Our 3rd Annual Heroine's Writing Contest!

Announcing the 3rd Annual Heroine’s Writing Contest!

“This is not the time for a single hero’s voice to rise above the rest.
It’s the moment for many voices—real, raw, and radiant—to tell the stories that awaken us all.”
— Inspired by Transformational Speaking, Gail Larsen

“May you choose to risk your significance.”
— Dawna Markova, Wide Open: On Living with Passion and Purpose

You know you have a story to tell.

People have been nudging you to start writing it—or maybe it’s been whispering inside you for years, waiting for the right moment. This is your moment.

Fourteen years after the very first Heroine’s Journey Writing Contest—and now entering its third chapter—we’re calling again for women’s voices, the kind that rise from courage, truth, and transformation. More and more women are realizing they are Heroines, walking paths of awakening that don’t involve slaying dragons or claiming thrones.

Our dragons are internal: doubt, silence, fear of being “too much.”
Our victories come through speaking up, setting boundaries, and choosing authenticity over approval.

Across coaching sessions, retreats, and conversations, I’ve seen this truth again and again: every woman has a Heroine’s Journey story to tell. And once you understand the mythic framework—the arc of the journey—you start to see it everywhere: in your own life, in your sister’s, your grandmother’s, your best friend’s.

Why Enter?

Because the ripple effect is real.
When you write your story through the lens of the Heroine’s Journey, you begin to see life differently. You recognize the courage that has shaped you. You reclaim meaning in moments you once dismissed as “just something that happened.”

Once you see the pattern, you can’t unsee it. You’ll spot it in conversations, in films, in the small moments of bravery that change everything. And most of all—you’ll see it in yourself.

Joseph Campbell said it best in The Power of Myth:

“When the story is in your mind, you see its relevance to something happening in your own life. It gives you perspective... and helps you find the guide-signs along the way.”

This contest isn’t only about writing—it’s about remembering who you are.

Contest Guidelines

The Contest Page on the weHeroines website has all the details. Read them carefully: https://www.weheroines.com/writingcontest Here are the highlights:

The Heroine’s Writing Contest is open to all—published or unpublished, seasoned or brand-new writers. Previously published work is welcome, as long as it’s your own and fits within the guidelines below:

•  Submit your original story (up to 3 pages / 750 words, double-spaced).
•  Multiple entries are allowed.
•  You must be registered to submit your story:
  Register here.
•  Once registered, you’ll receive weekly emails with inspiration, writing tips, and guidance to help you shape your journey into words.
•  Send your final entry to [email protected] by November 1, 2025 at 12:01 am.

Format:
Stories must be based on the universal structure of the Heroine’s Journey—the mythic pattern found across stories, myths, and films (popularized by Joseph Campbell as the “Hero’s Journey”).

Your story should reflect your personal experience within this timeless arc: a call to change, a passage through challenges, and a return transformed.

This year, as we gather our voices once more, remember:
Your story doesn’t have to be epic—it only has to be true.
And when you share it, you light the way for another woman to begin hers. 

The structural elements or journey milestones and the corresponding map that I developed

My Ordinary Life

Here the Heroine is going about her usual business. This is her background: where she lives, her home base, where she hangs out, what she does, what she looks like, what she likes or doesn’t like. It’s her current comfort zone (which is often another phrase that I use for Ordinary Life). 

The Call!

But then something happens. The Heroine receives a Call. It takes her out of her ordinary situation. It may be that she’s fired from her job, or laid off, or she gets a promotion, or she breaks up with her partner. It could come as an internal urge to do something different or to go somewhere. Many internal and external incidents push her out of her old patterns, ruts, and routines. But she can always refuse the call. That’s the beauty of it! She can say, “No, I’m not ready. I am going to stay in my Ordinary Life.” 

Threshold Guardians

The Threshold Guardians sense that she is going to be making a change. They warn her to stay put because they want to keep her safe. These could be people she knows or her internal thoughts. They say things to her like: “You’re not smart enough.” “You’re too old.” “You’re too young.” “You don’t have enough credentials.” “They are going to laugh at you.” “You’re being selfish. You’re just thinking of yourself.” “You’re going to fail.” “You’ll never make enough money.” Interestingly, almost all Heroines hear the same kind of warnings from Threshold Guardians. But a Real-Life Heroine stays true to her Call, despite the Threshold Guardian voices.

The Leap

Sometimes the answer to a Call requires a BIG LEAP. The Heroine is asked to do something differently, to make a big change by going into the Unknown. Or it could be small sequential steps. It could be some steps and then going back to Ordinary Life. Eventually, the Heroine puts one foot in front of the other, leaves her Ordinary Life, and crosses the Threshold.

