Story structures, visualized
Ten proven plot structures, drawn as tension curves. Overlay them to see how each spends its words, then open one to step through its beats.
Compare structures
Notice how the Fichtean Curve starts high and keeps climbing, kishōtenketsu stays flat until one sharp spike, and Freytag's Pyramid gives the falling action real room. The shape you pick decides where your words go.
All plot structures
- Freytag's Pyramid6 beats · Stories with one clear central conflict that peaks and then unwinds.
- The Hero's Journey12 beats · Transformation stories: a character leaves the familiar, is tested and returns changed.
- Three-Act Structure7 beats · Almost anything. It is the default skeleton of films, novels and short stories.
- Save the Cat Beat Sheet15 beats · Genre stories with a clear emotional arc; planning longer pieces beat by beat.
- Dan Harmon's Story Circle8 beats · Tight, character-driven episodes, which makes it a natural fit for flash fiction.
- Kishōtenketsu4 beats · Quiet, observational or surprising stories that turn on a juxtaposition, not a fight.
- Fichtean Curve6 beats · Pacy stories that start in trouble; thrillers, horror and most flash fiction.
- Seven-Point Story Structure7 beats · Planning backwards from the ending; stories with a strong character change.
- Story Mountain5 beats · Students and first stories; quick planning of any short piece.
- In Medias Res6 beats · Any story that needs a fast hook; flash fiction, where there is no room for a slow start.
Story structure examples at a glance
| Structure | Beats | Where it comes from | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freytag's Pyramid | 6 | Gustav Freytag, Die Technik des Dramas (1863), describing five-act tragedy. | Stories with one clear central conflict that peaks and then unwinds. |
| The Hero's Journey | 12 | Joseph Campbell, The Hero with a Thousand Faces (1949); 12-step version by Christopher Vogler, The Writer's Journey (1992). | Transformation stories: a character leaves the familiar, is tested and returns changed. |
| Three-Act Structure | 7 | Aristotle's beginning-middle-end (Poetics, c. 335 BC); formalised for film by Syd Field, Screenplay (1979). | Almost anything. It is the default skeleton of films, novels and short stories. |
| Save the Cat Beat Sheet | 15 | Blake Snyder, Save the Cat! (2005); adapted for novels by Jessica Brody, Save the Cat! Writes a Novel (2018). | Genre stories with a clear emotional arc; planning longer pieces beat by beat. |
| Dan Harmon's Story Circle | 8 | Dan Harmon (Community, Rick and Morty), a simplification of Campbell's monomyth developed in the late 1990s. | Tight, character-driven episodes, which makes it a natural fit for flash fiction. |
| Kishōtenketsu | 4 | Classical Chinese four-line poetry (qǐ chéng zhuǎn hé); adopted in Japanese and Korean storytelling, including yonkoma comics. | Quiet, observational or surprising stories that turn on a juxtaposition, not a fight. |
| Fichtean Curve | 6 | Described by John Gardner in The Art of Fiction (1983) and On Becoming a Novelist. | Pacy stories that start in trouble; thrillers, horror and most flash fiction. |
| Seven-Point Story Structure | 7 | Popularised by author Dan Wells in a 2010 lecture series, drawing on the Star Wars roleplaying game manual. | Planning backwards from the ending; stories with a strong character change. |
| Story Mountain | 5 | A classroom simplification of Freytag's Pyramid, widely used in UK primary schools and US elementary classrooms. | Students and first stories; quick planning of any short piece. |
| In Medias Res | 6 | Horace, Ars Poetica (c. 19 BC), praising Homer for starting the Iliad mid-war rather than at the beginning. | Any story that needs a fast hook; flash fiction, where there is no room for a slow start. |
Every example on these pages retells the same tiny story, The Last Lighthouse Keeper, so you can see how each structure bends one idea into a different shape. Want to see what a structure does with a fresh idea? Pick it in the flash fiction generator. For the emotional side of plot, see the six basic story arcs; to sketch your own story, use the plot diagram maker.
Questions writers ask
What is story structure?
The order and shape of the events in a story: where the conflict starts, where it peaks and how it resolves. Named structures like the three-act structure or the Hero's Journey are templates that describe common, proven shapes.
What are the most common plot structures?
Freytag's Pyramid, three-act structure, the Hero's Journey, Save the Cat, Dan Harmon's Story Circle, the Fichtean Curve, the seven-point structure, kishōtenketsu and the story mountain. In medias res is an ordering technique often combined with them.
Which story structure is best for short stories?
For flash fiction the Fichtean Curve and kishōtenketsu work especially well, because neither needs a long setup. The Story Circle is a good all-rounder for 500–1,000 words.
Do I have to use a story structure?
No, but most satisfying stories follow one whether the writer planned it or not. Structures are most useful for diagnosing a draft that feels flat.