In writing, the "Ordinary World" refers to the starting place of your protagonist, and as the name suggests . . . it's usually "ordinary." But what it looks like on the surface is not nearly as important as its actual functions. In fact, you can start your protagonist in a place that is far from ordinary and still make your story work.
The concept of the Ordinary World originates from The Hero's Journey, though similar concepts are occasionally found in other writing approaches today (for example, Save the Cat! calls this the "Thesis World"). It can be both a place and a beat in story structure.
It's used to convey the story's setup and what the protagonist's normal is.
Often the place where the protagonist starts is, in fact, ordinary. In Harry Potter, Harry literally starts in the ordinary world (you don't get much more "ordinary" than the Dursleys). Later, he'll go to the Wizarding World, which is very different and far more magical. Similarly, in The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy also starts in the ordinary world, before a tornado takes her to the Land of Oz.
However, this term is relative. The Ordinary World is ordinary to the character. It might not necessarily be ordinary to an outsider (like the audience). So in this sense, Giselle from Enchanted and Barbie from Barbie, also start in the Ordinary World, even though theirs look very different from our actual world. It's ordinary to them. Later, they'll both come to our world, which is ordinary to us, but not to them.
To take it a step further, it also doesn't have to technically be a "world," though frequently there is still a change in setting. In The Hobbit, Bilbo never leaves Middle-earth; however, he does switch out his Ordinary World of the Shire for a dangerous journey through forests and mountains.
And to take it even further, the Ordinary World doesn't actually have to be a literal setting. Instead, it may be a lifestyle or state of being. In Marley and Me, John's "Ordinary World" is living dogless. Later, he'll own a dog, which turns everything about his domestic life upside down.
The Ordinary World is relative. It's ordinary compared to what happens later.
By Act II, the character will be in what The Hero's Journey calls the "Special World," which is where the main conflict takes place (the Wizarding World, the Land of Oz, New York, California, living with a dog . . . )
The Ordinary World is important to story structure for several reasons:
1. It conveys context (the setup)
2. It establishes a current "normal" (which will be upended)
3. It creates directionality (which will be changed)
Let's go through these.
1. The Ordinary World Conveys Context (the Setup)
In narrative writing, "context" is everything the audience needs to accurately follow and interpret the story. One of the major ways context gets communicated is through setup, which happens in the Ordinary World beat. The audience needs to be able to answer the "w" questions early on: Who? When? Where? What? Why? And the How? question can be useful as well.
Who is this story about? Show the audience who the protagonist is at the start of the story (or more specifically, at the start of their character arc) and provide basic information on them--like their name, gender, age, and vocation.
When and where does this story take place? London in 1912? A desert planet long, long ago in a galaxy far, far away?
What is currently happening there and with the character? What are the objectives? Generally speaking, your protagonist should have a goal in the opening, even if it changes later.
Why do these events or these objectives matter? Make the audience care by conveying the stakes (what I like to call "potential consequences").
How does the protagonist intend to reach the objective? Communicate what the current plan is.
If the audience does not have this information, it makes it more difficult for them to get invested in the story, because they can't easily follow what happens or why it matters.
2. The Ordinary World Establishes the Current Normal
The Ordinary World is used to establish a current normal, which will be upended later. If we don't establish what's normal--"ordinary"--the audience can't fully appreciate what disrupts or changes it (the inciting incident), generally speaking.
If audiences don't understand what a Hobbit's life is like in the Shire and the expectations that come with that, then they can't really appreciate the magnitude of Gandalf inviting Bilbo on an adventure, or Bilbo eventually entertaining, then accepting, the invitation.
Sure, it might still be somewhat interesting, but it hits more powerfully, more meaningfully, and "sharper" when they understand that going on an adventure is taboo.
Likewise, the arrival of the Hogwarts letter might be interesting on its own, but it's more interesting after we've clearly established that Harry is unloved, friendless, and hidden away at a house where anything out of the ordinary is not tolerated. Who on Earth could possibly know Harry and be writing to him? How could they know he lives in a cupboard under the stairs? He has no one.
