Fireside Chat: The Crack In the Blade

I’ve had this thought for quite some time, and I come back to it from time to time in my novels. When I read The Hero With A Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell, he referred to a concept called The Hero’s Journey, something which is well known in literary circles. It explains the many trials and tribulations which a hero faces through a story and is a template which can be attributed to pretty much every story which has ever been written.

In the stories I write, I wanted to do something that would set mine apart from this template, but would still remain faithful to it in a macro level. What i came up with was not by changing the formula, but through what happens to the hero of the story. In my approach, the hero attempts to remain who he is in a world which he knows that he cannot change, and will refuse the boon if that is what it takes to remain who he is. This does not mean he does not grow as a character, but he will not allow his moral compass to be swayed by the world, nor will he allow his actions to be judged through the lens of society. This is what I call the Crack in the Blade, his chink in the armor, his fatal flaw. It is the one thing which keeps him from obtaining his ultimate aim, because he isn’t willing to compromise his morals to obtain happiness. I wonder how many people are like this in the world today?