E D Skinner

All stories take the form of a Quest.

Here is nearly every story you see or hear in a nutshell: A CHARACTER who wants something encounters a PROBLEM before they can get it. At the peak of their despair, a GUIDE steps into their lives, gives them a PLAN, and CALLS THEM TO ACTION. That action helps them avoid FAILURE and ends in a SUCCESS.

ACT ONE 1. Heroes are introduced in the ordinary world where … 2. they receive the call to adventure. ACT TWO 3. They are reluctant at first or refuse the call, but … 4. are encouraged by a mentor to … 5. cross the threshold and enter the special world where … ACT THREE 6. they encounter tests, allies and enemies. 7. They approach the inmost cave,

Christopher Vogler took Campbell’s structure, modernized it for today’s audiences, and reduced it down to 12 stages in his book The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Storytellers & Screenwriters.

One approach is to use this process as a tool for brainstorming. You can also use it to create a story map to plan out your editorial calendar and channels strategy. Or maybe you just want to use it as a checklist to see where your story fits along a pattern. Whatever you do, remember that you are looking at this framework as a CREATOR of the story

Set-up (including mini inciting incident) Confrontation (conflict ending in crisis point) (Climax and) Resolution.

The protagonists’ battles against their antagonists, their journey to victory through crisis, climax and resolution; these are the building blocks of every story.

I’ve simplified the core story elements to these five, in this order: Establishing a GOAL—the action of a story begins when we discover what someone wants. Introducing a PROBLEM someone didn’t know they had—this creates conflict and tension, which is the engine of all action. Discovering a TRUTH that makes inaction impossible, because it puts the g