TheImperial
03-27-2007, 10:16 PM
It has been said there are only seven original stories, and everything else is just a variant. True or not, here are some core plots that may help you when brainstorming for a new storyarc for your character.
The Seven Classic Themes:
1. man vs. nature
2. man vs. man
3. man vs. the environment
4. man vs. machines/technology
5. man vs. the supernatural
6. man vs. self
7. man vs. god/religion
Denis Johnston’s:
1. Unrecognized virtue at last recognized (Harry Potter)
2. The fatal flaw (Achilles)
3. The debt that must be paid (Faust)
4. The love triangle (Tristan)
5. The spider and the fly (Labyrinth)
6. Boy meets girl, plus obstacles (Romeo & Juliet)
7. The treasure taken away (loss, sometimes followed by search)
8. The irrepressible winner (Forrest Gump)
George Polti’s:
(from in his 1921 book The Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations)
1. Supplication (Persecutor, Supplicant, Power in Authority Whose Decision is Doubtful) (Antigone)
2. Deliverance (Unfortunate, Threatener, Rescuer) (Roots)
3. Crime Persued by Vengence (Avenger, Criminal) (Les Miserables)
4. Vengance Taken for Kindred Upon Kindred (Avenging Kinsman, Guilty Kinsman, Remembrance of the Victim, a Relative of Both) (Not Without My Baby)
5. Pursuit (Punishment and Fugitive) (Road Runner)
6. Disaster (Vanquished Power, Victorius Enemy or Messenger)
7. Falling Prey to Cruelty or Misfortune (Unfortunate, Master or Misfortune)
8. Revolt (Tyrant and Conspirator) (Gladiator)
9. Daring Enterprise (Bold Leader, Object, Adversary) (Jonathan Livingston Seagull)
10. Abduction (Abductor, Abducted, Guardian) (The X-Files)
11. The Enigma (Interrogator, Seeker, Problem) (The Matrix)
12. Obtaining (Solicitor, Refusing Adversary) or (Arbitrator and Opposing Parties)
13. Enmity of Kinsmen (Hatred OR Reciprically Hating Kinsmen)
14. Rivalry of Kinsmen (Preferred Kinsman, Rejected Kinsman, Object) (GATTACA)
15. Murderous Adultery (Adulterers, Betrayed) (Fatal Attraction)
16. Madness (Madman, Victim): (Fight Club)
17. Fatal Imprudence (The Imprudent, Victim or Lost Object) (Les Liasons Dangerous)
18. Involuntary Crimes of Love (Lover, Beloved, Revealer) (Wilde)
19. Slaying of Kinsman (Unrecognized Slayer, Victim)
20. Self-Sacrifice for an Ideal (Hero, Ideal, Sacrificed)
21. Self-Sacrifice for Kindred
22. All Sacrificed for Passion
23. Necessity of Sacrificing Loved Ones (Hero, Beloved Victim, Necessity)
24. Rivalry of Superior and Inferior (Superior, Inferior, Object) (Nineteen Eighty-Four)
25. Adultery (Adulterers, Deceived) (Madame Bovary)
26. Crimes of Love (Lover, Beloved)
27. Discovery of the Dishonor of a Loved One (Discoverer, Guilty One)
28. Obstacles to Love (Lovers, Obstacle)
29. An Enemy Loved Beloved (Enemy, Lover, Hater) (Romeo & Juliet)
30. Ambition (Ambitious Person, Thing Coveted, Adversary) (Macbeth)
31. Conflict with a God (Mortal, Immortal) (Jason and the Argonauts)
32. Mistaken Jealousy (Jealous One, Object of whose possesion he is jealous, Supposed Accomplice, Cause or Author of the Mistake)
33. Erroneous Judgement (Mistaken One, Victim of Mistake, Cause or Author of Mistake, Guilty Person)
34. Remorse (Culprit, Victim or Sin, Interrogator)
