next stage!
Profile Image for Charly Troff (JustaReadingMama).
1,634 reviews30 followers
June 20, 2023
I have found previous writing books by this author really helpful. This book was really interesting and I can see how it will be helpful, but I found it less helpful/applicable than the other books I've read by her.

Things I liked:
-The way the book was organized made it really easy to follow and to use/study on future reads
-She covers the archetypes well and in an intuitive way
-she builds the archetypes onto story structure, making it easier to follow and to apply to writing

Things that lacked for me:
-I wished there were more examples, especially throughout the explanations of the archetypes. She has examples at the end of each section and some throughout, and I liked the examples she used. I think because archetypes are so symbolic, though, sometimes she'd explain something and I would have a hard time following, and I felt that if I had a concrete example it would click for me
-some parts were repetitive as I got later into the book. I understand why she did that (as she went deeper and explained other parts of the same archetype), but it felt tedious to go over the same things so often
-While archetypes are interesting and I know there is a lot to learn there, they feel less universal in the details than some story structure (ie catalyst). I can see the use, though, and understand that we seem to intuitively include them in our writing.

Overall, it's a great book if this is a topic you are interested in. I do believe learning about this can improve your writing, but for me, it also is a book that would take more effort/study to fully understand.
Profile Image for Grace.
Author 9 books16 followers
September 3, 2024
Absolutely excellent book about archetypal characters, their journeys/character arcs, and how each one can be used to build a story. This book is so much more than just the latest version of "The Hero's Journey." Well worth reading for any writer, student of literature, or even just someone wanting to understand the phases and seasons of life that are part of the human experience.
Profile Image for Catherine Richmond.
Author 7 books130 followers
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January 6, 2024
Author K.M. Weiland goes beyond the hero's journey to explore other archetypes. The archetypes resonated with my characters, my personal experience, and with prominent people in the news. This book will be helpful for plotting and developing deeper characters.
Profile Image for Melanie.
Author 6 books8 followers
April 8, 2023
K.M. Weiland has a passion for story structure (Structuring Your Novel) and character arc (Creating Character Arcs). Now, she adds to her writing craft oeuvre with Writing Archetypal Character Arcs.
Her journey began with Joseph Campbell’s Monomyth (The Hero’s Journey) and his discussion of Jungian archetypes in his seminal work, The Hero with a Thousand Faces. But Campbell’s work has always lacked the feminine dimension and anything leading up to or following the Monomyth/Hero’s Journey.
To fill this gap, Weiland has read not only the works of Maureen Murdock, Kim Hudson, and Gail Carriger and their interpretations of the heroine’s journey, but she’s also delved deeply into archetypes at all stages of life’s journey through the works of numerous authors. One look at her list of references at the end of Writing Archetypal Character Arcs will make the craft writing book junkie or academic in you drool.
Though I intend to add a number of these books to my reading list (‘cause I’m a geek), you don’t have to. Weiland has studied and skillfully distilled these works into her book and lays them out for writers in an accessible way.
This is a writing craft book that you will want to buy in print and keep at your desk as a reference. It’s that good.
Profile Image for Elaine Milner.
1 review
March 30, 2023
Writing Archetypal Character Arcs by K. M. Weiland is a great book, especially for mid-level to advanced fiction writers or for readers who like to analyze literature. I was thrilled to get an early copy. It is far more specific than the general advice in most fiction writing books. Many people advise using the Hero's Journey, but it's mostly used for fantasy. I never found it to be very useful for my writing. Weiland, after much research on her own, presents 6 major archetypes of which the Hero's Journey is only one. She also explains the shadows of these archetypes, the plot beats to use for each archetype, how characters move from one archetype to another in a sequel or series, and more. This book is helping me to write my middle-grade historical series.
19 reviews
March 30, 2023
This is my first read about archetypes, and I found it a great place to start. I think it helps to have a solid understanding of character arcs and plot structure before reading this.

