Consider the 7 major plots in storytelling when you are writing your next piece of content. Tell us, what storytelling plot is most effective in your business?
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Not to sound too deep here, but I notice the seven basic plotlines pretty much reflect the human experience:
1. Overcoming the Monster- We all have to face obstacles at some point in our live, whether they come from outside or within ourselves
2. Rags to Riches- Our circumstances always have a chance to change, regardless if that's our own doing or someone else's
3. The Quest- We all have goals in mind that we strive to achieve, and we often dedicate ourselves to achieve them, devoting time, energy, and risk
4. Voyage and Return- There are many experiences to be had throughout the journey that is life; regardless of which course we take, whether there's an end goal or not, we can always expect to learn new things and eventually return to stability
5. Comedy- Life doesn't have to be all doom and gloom; sometimes things get mixed-up and we find ourselves in unlikely scenarios, for better or for worse; however, we still can make the most out of it, and we know that sometimes things can turn out alright in the end, even when its unexpected
6. Tragedy- It's a basic fact that humans are prone to error; all too often, we become overconfident in our ability to reason and think that we've got it made, only for everything to come falling apart in the end; the ones who choose not to learn from this experience are often the cause of their own downfall
7. Rebirth- However, some choose to learn from their mistakes instead, and improve their attitude and behavior; our gains, our losses, our failures, and our successes always have the potential to change who we are fundamentally, allowing us to adapt to circumstances and renew ourselves
In addition, I notice that the reason these are called the seven BASIC plotlines because they could always overlap or be stretched and switched throughout the course of a story. Basic plotlines can work to create a complex, cohesive, original, and, above all, believable whole of a story.
kenyaholloway-reliford
I think its very interesting. I would however categorize them like this.
I think its important to look at each event in a story from these "foundational" lenses - to better
instruct the writer what should happen next.
Foundational
- Comedy.
- Tragedy.
Premises
- Overcoming the monster.
- Rags to riches.
- The quest.
- Voyage and return.
- Rebirth.
yourcommander
The reason why these plots are so enduring is not just because of their influence in literature but because they occur often in our own lives.
I had to live out an overcoming the monster plot.
steveh.
I enjoyed your notations on these types of stories. I am a very big fan of stories with Overcoming the Monster, since life forces you to face down a lot of them.
Yet, the most common anime stories seem to be Voyage and Return (Isekai). While not entirely true, it's funny how many of them there are, even down to the letter as a description.
omegaminoseer
this was really good.wished there were some examples as well
RupeshKumar-qdwo
I love how Simba was a housecat with a crown. 😄
fireinateacup
My struggle with these 7 plots is that they all seem like variants of Comedy or Tragedy with different tones, or some mixture of the two.
lindenstromberg
i feel like knowing this has actually made it harder for me to enjoy media now that i know that everything i watch is just a remix of 7 basic plots i cant get that spark that leads to anticipation for a certain movie because its just a remix of something else i have watched
mylesvmiles
this nothing new, back in 1990 my village western cub book covered this. it was in the greek part where they discussed 7 main forms of stories
ashzole
Which is the "man seeking revenge" against impossible odds i.e. a whole army.
John Wick
flashgordon
The problem none of them was a plot... Its 7 observation about plots...
robotpainter
Am I the only one who can't use these structures because I only come up with cliché ideas?
