I've been working a bit with the Monomyth lately (the Hero's Journey structure). I got a new Joseph Campbell book and I've been re-reading Vogler's "The Writer's Journey" as a way to get a different perspective for "Tantalus and Sweet Charity". Boy howdy did I.

Okay, so when I wrote "Tantalus" I did so using the plot skeleton formula, which I heard about on a podcast from the Odyssey writer's workshop. (Show #11 of the podcast). Just to make it more challenging and interesting, I wrote the story in first person from both Rage and Trouble's perspectives, alternating between them. They both go through the entire plot skeleton structure. After I got done with the first draft, I let it go for a couple days and in my sudden influx of spare time started re-reading Vogler's book again.

I've now spent the last couple of hours analyzing the story ("Tantalus") on the Monomyth structure, and it's changed my entire conception of the story. This isn't just a simple adventure to rescue Rage. The entire story is about violation, trauma, and about reconciliation and healing from them.

I was going through the whole thing and finding more and more indications of this in the dialogue and action and getting more and more creeped out. This is the kind of thing you pray for as a writer, but at the same time it can completely freak you out seeing the stuff in your story you didn't even know or intend to put in there. You go into it to write a simple adventure rescue story. You come out with a psychological story about violation and healing. And that kind of story was the furtherest thing from you conscious mind when you wrote it.

IT ... FREAKS... YOU... OUT.

More later as events warrant.