Kurt Vonnegut on the 8 “Shapes” of Stories
No art is possible without a dance with death,
Kurt Vonnegut • Slaughterhouse-Five
Boiled down to its essence, the shape becomes: there is a problem the protagonists go on a journey they find the solution they return the problem is solved.
John Yorke • Into The Woods: How Stories Work and Why We Tell Them
“A story-teller must tell his story in such a way that the reader will not feel that his time has been wasted.”
Kurt Vonnegut • Pity the Reader: On Writing with Style
Every story, indeed every scene, is a product of this shape. A character goes on a journey to meet their opposite, and then assimilates that opposite into themselves. Opposites are where we must focus our attention.
John Yorke • Into The Woods: How Stories Work and Why We Tell Them
The 8 Shapes of Stories
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