Dan Harmon's Story Circle
Dan Harmon drew a circle, split it into a top half (the familiar) and a bottom half (the unfamiliar), and marked eight steps around it. A character wants something, goes into the unknown to get it, pays for it and comes back changed. Because every step is one short sentence, it maps neatly onto a 500-word story.
Step through the 8 beats
Click a point, use the buttons, or focus the diagram and press ← →. Drag the length slider to turn percentages into word positions.
A character in a zone of comfort.
In flash fiction: Establish them in one action.
Example beatMara, polishing the lens.
Dan Harmon's Story Circle beats in a 500-word story
| # | Beat | What happens | Starts near word | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | You | A character in a zone of comfort. | 0 | Mara, polishing the lens. |
| 2 | Need | But they want something. | 60 | She wants one more year in the tower. |
| 3 | Go | They enter an unfamiliar situation. | 125 | The storm; the automated lamp stumbles. |
| 4 | Search | They adapt to it. | 190 | She rigs the old oil lamp. |
| 5 | Find | They get what they wanted. | 250 | The lamp burns; the lost boat sees it. |
| 6 | Take | They pay a heavy price for it. | 315 | Her hands blister at the crank; she knows this is the last time. |
| 7 | Return | They go back to their familiar situation. | 400 | Morning. The inspector. The switch is flipped. |
| 8 | Change | Having changed. | 500 | She walks down the stairs without looking back. |
Dan Harmon's Story Circle: common questions
What are the 8 steps of the Story Circle?
You, Need, Go, Search, Find, Take, Return, Change. A character in a comfort zone wants something, enters an unfamiliar situation, adapts, gets what they wanted, pays a price, returns and has changed.
How is the Story Circle different from the Hero's Journey?
It is Harmon's deliberately simplified version: eight steps instead of twelve or seventeen, and it works for small, domestic stories as well as epics.
Why does the Story Circle suit flash fiction?
Each step can be one or two sentences, so a complete circle fits in 100–500 words while still delivering want, cost and change.