Plotting

Christopher Booker the writer and journalist suggested that in story telling there are only seven basic plots

1. Overcoming the Monster
2. Rags to Riches
3. The Quest
4. Voyage and Return
5. Comedy
6. Tragedy
7. Rebirth

This is somewhat less than an eighteenth century Italian playwright, Carlos Gozzi suggested; he said there were 36 dramatic situations, and these were expanded by Georges Polti in the nineteenth century:

1. Supplication
2. Deliverance
3. Crime pursued by vengeance
4. Vengeance taken for kin upon kin
5. Pursuit
6. Disaster
7. Falling prey to cruelty/misfortune
8. Revolt
9. Daring enterprise
10. Abduction
11. The enigma
12. Obtaining
13. Enmity of kin
14. Rivalry of kin
15. Murderous adultery
16. Madness
17. Fatal imprudence
18. Involuntary crimes of love.
19. Slaying of kin unrecognized
20. Self-sacrifice for an ideal
21. Self-sacrifice for kin
22. All sacrificed for passion
23. Necessity of sacrificing loved ones
24. Rivalry of superior vs. inferior
25. Adultery
26. Crimes of love
27. Discovery of the dishonour of a loved one.
28. Obstacles to love
29. An enemy loved
30. Ambition
31. Conflict with a god
32. Mistaken jealousy
33. Erroneous judgement
34. Remorse
35. Recovery of a lost one
36. Loss of loved ones

…but Mr Booker has somewhat more plots than Matthew Jockers who suggests there are basically two, within which there are variation, ‘The man on the hill’, and ‘The man in a hole’ .

I guess if I had more time I might look at my own stories and decide where they fall in these three different ideas… but i’m too busy actually writing!

Her is a link to Christopher Booker’s book, The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories: