Like other genres, inspirational romance includes
internal and external journeys. However, the heroine
is not only battling with how her internal flaw
is preventing her from reaching her goal, she
is also battling with how her internal flaw is
preventing her from living a faith-filled life.
To paraphrase the multi-published Terri Reed from
the RWA National “Writing the Inspirational
Novel: Keeping It Real and Relevant” workshop,
an inspirational romance needs to incorporate
three types of needs into the story arc: romance,
plot, and faith.
In order to ensure the faith journey of the heroine
is just as developed (and interconnected with)
the romance and plot, Vogler’s Hero’s
Journey can be used as a plotting device. The
heroine will confront her faith in the following
stages:
- Ordinary World
The heroine is going about her everyday business,
either living a life of faith or not. A believing
character must have a flaw in her faith. A non-believer
may or may not notice her lack of faith. To
strengthen the journey, her personal flaw, the
flaw keeping her from the internal/external
goals and from a meaningful romantic relationship,
should also be keeping her from completely living
her faith. She may not be aware she has a problem
with her faith.
- Call to Adventure
The heroine will be faced with a situation,
problem or challenge where she is called to
fix her faith journey. For a believing character,
something will happen whereby she notices something
lacking in her faith. For a non-believing character,
she will recognize something is lacking in her
life. A non-believing character doesn’t
necessarily have to recognize this missing piece
as faith.
- Refusal of the Call
Because it’s easier to stay the same rather
than to change, and often because of fear, the
heroine will refuse to take the next step in
her faith journey.
- Meeting with the Mentor
The heroine comes across a person that gives
her advice or sets an example for her as a person
of faith. This gives the heroine the courage
to take the next step. For a nonbeliever, the
mentor may not overtly discuss faith, but will
likely present an example of how faith makes
for a richer life and is the ultimate goal.
- Crossing the First Threshold
The heroine, because of her interaction with
the mentor and key plot elements, is willing
to step out of her faith (or lack-of-faith)
comfort zone. For a believer, a step will be
taken to acknowledge an incomplete faith. This
may also happen for non-believers, but a nonbeliever
could plausibly acknowledge that something in
her life is lacking, and without being sure
of what is missing, take the next step to search
(even though she doesn’t know what she’s
looking for).
- Tests, Allies, Enemies
Just like the heroine must come across tests,
allies, and enemies in her romantic and plot
journeys, she will come across allies that help
her find faith, enemies that tempt her to lose
faith, and tests that force her to address the
flaw keeping her from all her goals. Throughout,
she begins to give herself over to her faith,
but does not know how to complete the journey
to full faith.
- Approaching the Innermost Cave
The heroine’s attempts to find faith or
to mend her existing faith have taken her further
from her faith goal, and she realizes she will
have to try something completely different in
order to get to where she wants to be. The approach
to her ‘faith’ cave will have the
most impact if she discovers her ordeal will
clash with her inner flaw and/or overarching
fear.
- Supreme Ordeal
The heroine must face the “villain”
(either a part of herself or something external
to her) that is preventing her from fully living
a believing life. She will surrender herself
over to her faith to defeat the villain.
- Seizing the Reward
Through conquering this villain, the heroine
has now opened herself up to solving her romantic
and plot conflicts. Through the Ordeal, she
will gain some knowledge or ability to solve
the rest of her problems. For inspirational
romance to portray real faith, the heroine has
to put her beliefs in order before she can put
the rest of her life in order.
- The Road Back
Though the heroine was victorious in the Ordeal,
the heroine must return to the Ordinary World
to prove what she has learned – to prove
she has completely surrendered as a believer.
- The Climax/Resurrection
The heroine will face her ultimate test in the
romance/plot, and the conflict between her inner
flaw and the romance/plot will tempt her to
return to the incomplete or nonexistent faith
from before she crossed the first Threshold.
Though she considers this temptation, she ultimately
chooses to stick with her fully believing life.
- Return with Elixir
Her new-proven faith will allow her to solve
the romance/plot issues for good and to achieve
her Happily Ever After.
References: Vogler, Christopher (1992). The
Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Storytellers
and Screenwriters. Studio City, CA.: Michael
Wiese Productions
A member of RWA-GVC, when Merilee Larson isn't
juggling writing contemporary category romance
and her day job, she's busy with her family or
with bending herself into a Bikram Yoga pretzel.
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