I do wish there had been a deeper dive exploring how the archetypes can look outside their fantasy roots, but the book includes examples from books and movies to further connect the patterns, so that helped. All in all, I enjoyed learning about archetypes and this book gave me some fresh ideas for mining characters and themes.
Profile Image for Olivia Cornwell.
Author 4 books19 followers
April 9, 2023
This was utterly fantastic.

It opened up a whole new mindset for how I view creating characters. It was complex, but Weiland wrote in in a way that explained it all clearly, and it was easy to follow.

I also appreciated all of the film/book references to go along with each archetype. ❤️

Definitely a book I recommend for any writer's toolbox!
2 reviews
April 9, 2023
Character intuition systematized.

This book is an eye-opener for a general character growth in stories (arcs) in the many stages of life, while also a way of seeing people in real life, by categorising their current life stage. So, recommended for both writers and non-writers.
Very practical and well structured book. 100% recommended.
20 reviews
May 8, 2023
Adorei. Muito completo e prático. Com imensos exemplos práticos, tanto de livros como de filmes, além de relacionar com os "arcos da vida", pois se não sentirmos as histórias como vamos escrevê-las. No fundo a história é uma interpretação da realidade.
Profile Image for Joseph Hirsch.
Author 50 books126 followers
November 19, 2023
Even if you have never read Joseph Campbell’s The Hero with a Thousand Faces, chances are you have still encountered his concept of “monomyths” in fiction. If you’ve seen any of the good Star Wars films (the first three), you have the hero’s journey right there in bright, lightsaber-glowing neon.
The structure has its uses in storytelling, and seems to be engrained in our very DNA. Yet something about its cookie-cutter presentation—the “story beats” and “key moments”—has also struck me as...anticreative. Not just that, but it is very much the character arc of a young man or woman who is still filled with vigor, who believes—contra the actuarial tables and laws of gravity—that you can actually win this thing called life.
That’s what made Writing Archetypal Character Arcs such an illuminating read for me. It deals not just with the hero’s journey—or the years of being sheltered and cosseted in the safety of home and hearth before that. It deals, rather, much more with what comes after, the years where the hero—now victorious—must deal with more shadowy foes, like ageing, betrayal, ennui, and ultimately his own death.
Of course, stock characters and “Saves the Cat” style beat sheets are included (there’s no escaping the Snyder Scat littering the industry.) And in casting about for real examples of the various characters and tropes, the author references a lot of books and films that I don’t really like. That’s moot, though, as the meat of the book—“The Beyond”—in the title “The Hero’s Journey and Beyond”—made it a worthy read for me.
Things rarely work out the way we want them to, and if you stare far enough into the horizon, you’ll see there’s no real victory. Unless, of course, you accept the cyclical nature of life, the ceding of power, the passing on of wisdom, and death as a form of renewal. But to say much more would be to encroach on what author K.M. Weiland has to impart in this book, especially as regards the mage vs. sorcerer arcs. Her handling of the “crone and witch” as archetype and antagonistic shadow archetype is also more nuanced and less “hag-bashing” than it might sound at first blush. Recommended.
Profile Image for Tiffani Sahara.
Author 4 books30 followers
January 31, 2025
One of my goals this year was read more books about story craft. I really enjoy learning about archetypes, mythic structure and symbolism so this book seemed like a perfect fit. It did not disappoint.

What I really like about this book is that it explores different character arcs aside from just the Hero’s Journey which we are probably very familiar with at this point in time. These different types of arcs are put in parallel with different phases of our life, early life, mid life, and late life. We can see how each journey changes as we progress through our own chronological changes.

Aside from exploring different types of character arcs, archetypal villains and shadow selves, flat arcs and more this book also has several tid-bits of very poignant wisdom sprinkled throughout. For example

“In our deeply death-averse culture, we have often avoided stories about the Third Act of life. This is both cause and effect to the reality that just as our modern societies lack crucial initiations for the young (as found in the Maiden and Hero Arcs), they also suffer from a dearth of true Elders—those who have legitimately completed all the previous life arcs and are able to not only undertake their own final and more crucial arcs, but also to act as the archetypal Elders and Mentors who are so catalytic in impacting the younger arcs.

