My job as a writer is to tell stories. I often say I make things up for a living, but which stories I tell – and how I tell them – is influenced more than I realise by the stories around me.

The dominant story pattern in western culture, and increasingly beyond, is called the hero’s journey. In it, someone sets out from their ordinary life on a quest full of tests and trials, leading to a big ordeal – often a battle – from which they return home changed, or having changed the world. The hero might be a hobbit, a student or a young wizard, and although they may be seeking different things, the ...

 

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