The Hero Is You: Sharpen Your Focus, Conquer Your Demons, and Become the Writer You Were Born to Be

Drawing from the mythological archetypes of Joseph Campbell, who theorized that many stories follow the universal plot arc of the “hero’s journey,” Levin (Arrested Development Mad Libs) has designed an extensive writing-as-therapy tool for writers. The premise of Levin’s therapeutic process: being a writer and working on a project is similar to being Campbell’s archetypal hero. Inspired by this conceit, Levin has expanded it into a self-analysis study for writers. To help readers tackle different writing difficulties, self-examination questions appear in each chapter ; these include “what do certain fantasies offer you that you aren’t getting in your real life?” and “what will happen if you continue to write nothing?” Though these questions might be apt, they also evoke a too-long psychotherapy session, and are too numerous for readers to tackle many of them in depth. Books about writing often devote ample space to becoming published, but Levin chooses to focus squarely on helping her readers establish a productive routine. Sprinkled throughout are personal accounts of writers who followed the “hero’s journey” model with success. Levin’s myth-inspired strategy should prove inspiring for first-time writers. (Nov.)