In short, I believe these arcs are desperately important and underserved. It is, in fact, difficult to think of many suitable story examples. More of the time when a Crone or a Mage shows up in a story (especially a popular or genre story) he or she appears as a supporting character within the arc of a younger protagonist.”

This book certainly gave me a lot to think about. It is full of examples of different characters from books and movies that provide good reference points for both heroes and villains as well as some rough beat sheets for different arcs.

I would say this is a great book for anyone looking to introduce some mythic concepts into your writing or for someone looking for an alternative to the Hero’s Journey.
Profile Image for Nikki Morton.
86 reviews16 followers
May 25, 2024
Another solid installment on story theory and structure by K.M. Weiland. I have been following her for years through her books and her blog, and have learned so much from her. This book was my first about archetypes and gave me much to chew on when brainstorming character types and their stories. I loved how she outlined the six basic archetypes and their shadows, as well as their antagonists. K.M. always offers examples, which I greatly appreciate. The two appendices she included at the end will be a great help when needing to reference an overview. The first one gives an abbreviated overview of all the archetypes in chronological order; the second gives a brief description of how they fit into the story beats of the three act story structure. A fantastic addition to my novel writing reference section!
Profile Image for Joseph Slonaker.
11 reviews
April 13, 2023
I think I own pretty much all of her books, and this is an excellent addition to my collection. Simply put: K.M. did not disappoint.

A few years ago, I decided to leave the "novel writing" world, and pursue a Screenwriting goal. While they are two different worlds, the basis is the same. A good story is paramount. Katie does an excellent job of teaching a "road map" on how to achieve this. Not only does she teach you how you can achieve a great foundation, but they way she writes it floods the reader with ideas to improve/add to their story.

One piece of advice: Read this with a notepad close by. Take notes. Every paragraph you'll either have an "A-HA!" moment, or a handful of new ideas for your current, or future characters.
Profile Image for Chelsea ❍ * ˚ ✦.
4 reviews2 followers
July 14, 2025
An astoundingly useful book for authors who want to write resonant, mythopoetic stories. As a writer inspired by mythology, fairytales, and Jungian psychology, I found this book extremely helpful for structuring my character arcs. Weiland really successfully condenses quite a lot of sources on archetypal characters in her discussion of six common thematic character types, helpfully breaking each down into the story beats they go through during their arcs. I loved her takes on the negative versions of each type, too. Highly recommend for those who understand the hero's journey but are interested in other versions of the journey, especially characters who are female, older, or darker than the typical "hero."
Profile Image for Jennifer Moore.
Author 3 books7 followers
April 3, 2023
K.M. Weiland once again gives this writer much to consider. 6 life arcs, (Hero's Journey being only 1) 12 shadow archetypes, 6 flat arcs, 12 archetypal antagonists, plus an overview on how to use them. I am certain that one single reading will not be enough to wrap my head around the sheer amount of information the author has compiled. I look forward to using the comprehensive data to create characters in each of the arcs until I have collected them all.

Whether you are an aspiring author or hobbist writer, K.M.Weiland is well worth your time no matter which of her craft books you choose.
Profile Image for J.
286 reviews3 followers
December 16, 2023
Very informative and intelligently written. I’m very convinced K.M. Weiland knows her stuff. These archetypes can be vague, but it also makes them easier to apply to your stories or life.

I realized I’m going through my Queen arc!

My only bummer is completely personal. I understand that H*rry P*tter is a childhood favorite for many and everyone knows how the story goes, so it’s easy to reference to. But R*wling continuously spreads hate on social media to trans folks and that affects me personally. It’s time to let those books die. So I didn’t enjoy the references to the series.
Profile Image for Cara.
743 reviews1 follower
May 29, 2024
Idk why I forced myself to finish this book. It definitely felt a bit over my head, talking about all these archetypes and how to use them in writing, but since I like kissing books I feel like most of the archetypes I see are Maiden figures. I should have just read the 1/6 of the book focusing on that instead of muddling through discussions of Crones and Mages and their shadow archetypes and antagonists and story arcs etc. If you’re into that sort of thing, then more power to you, but this book kind of melted my brain.
Profile Image for Annie Lima.
Author 34 books174 followers
April 13, 2023
What a valuable writing resource! This is an in-depth look at some of the main character archetypes and how authors can use them in our stories. It's heavy reading - don't expect to get through it quickly or to get much out of it if you multitask while reading. But it's worth sitting down and focusing on what we can learn from these archetypes and how to apply them effectively as writers. I'm definitely thankful I have this to add to my writing toolkit.
Profile Image for Terri London Mabel.
Author 1 book10 followers
April 23, 2023
I followed this series on Weiland's website and it was one of the best writing blog series I've read--just because it's so creative! I'm now using the book for review and reference purposes.

For creators, the book provides a wealth of ideas about characters, antagonists, arcs, and plot beats. For those interested in media analysis, it provides lots of framework ideas for watching films / TV. (I thought about it a lot while watching Ted Lasso!)
Profile Image for Alina Rubin.
Author 9 books62 followers
September 11, 2023
I've read several books on writing craft and story structure. This one was the hardest to follow and understand. I'm so happy to be done. I'd quit much earlier if not for my book club that analyzed every chapter in detail. While we learned a lot, I'm sure this information could've been presented in an easier way. The most helpful part were the examples from well-known books and movies, although I wish the author gave more explanation how those character arcs were applied.
Profile Image for Amber Helt.
9 reviews
November 25, 2023
An incredible tool for character arcs for all stages of life. This tool can be used alongside Save the Cat to create dynamic life cycles for characters of all growth stages and conflict patterns. It's especially helpful for large ensemble casts over a series or for trying to create dynamic antagonist duos with your protagonist. Excellent, excellent.
Profile Image for Joseph.
10 reviews12 followers
December 28, 2023
One of the more original writing books I’ve read in a while. The archetypes Weiland lays out feel flexible and broad enough to be useful in a wide variety of stories. And like all the best insights into the craft of writing, I felt that learning about them deepened my understanding not just of story, but of life.
1,705 reviews3 followers
January 2, 2024
I've read the blog posts this was based on and found them extremely interesting. I've also used her outlining books. They helped me develop my first story. I've since realized I'm a pantser and work best with a minimal outline and a good sense of who my characters are. This will be a great help to me in creating future stories.
Profile Image for Luna Jordan.
Author 2 books55 followers
March 13, 2025
I honestly expected this to be a lot more helpful, but instead, I got completely disappointed. A waste of my money. I tried to push through but god, it got too complex. What happened to keeping things simple? Is that not allowed anymore? We gotta confuse people now? Also, like, you can just use Google; you’d get a lot more out of that than this.
Profile Image for Goldberry.
127 reviews
July 3, 2023
I've just bought this book and it's already jumped to my top 5 major writing texts! Another extraordinarily insightful treasure from Katie.

From following her blog, I appreciate just much of the book's material she has made available for free there- thank you :)
Profile Image for Daniela .
72 reviews
July 5, 2023
The first half was better than the second half. The second half is too complex for me, and I lost track of what I was reading and what it meant in context. The other books of Weiland are better put across.
Profile Image for Samantha .
116 reviews
August 29, 2023
This is brilliant. Not only did I finally understand the hero's journey, but I also understood all the other character arcs that I'm mad that I've never heard of before! These are the bones of characters and people.
Profile Image for Kelly.
Author 21 books25 followers
January 27, 2024
This guide helps clarify and label patterns I recognize in reading, writing, and editing others' work. I will go back and reference it often as I move forward with the outline of my new series. It will also be one of the ones I recommend to new writers.
Profile Image for Mathew Fleming .
96 reviews2 followers
September 12, 2025
Another fantastic book on story theory is that Weiland teaches you story theory while also making the connection of story theory in our own lives. Learning more about story theory from Weiland is a fantastic way to learn both story development and personal development at the same time.
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