Story Structure #25: Act III, Stage 12: Return with the Elixer

Time to bring the boon back to the Ordinary World. New life – for the Hero, for his world – is ever changed. The Ordinary World is no longer as Ordinary.

Return with the Elixer

• Tying up loose ends – closing the circle
  • New questions OK, but all old must be resolved, or at least restated
  • Circular Form – narrative returns to starting point (full circle)
    • Happy endings
  • Open-Ended Form – story-telling goes on after book is over – leave conclusions to readers
    • Posing new questions
    • Imperfect endings – realism – challenge cultural assumptions
• Return is last chance to touch readers’ emotions – Do it intentionally!
  • Satisfy them, or
  • Provoke them
• Needs some unexpected – twist – misdirection
• Reward and punishment doled out – poetic justice
• Elixer – what does Hero bring from Special World to Ordinary World to share?
  • Literal or metaphoric, but sharing is needed for a true Hero
  • Hero shares the fruits of his quest
    • With others in the Ordinary World
    • With readers, or
    • With both
  • Love, responsibility, wisdom, clarity, experience, money, fame, thrill…
• Pitfalls of the Return – Avoid these!
  • Unresolved subplots – all need to be acknowledged or resolved in Return
    • All subplots should have at least 3 beats (scenes) distributed throughout, one in each act
      • Their resolution is found here
  • Too many endings – KISS – pick an ending, go with it
  • Abrupt ending – need emotional space to decompress
  • Lack of FOCUS!
    • Answer questions raised in Act I and Tested in Acts II and III
    • Did you ask the right dramatic question?
    • Keep theme consistent
  • Lack of Punctuation – ., ?, !, … End with one (strong!) – even if it’s a ‘.’

That’s it. We’ve come to the end. Can you believe it? Whirlwind tour of the Hero’s Journey complete. Next time we’ll wrap things up regarding Christopher Vogler’s model. Stay tuned!

A printable version, for your reference, can be found here: Stage 12: Return with the Elixer

To view a chronological listing of the posts in this series, continue below:

• Structure Series #1: First Things First, or Donald Maass Strikes Again (6/8/2015)
• Structure Series #2: Plotting for the Pantser (6/11/2015)
• Structure Series #3: To Begin… a Story Engineering overview (6/18/2015)
• Structure Series #4: Part One (6/24/2015)
• Structure Series #5: First Plot Point (7/1/2015)
• Structure Series #6: Part Two (and Pinch Point One) (7/5/2015)
• Structure Series #7: Midpoint (7/10/2015)
• Story Structure #8: Part Three (and Pinch Point Two) (7/15/2015)
• Story Structure #9: Second Plot Point (7/21/2015)
• Story Structure #10: Part Four (7/27/2015)
• Story Structure #11: Story Engineering Wrap-Up (8/16/2015)
• Story Structure #12: Introducing The Writer’s Journey (8/19/2015)
• Story Structure #13: The Writer’s Journey: The Archetypes and the Map (8/20/2015)
• Story Structure #14: Act I, Stage 1: The Ordinary World (8/21/2015)
• Story Structure #15: Act I, Stage 2: The Call to Adventure (8/22/2015)
• Story Structure #16: Act I, Stage 3: Refusal of the Call (8/23/2015)
• Story Structure #17: Act I, Stage 4: Meeting with the Mentor (8/24/2015)
• Story Structure #18: Act I, Stage 5: Crossing the First Threshold (8/25/2015)
• Story Structure #19: Act II, Stage 6: Tests, Allies, and Enemies (8/26/2015)
• Story Structure #20: Act II, Stage 7: Approach to the Inmost Cave (8/27/2015)
• Story Structure #21: Act II, Stage 8: The Ordeal (8/28/2015)
• Story Structure #22: Act II, Stage 9: Seizing the Reward (8/29/2015)
• Story Structure #23: Act III, Stage 10: The Road Back (8/30/2015)
• Story Structure #24: Act III, Stage 11: The Resurrection (8/31/2015)
• Story Structure #25: Act III, Stage 12: Return with the Elixer (9/1/2015)
• Story Structure #26: Wrap-Up (9/2/2015)