The RITES OF PASSAGE Genre
BJ Markel
1 min read
A hero suffering through a relatable life problem (divorce, growing up, death, mid-life crisis, etc.) tries to solve it by avoidance instead of tackling it head-on. Like most heroes, they choose the wrong path and ultimately need to learn the hard way, for only the experience can offer a solution. The end point of these stories is acceptance of our humanity.
The 3 elements of a RITES OF PASSAGE story are:
1) A life problem: from puberty to midlife to death—these are the universal passages we all understand.
2) A wrong way to attack the mysterious problem, usually a diversion from confronting the pain.
3) A solution that involves acceptance of a hard truth the hero has been fighting, and the knowledge it’s the hero that must change, not the world around them.
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BJ Markel
BJ Markel first worked with Blake Snyder in 1986. He edited Blake's three Save the Cat! books and co-founded Blake Snyder Enterprises, LLC with Blake in 2005. In his other life, BJ worked in video acquisitions and entertainment marketing, including 20 years at the Walt Disney Company.
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