We need to establish a baseline for the protagonist at the start, to make the impending events more powerful, by creating contrast.
And contrast may be a great thing to keep in mind when it comes to writing the Ordinary World. The Hogwarts letter and subsequent reveal that Harry is a wizard, wouldn't have been as impactful if Harry was popular, loved, and lived in a home where the fantastical was embraced. Instead, Rowling starts him in the opposite situation.
3. The Ordinary World Creates Directionality
Practically no one covers directionality in fiction, but it's extremely important to a strong plot. Contrary to what many might think, the audience wants and needs a sense of direction. The story needs to convey an expected trajectory. Otherwise, what happens doesn't really matter a whole lot. As the Cheshire Cat said, if you don't know where you want to go, then which way you go doesn't really matter.
Many new writers mistakenly think the audience having no clue where the story is going, makes the story more of a page-turner. In reality, the opposite is often true. The audience gets more invested when they have a sense of direction, because they want to stick around to see if what could happen, does in fact happen.
We need to establish a sense of direction, so that the audience can appreciate the upcoming plot turns. If they have no sense of direction, they can't feel the plot turning. You need to be going a particular direction to experience a turn.
Admittedly, this overlaps a bit with the previous section, but I've made it its own section because it's technically not the same thing as establishing what's normal. And I've made it its own section because when it comes down to it, this is one of the most important functions of the Ordinary World: lay down near-future expectations.
In the Ordinary World of Barbie, Barbie expects to live the exact same perfect day, every day. This is what she expects her near-future to look like. This is her expected direction. In Enchanted, Giselle expects to soon get married.
When something disrupts and changes this expected direction, it turns the plot. It puts the character on a new trajectory. And it's this change that kicks off the main plot. It also often grabs audiences.
Barbie's perfect days get disrupted by thoughts of death, and so she speaks to Weird Barbie, who informs her she needs to find her owner in the real world. This turns her story, putting her on a new pathway, which makes the story more interesting.
This is important, because when you understand this, you technically don't have to start the story in an "Ordinary World." You don't have to start the story with what the protagonist's normal day-to-day life is.
For example, we could technically start Enchanted with Giselle entering New York, as long as we quickly establish her expected direction. Perhaps in this version, she soon sees a billboard for White Castle and believes if she can get there, she can get help to return home. She finds the walk overwhelming, and runs into Robert, who explains White Castle is closed for remodeling, but he can take her to get food and help her out.
Now, this would take more thought and rewriting to make work, and I'm not necessarily saying it would be better for this story (I think it's best we see the magical kingdom she comes from), but the point I want to make is that it is possible to start a story where the character is not in their "ordinary world" nor living their "normal" day-to-day life. You can start the story with a character completely out of her element, like Giselle in New York.
Often this choice comes at a cost. It usually requires you to smoosh in the setup/context during a chaotic situation, which is not always easy to do. We would have to still fill in who Giselle is, where she came from, and likely what her life was like before (or what her "normal" used to be). It might be like starting the story in medias res.
Your story does not have to start in a state that is literally ordinary--to the audience or the character. Most of the time, it's better if it does, but it does not have to. What matters most is that you are conveying an expected direction. You can do this by showing the character's normal day-to-day life (implying things are expected to continue going that way), or you can do this another way, like by quickly introducing a key goal (get to White Castle).
In fact, in some stories, the Ordinary World is largely metaphorical. It may mainly be about showing the protagonist's internal state. He may start the story as a "fish out of water" externally, but internally his "normal" is to be an egotistical hothead. Internally, his "normal" is to be obsessed with proving himself to others. His "Special World" may be him later striving for humility and patience--something very foreign and challenging for him.
When it comes to the Ordinary World, what matters most is conveying context and an expected direction.
[P.S. I apologize if you received this as an email twice; there was a technical error!]
Related Articles:
The Hero's Journey Explained: The Beginning
What is the Inciting Incident? Definition, Purpose, Examples, Tips
Context, Text, Subtext: Understand How Each Works in Storytelling
Directionality in Fiction: Why You Need it & How to Create it
Using Turning Points to Nail Exposition
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