Mentors at Work

People come forward to help the Heroine. It can be a chance encounter with someone who says just the right thing to keep her on her path. There are visible and invisible mentors that aid the Heroine. 

Adventure Road (Into the Unknown)

Once on Adventure Road, the Heroine is on her Journey. It is also called “Into the Unknown.”. All kinds of things happen on her Journey. Good things. Bad things. But the Threshold Guardians continue to follow her. Their critical voices keep talking to her. But there are also people along the road who help her (both visible and invisible mentors). 

Belly of the Whale

At some point, she’ll arrive in the Belly of the Whale. It can seem like a maze getting there. There are dead ends. The Heroine experiences lots of turmoil at this point. She’s being shaken up and tossed around, up-ended, and turned upside down. It’s like being in a Whale’s Belly. And it’s a good thing because this is where she can be born anew. She now sees things and herself from a different perspective. Often being in the Belly is about shaking off old limiting beliefs and unfolding into a more expansive (more evolved) version of herself. 

Adventure Road (continued)

The Heroine will continue on Adventure Road. Uh oh, look at those Threshold Guardians, they are still with her. Fear, too, will be a constant companion on her journeyJourney. But again, the Heroine puts one foot in front of the other and keeps going. She’s persistent! 

I Find a Dragon

Dragons are older than the Threshold Guardians. They’ve been with the Heroine since her childhood. They are limiting beliefs about herself or what she might be ashamed of.  Often she doesn't even know she had them. Sometimes they don’t come up on a journey. It’s not every journey that surfaces an old and difficult belief. Dragons are helpful, however, because they represent parts of us that are asking to be healed. Those misconstrued thoughts and beliefs emerge so the Heroine can confront them. She thinks they are a part of her, but they are not. They need to be healed and released. And here’s a difference with a Heroine going on a journey from a Hero. Often Heroes feel that they have to slay their dragon and move on. Heroines, I’ve found, embrace their dragon. They want to understand it. They transform their relationship with the dragon. 

I Receive Gifts

Eventually, as the Heroine reaches the end of this particular journey, she'll realize that she has received gifts. Often the Heroine doesn't even realize what the gifts are until she has crossed the Return Threshold of that particular journey. But when she does get a chance to look back, she sees them. Gifts could be a new level of awareness, a new skill, more confidence, spiritual growth, or financial achievement. Whatever SHE needs to learn this time around the journey cycle, she will be given.  

Return Threshold

This is the marker that this particular Journey is done. The Heroine returns to her community, and she has evolved. She is different from the person who left her comfort zone because of a Call. Then, her duty is to share what she has learned with the people around her -- with her community. 

Free to Live!

Eventually, a part of her or all of her gets to be free to live as her authentic self. She will see that what she has learned gives her the freedom to be herself. She has overcome some of her inner dragons and is no longer hostage to false beliefs. The Heroine has released, healed, and integrated some aspects of herself that kept her from being fully who she is.

In the contest, you’ll take your story through these milestones (or at least 3 of them). In real life they don’t usually happen sequentially, so you don’t have to stick to this order. Also, some milestones might not occur on a journey. Not every journey has a dragon. Use the journey elements and be creative. Take the story of your journey and use the milestones in your own unique way.

Overall, the journey has to create a transformation. The main character is different at the end from who she was at the beginning.

You will write about one of your personal heroine’s journeys (we go on many in our lifetime…every time we hear and respond to a call and leave our comfort zone it’s a journey over the threshold into a new world).

Here's An Example

Perhaps you were laid off from your job - that was your call.  You find yourself in the “new world” of unemployment.  You’ve crossed the first threshold.  Someone comes along and helps and encourages you.  The Mentor.  Things are tough as you try to find your way, but you persevere and it makes you stronger and more determined to find an even better position, something more suited to who you really are.  You’re in the Belly of the Whale.  You find the perfect job for you and you want to apply but you’re scared that you’re really not qualified, don’t know enough, will fail (all Dragon messages).  The Supreme Ordeal.  But, you meet your fear and apply anyway, get an interview, and get the position.   Your gifts?  More confidence, self-esteem, better knowledge of who you are and what suits you and you get a good job.  You meet others facing the same ordeal and share your story to help them.  Crossing the Return Threshold and sharing your gifts.   You have the freedom to live a happier, less fearful life, as you know you can meet the challenges that come your way.

You can do this!  We need to share our Heroine’s Journey Stories as what we experience and learn benefits all other Heroines.