Pixar storytelling format
“Once upon a time, there was ____. Every day, ____. One day, ____. Because of that, ____. Because of that, ____. Until finally, ____ ” - Emma Coats
Dan Harmon’s Story Circle
- YOU - Establish the protagonist
- NEED - Something isn’t right
- GO - Crossing the threshold
- SEARCH - The road of trials
- FIND - Meeting the Goddess
- TAKE - Paying the price
- RETURN - Bringing it home
- CHANGE - Master of both worlds
(from Storytelling 101: The Dan Harmon Story Circle | Boords)
Hero’s Journey
| Act | Campbell (1949) | Christopher Vogler (2007) |
|---|---|---|
| I. Departure | 1. The Call to Adventure 2. Refusal of the Call 3. Supernatural Aid 4. The Crossing of the First Threshold 5. Belly of the Whale | 1. Ordinary world 2. Call to adventure 3. Refusal of the call 4. Meeting with the mentor 5. Crossing the first threshold |
| II. Initiation | 6. The Road of Trials 7. The Meeting with the Goddess 8. Woman as the Temptress 9. Atonement with the Father 10. Apotheosis 11. The Ultimate Boon | 6. Tests, allies, and enemies 7. Approach to the inmost cave 8. The ordeal 9. Reward |
| III. Return | 12. Refusal of the Return 13. The Magic Flight 14. Rescue from Without 15. The Crossing of the Return Threshold 16. Master of the Two Worlds 17. Freedom to Live | 10. The road back 11. The resurrection 12. Return with the elixir |
Pitch
A pitch is a story with its ending chopped off:
- Where have you been?
- What you want
- How come you want it
- What have you done so far
- Where are you now in your work
- Where are you going and how can the listener help you get there
Gustav Freytag’s Pyramid
Gustav Freytag’s Pyramid describes the five key stages of a story, offering a conceptual framework for writing a story from start to finish. These stages are:
- Exposition
- Rising Action
- Climax
- Falling Action
- Resolution