Note: This article is best experienced in rich audio.
You can hear this on substack, or by looking up ‘Story Paths’ on your favourite podcast player.
Below you’ll find an introduction, and the story prompts from this issue, so you can easily refer to them.
Welcome to the Story Path newsletter and podcast, a Story Elements Edition.
Journeys: Part six: The Return.
In the previous parts of this exploration of journeys, in story and in life, we looked at different possible destinations, the amazing journeys of different creatures, and considered how these journeys might help us reflect upon as humans. Then we moved beyond our planet.
It's been a wonderful journey exploring journeys, and yet all journeys must end. Journeys do not all end in the same way. Today we will explore different possible endings and how we might craft good returns for those we care for who are journeying. Whether personal relationships, clients or otherwise.
(Listen above)
Prompts
(Take one, none, many or all. I suggest you write a response, or speak it aloud, or discuss them with a friend, or just think about them)
-Imagine a character who embarks on a transformative journey, encountering profound experiences, only to return to a place that remains unchanged. Write about their struggles to reintegrate into a familiar yet unrecognizable world. How do they struggle when their internal changes being unseen by their people?
-Create a fictional society or culture where returning from a journey, whether physical or metaphorical, is celebrated with deep reception ceremonies. Describe these customs in detail and the impact they have on the returning individual. How do these ceremonies shape the community's perception of journeys and change?
I look forward to hearing your thoughts, if you’d like to share.
Story Elements - Journeys: The Return