From Zero to Hero - Dreem-WOTW S2 R6

Ok, first off, this month the timeframe for Dreem-WOTW is a little tighter than usual. You have until Tuesday 25th July to come up with a response to the remit.

This month we are doing something different once again. Instead of a word prompt to write to, we have chosen to set as the remit for your post, the use of The Hero's Journey as the narrative structure and backbone to the story you will tell, whether that be through fiction, creative non-fiction, or poetry.

"What is The Hero's Journey?" You ask.

Quite simply it is a narrative structure that provides a more detailed character arc than most that exist in literature, but it is a well-known and loved construct. It can be used to describe a Hero's outward or inner journey, and sometimes acts as a mirror within a story, telling both outward and inner journeys in one... where the one is reflective of the other.

So how do I use it? What exactly are you asking us to do this month?

The 12 stages of the Hero's Journey can be found very adequately described in an article written by Dan Bronzite called The Hero's Journey - Mythic Structure of Joseph Campbell's Monomyth and these 12 stages map out the character arc so that anyone wanting to learn more about the art of storytelling can follow the structure with relative ease. It's a nice skill to have in one's repertoire!

But isn't following the rules boring, Sam?

Well... yes and no... if you struggle to write good character and story arcs then you may find it useful to write a story following the 12-stage structure more closely so that you can gain a skill and put it to use, adapting it as necessary, when you write stories in future.

Perhaps you are very familiar with creating character arcs but have never used the structure of The Hero's Journey before and would like to try it. Or maybe you want to use and put your own narrative spin on it, mixing things up a little?

Deb Peterson in 'An Introduction to the Hero's Journey says, '"It's important to remember that the hero's journey is a guideline only. Like grammar, once you know and understand the rules, you can break them. Nobody likes a formula. The hero's journey is not a formula. It gives you the understanding you need to take familiar expectations and turn them on their heads in creative defiance. The values of the hero's journey are what's important: symbols of universal life experience, archetypes."_{Deb Petersen}

Some of the greatest fiction writers have bucked the system and flipped the narrative occasionally. Rule breaking, when done well and with purpose, can yield some very interesting and excellent results.

I am certain that if we consider The Hero's Journey, we can come up with many different and interesting variants to the theme, think Star Wars, Harry Potter, The Wizard of Oz! So, whatever your personal view may be, dreem-wotw invites you to submit either a short story (fiction), creative non-fiction, or poem with The Hero's Journey as the backbone of the story.

This month the Dreemport submission date is:

Tuesday 25 July between 4 am UTC and 23h59 UTC

Please note...

IT IS THE ONLY DATE AND TIMEFRAME WITHIN WHICH SUBMISSIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED FOR THE S2 R6 CONTEST IN DREEMPORT.

The curation/submission cycle starts and ends at these times so there is unfortunately little room for flexibility. All valid submissions to Dreemport will be reviewed and ranked by public curators the following day.

If you want to have your voice heard in this respect, simply log on the next day and curate and rank the 5 random contest posts assigned to you. This part is highly advisable, as part of the grading process includes an allocation of points for engagement... but engagement is only assessed if you do Dreemport curation of the contest posts in Dreemport on the day following the contest submission date.

The top 5 in Dreemport will automatically be shortlisted for grading for dreem-wotw prizes, alongside other entries of merit put forward by members of the grading team. We will also be able to access the top 5 Dreemport staff entries in the background and will run two contest pools to keep staff and public entries separate 😊

The dreem-wotw team will then use a Merit grading system that incorporates some aspects of the ORIGINAL Merit Grading Model developed by @scholaris and others added by @juliamulcahy in order to determine the winners.

How to use Dreemport
If you have not used Dreemport before, you will need to register on dreemport.com, which is a quick and easy process.

You may want to start by taking a look at these videos by @dreemsteem ...

Getting started on dreemport

If anyone has any difficulty registering and trying out the platform, please tag me or @wrestlingdesires here on this post and we will help you to get this little piece of admin out of the way as painlessly as possible 😊

This month we are thankful to the following sponsors:

@dreemsteem and @dreemport for Dreem tokens

@melinda010100 and @ecency for Ecency point sponsorship

@dibblers.dabs and @jfuji and The Scholar and Scribe creative writing community for Scholar and Scribe tokens.

@amberkashif for Ecency point sponsorship

@wesphilbin for LUV tokens

This month Dreem-Wotw sponsors Dreemport Featured posts, Hive, and HBI, and adds to the Ecency point prizes.

