Any story you tell works best if you recognize its shape, then strengthen that shape.
It even applies to Hemingways famous six-word story, For sale: baby shoes, never worn.
The three structural guides that follow arent the only templates for good writing.
It was the story of a superhero who could fart lasers.
And it had surprising resonance, thanks to its strong structure.
Read Harmons original essays on theChannel 101 Wiki, and seemore discussion compiled here.
Note how this structure fuses a storys obstacles to the protagonists goals.
(One of Harmons essays deals withadapting the story circle for TV.)
Hemingways micro-story starts at stage 8, as the would-be parent deals with the fallout of their tragedy.
The famous short storyThe Lady, or the Tiger?ends on a cliffhanger.
Both stories engage the reader by asking them to fill in the missing stages.
In many stories, each main character has their own story circle.
In some stories, different character circles play out in different orders.
Read more about story circles inWireds profile of Harmon, and atthe links compiled here.
Campbell was primarily an academic, not a fiction writer, and his structure is more descriptive.
It also includes more optional story elements.
As an academic classification of all storytelling, Campbells analysis is controversial.
But as a guide to mythic storytelling, its a buffet table of tropes.
If youre building an epic genre tale, you’re able to follow Campbells circle rather literally.
Stories likeStar WarsandLord of the Ringsbuild new myths out of the tropes of old myths.
(Lucas even cited Campbell as an influence.)
Note that Vonneguts shapes also apply to ancient myths.
Their flexibility might offer you more insight than Campbells monomyth.
Are you beating up your characters enough?
Are you giving them enough of a resolution?
If your graph goes flat or ends in the middle of the scale, is there a good reason?
If something is strongly pulling you in the wrong direction, then thats just the right direction in disguise.
But the best way to challenge a narrative is to understand it.
