The hero’s journey, popularised by Campbell’s The Hero with a Thousand Faces, is often used by copywriters and scriptwriters as a tool for creating our stories. It works with UX writing and service design too.

The archetypal journey often includes a mentor, an entity or object that helps the hero on their way.

But I prefer to see the UX writer as a guide who helps the hero stay in control of their destiny. My role as a UX writer is to map out their fate, to inform — not to decide.

As I outlined above, the guide should offer choices — not determine their fate.

But sometimes customers need reassurance. They want help. That’s where I need to (carefully) explain the various options available to them — and how much they’ll pay. When money’s involved, people always want to know more.

In this example, we clearly explain how much subscribers would pay, for what, and where they can save money.