ONE WRITER'S OBSTACLE:
As a new writer, I watched hundreds of new writer videos and read any number of how-to articles. Everyone referenced the Hero's Journey. All the experts claimed that all stories fit within this template and this would keep a newbie on track.
For whatever reason -- maybe I'm thick or a simpleton -- I was not able to wrap my head around making a mystery romance story fit into a hero's journey template. And believe me, I tried looking at it from ten different angles. This was the first obstacle I came upon. My first novel, which turned into a series, was about a private investigator who investigated mysteries but also had a character arc that had nothing to do with a quest or battling anyone. To this day, I must confess, I still don't get the Hero's Journey.
Years ago before I even thought of writing, I watched a video series given by a writer and professor named Joseph Campbell who
first popularized this 'hero's journey'. If I remember the series of talks correctly, his specialty or his great love was that of mythology. Now, mythology, if I remember from my one course in school, was all based on quests and heroics of some sort. So I do see how mythology fits into the hero's journey. I just can't get how it pertains to crime mysteries, mystery romance or psychological mysteries.
Believe me, I tried so many times to reinterpret my stories into "The Hero's Journey" and I was never able to make it work. I also tried to envision the hero's journey when I read other writer's fiction, and I didn't see a hero's journey in their works either. At some point I did just give up with the hero's journey acknowledging that I must have a mental block about it.
WRITING MY OWN MYSTERY INSTRUCTIONAL:
During this same struggle, I also searched the internet high and low for a mystery writing template that didn't use the hero's journey, and although I found a few, they were still too esoteric in nature. They all appeared to be built on the hero's journey in one way or another. None of them mentioned the crime, clue dropping or anything you commonly find in any mystery, mystery suspense, psychological mystery, or even cozy mysteries.
Now, eight novels later, I have made my own Writing a Mystery Novel Instructional as well as a Mystery Novel Template. This is not being offered as any superior template, or even a workable template as I still consider myself too new of an author. But I do offer these to others who find themselves trying to put square stories into the round holes of the Hero's Journey. Maybe this can save you the frustration and hours of searching I wound up doing. That is my purpose for this offer.
I don't have a nice graphic with a slueth's circle, but this Mystery Novel Template helps me get my thoughts organized. I offer it as a #writerstool for newbies. This is another "I wish I had it when I started" tool.