Story circle
Dan Harmon created the story cycle, a distillation of the monomyth into 8 steps, which is believed to be universal for any story in any medium.
The most basic form is we draw a horizontal line through the circle. The top of the circle represents where the character’s journey starts and finishes, the bottom represents the world that needs to be traversed in order to grow and change.
From top to bottom you delineate the moment that the protagonist enters a new situation and is forced to adapted, often struggling to do so. This usually means that the protagonist fights some external force.
The second line is defining the internal struggle of the protagonist. Once the protagonist crosses this dividing line, he or she finally faces and tries to overcome his or her inner flaws or problems.
1. You (establish a protagonist)
When a story starts, the audience is just loading like a ghost, you have to give them place to land. How you do this, how do you put the audience into a character, you just show one is fade in on them and we are them until we have better choices.
2. Need (somethin’ aint quite right)
This is where we find out something is off balance in the universe, no matter how large or small that universe is. We are running the things aren’t perfect and could be better, that is the reason why the story is going to take place.
3. Go (crossing the threshold)
You are in a certain situation and now that situation changes. The top of the circle represents the ordinary world while the bottom half represents the special world. It needs to be contrast between these two worlds.
4. Search (the road of trials)
The protagonist doesn’t need to literally train during this, it’s where they adapt an experiment.
5. Find (meeting the goddess)
The job of the road of trials is to prepare you for the meeting with the goddess. The protagonist found out what they are looking fo, even if it wasn’t what they thought they were looking for. This is where the big revelation happens. the protagonist at this pivot point makes a choice and descends.
6. Take (meet your maker)
This is the hardest part, it’s when protagonist realises something is really important to the point where it’s more important than himself. Protagonist gets full control over his destiny. In the first half of circle, protagonist is reacting to the forces of the universe, adapting, changing, seeking. Now protagonist becomes the universe which makes things happen. The friend has given protagonist time to complete the mission.
7. Return (bringing it home)
For some stories, this is as simple as waking up or others it’s someone who needs to be pulled out of an extreme situation.
8. Change (master of both worlds)
Life will never be the same.
Story arc
Many stories follow a simple, basic plot pattern.
- Exposition – introduces setting, characters and the problems they face
- Rising action – moves the plot forward by showing characters fighting against their problems
- Climax – the tense moment of crisis
- Falling action – something unhappy happens
- Resolution – returns the story to stability
Villain types
- The bully
- The dragon – the one doing all the dirty work and making hard life for protagonist, usually the last challenge for the hero to overcome
- The vengeful
- Fallen hero
- The terrorist
- The beast
- The unhinged
- The machine
- The equal – a mirror image of our protagonist, this villain is so much like the hero
- The supernatural / extraterrestrial
Hero’s journey archetypes
- Hero
- Mentor – provides motivation, supply
- Threshold guardian – provides essential tests to prove a hero’s commitment and worth
- Herald – issues challenges
- Shapeshifter
- Shadow – the opposite of the hero
- Trickster – funny character, could be village idiot
- Allies – fill in the gaps where the hero is deficient