Scholar and Scribe Sponsorship

If your entry is short story fiction or poetry, feel free to post it in the Scholar and Scribe community. All entries (no matter where you post them) can use the #scholarandscribe tag if you wish—this will help you earn both SCHOLAR and SCRIBE tokens.

Learn more about S&S here and consider joining the community if you haven’t already.

Official Prizes will be as follows:

Public:

1st: 500 Dreem Tokens, 1 Dreemport Featured Post, 350 Ecency points, 5 Hive, 100 Scholar, 2 Scribe, 10 LUV

2nd: 300 Dreem tokens, 200 Ecency points, 2 HBI, 50 Scholar, 10 LUV

3rd: 150 Dreem Tokens, 150 Ecency points, 1 HBI, 50 Scholar, 10 LUV

4th: 150 Ecency points, 10 LUV

5th: 150 Ecency points, 10LUV

Dreemport Staff:

1st : 300 Dreem tokens, 350 Ecency points, 5 Hive, 100 Scholar, 2 Scribe, 10 LUV

2nd: 150 Ecency points, 10LUV

3rd: 150 Ecency points, 10LUV

Miscellaneous prizes:

For using the Ecency front end:
Each entry made using the Ecency front end will receive 25 Ecency points sponsored by Dreem-WOTW.

Participation draw:
All participants will be entered into a random draw and there will be 1 winner of 150 Ecency points.

Promotion draw:
Anyone who tags at least 2 new people (not already tagged in the post) who they think would like to take part in the contest, will be entered into another random draw where 1 person will win 150 Ecency points.

Good luck folks and I hope to see lots of people taking part this month🤗

All new entrants each month will be added to the list.

Please let me know if you would prefer not to be tagged and you will be removed from the list, and if you are reading this and would like to be tagged going forward, please comment below and I will add you💗.

@abdul-qudus @acgalarza @adoore-eu @ahmadmanga @alonicus @alekst7 @amberkashif @amiegeoffrey @amirtheawesome1 @anonymous02 @aroojkhalid @atyourservice @ayesha-malik @balikis95 @bananzell @beeber @belleflower @blackdaisyft @bluefinstudios @bnbsc @bobthebuilder2 @b0s @buezor @cescajove @chincoculbert @cool08 @coquicoin @corporateay @creatr @curiouscatho @daje10 @dansabest9 @darthsauron @deeanndmathews @deraaa @dibblers.dabs @diebitch @d-pend @dreemsteem @dwixer @edystringz @erh.germany @esther-emmanuel @flamistan @fragozar01 @freedomprepper @funshee @george-dee @giftedwriter @grindan @grocko @hannes-stoffel @harryjoe5432 @hazmat @hollowins @hopestylist @idksamad78699 @idlemind @ifarmgirl @ijohnsen @intishar @iskawrites @itsostylish @iwannabeme @jane1289 @jaxsonmurph @jfuji @jhymi @jjmusa2004 @joseph23 @juliamulcahy @julti1985 @kamarah @kei2 @kemmyb @kenechukwu97 @khaleesii @killerwot @kilvnrex @ksam @leeart @lightpen @litguru @lordtimoty @marbrym @maryjacy @mcyusuf @memeisfun @merit.ahama @mineopoly @mmykel @morenow @mrenglish @mypathtofire @nevies @ngwinndave @nkemakonam89 @nonsowrites @oblivioncubed @oceanbee @officialrosh1 @olawalium @olujay @palomap3 @penderis @pinkchic @princessbusayo @queenstarr @rare-gem @repayme4568 @restcity @riverflows @rukkie @sam9999 @samiwrites @seki1 @shadowspub @simgirl @smc.arike.oba @snook @stevehodl @stevemuis @strangegravy @strega.azure @stuartcturnbull @sunbeam3 @taimen @talon12 @tengolotodo @teknon @timmy-turnip @treasuree @unklebonehead @vikbuddy @wongi @wrestlingdesires @zyzymena

I am also tagging a few new Hivers that I have started to get to know this past month: @ma3str0 @jazclassic @luchyl @madeirane @veganuss.family @les90 Would any of you folks be interested in joining a writing contest each month? It's fun, adventurous, challenging - but mostly fun!!!

Header image Hero Confident Boy by Alphaspirit in Canva Pro

Image 2 Inner Journey by Pixhookin Canva Pro

Infinity divider created using Canva Pro library.

GIFS from giphy.com

Dreemport banner used with permission of @dreemsteem and @dreemport and designed by @jimramones

Scholar and Scribe Banner used with permission of @dibblers.dabs and @jfuji

Ecency floral logo designed by thekittygirl. No credit required.

Writer 'nd a Half banner created by @penderis and used with permission, simply because it brings me joy.