35. Recovery of a Lost One (Seeker, One Found)
36. Loss of Loved Ones (Kinsman Slain, Kinsman Spectator, Executioner)
The Seven Classic Themes:
1. man vs. nature
2. man vs. man
3. man vs. the environment
4. man vs. machines/technology
5. man vs. the supernatural
6. man vs. self
7. man vs. god/religion
Denis Johnston’s:
1. Unrecognized virtue at last recognized (Harry Potter)
2. The fatal flaw (Achilles)
3. The debt that must be paid (Faust)
4. The love triangle (Tristan)
5. The spider and the fly (Labyrinth)
6. Boy meets girl, plus obstacles (Romeo & Juliet)
7. The treasure taken away (loss, sometimes followed by search)
8. The irrepressible winner (Forrest Gump)
George Polti’s:
(from in his 1921 book The Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations)
1. Supplication (Persecutor, Supplicant, Power in Authority Whose Decision is Doubtful) (Antigone)
2. Deliverance (Unfortunate, Threatener, Rescuer) (Roots)
3. Crime Persued by Vengence (Avenger, Criminal) (Les Miserables)
4. Vengance Taken for Kindred Upon Kindred (Avenging Kinsman, Guilty Kinsman, Remembrance of the Victim, a Relative of Both) (Not Without My Baby)
5. Pursuit (Punishment and Fugitive) (Road Runner)
6. Disaster (Vanquished Power, Victorius Enemy or Messenger)
7. Falling Prey to Cruelty or Misfortune (Unfortunate, Master or Misfortune)
8. Revolt (Tyrant and Conspirator) (Gladiator)
9. Daring Enterprise (Bold Leader, Object, Adversary) (Jonathan Livingston Seagull)
10. Abduction (Abductor, Abducted, Guardian) (The X-Files)
11. The Enigma (Interrogator, Seeker, Problem) (The Matrix)
12. Obtaining (Solicitor, Refusing Adversary) or (Arbitrator and Opposing Parties)
13. Enmity of Kinsmen (Hatred OR Reciprically Hating Kinsmen)
14. Rivalry of Kinsmen (Preferred Kinsman, Rejected Kinsman, Object) (GATTACA)
15. Murderous Adultery (Adulterers, Betrayed) (Fatal Attraction)
16. Madness (Madman, Victim): (Fight Club)
17. Fatal Imprudence (The Imprudent, Victim or Lost Object) (Les Liasons Dangerous)
18. Involuntary Crimes of Love (Lover, Beloved, Revealer) (Wilde)
19. Slaying of Kinsman (Unrecognized Slayer, Victim)
20. Self-Sacrifice for an Ideal (Hero, Ideal, Sacrificed)
21. Self-Sacrifice for Kindred
22. All Sacrificed for Passion
23. Necessity of Sacrificing Loved Ones (Hero, Beloved Victim, Necessity)
24. Rivalry of Superior and Inferior (Superior, Inferior, Object) (Nineteen Eighty-Four)
25. Adultery (Adulterers, Deceived) (Madame Bovary)
26. Crimes of Love (Lover, Beloved)
27. Discovery of the Dishonor of a Loved One (Discoverer, Guilty One)
28. Obstacles to Love (Lovers, Obstacle)
29. An Enemy Loved Beloved (Enemy, Lover, Hater) (Romeo & Juliet)
30. Ambition (Ambitious Person, Thing Coveted, Adversary) (Macbeth)
31. Conflict with a God (Mortal, Immortal) (Jason and the Argonauts)
32. Mistaken Jealousy (Jealous One, Object of whose possesion he is jealous, Supposed Accomplice, Cause or Author of the Mistake)
33. Erroneous Judgement (Mistaken One, Victim of Mistake, Cause or Author of Mistake, Guilty Person)
34. Remorse (Culprit, Victim or Sin, Interrogator)
35. Recovery of a Lost One (Seeker, One Found)
36. Loss of Loved Ones (Kinsman Slain, Kinsman Spectator, Executioner)