The Call to Adventure

Something disrupts the hero’s status quo — a problem, threat, or invitation that pushes them toward change. It may come as a message, a messenger, or even the collapse of their old life.

Common Forms of the Call

• A message or messenger arrives (R2-D2’s hologram in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope →)
• Temptation - the allure of power, riches, or romance (Aladdin is drawn to the Cave of Wonders by the promise of treasure)
• Loss - something removed from the hero’s ordinary world. Loss of family, friends, or something more intangible. (Simba flees after Mufasa’s death in The Lion King)
• Running out of options - coping fails or circumstances force change (In Sister Act, Deloris is forced into witness protection under the guise of a nun after witnessing a mob murder)
• Dire warnings of doom (Frodo is warned by Gandalf that the Ring must be taken away from the Shire)
• Forced or cornered into it (Alice falls down the rabbit hole)

Refusal of the Call

In many stories, the hero doesn't immediately leap at the chance of adventure. They hesitate, resist, or outright refuse. This reluctance serves several important narrative functions:

• Raises the stakes: The hesitation highlights the perilous, dangerous, or unknown nature of the journey ahead. If a character agrees to the adventure as casually as going to the grocery store, the audience will doubt whether the challenge is truly significant.
• Reflects natural human behavior: When confronted with change versus comfort, people naturally ask, "Is this really necessary?" and "Am I the right person for this task?"
• Reveals character: How a hero resists tells us volumes about them. Do they protest, make excuses, or voice self-doubt? Why do they protest? Their refusal offers an early glimpse of their deeper personality.

Writing Tips

• Opportunity to reveal character: The Call and Refusal are opportunities to showcase your protagonist’s deeper personality traits early in the story. What do they fear? What do they value? How sure of themselves are they? For example, if your protagonist is a cop, how they refuse can say a lot about who they are:
• The Jaded Cop: refuses by pointing out all the ways this could go wrong, showing cynicism earned from past bad experiences
• The Young Rookie: Cites departmental rules, revealing their inexperience and dependence on authority
• The Burned-Out Veteran: Refuses by choosing self-preservation, showing exhaustion and a loss of faith in the system
• Not every story should have a refusal: For some protagonists, hesitation will feel false. If your hero is eager to abandon their ordinary life, forcing a Refusal just to follow the template will undercut their character consistency. Instead, you can heighten the stakes by letting other characters voice the danger — warning both the hero and the audience of what lies ahead.

Works Mentioned

• Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865)
• George Lucas (dir.), Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977)
• Emile Ardolino (dir.), Sister Act (1992)
• Ron Clements & John Musker (dir.), Disney’s Aladdin (1992). Based on “Aladdin and the Magic Lamp” from One Thousand and One Nights.
• Roger Allers & Rob Minkoff (dir.), The Lion King (1994)
• J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (1954)

• The Call to Adventure
• Common Forms of the Call
• Refusal of the Call
• Writing Tips
• Works Mentioned