idea
Harmon's story circle is a story structure pattern identified by Dan Harmon (Rick-and-morty's creator) which is very common in stories. It is composed of eight steps on a circle[1]:
- Introduce the protagonist, living their normal life in a situation of balance
- The protagonist wants or needs something, something isn't quite right
- The protagonist passes the threshold and acts. There is now an imbalance, and we switch to the bottom of the circle which is chaotic
- The protagonist searches for their need
- The protagonist finds their need
- They take it and pay the price. We're now on the left of the circle which symbolizes change
- They return home to their balanced state
- But they have changed.
The top steps are balanced, character is in their zone of comfort. The bottom steps are imbalanced, character is in a challenging or unfamiliar situation[2].
The right of the circle is with the character ad they started. The left is them having changed.
links
references
[1]: Reedsy / The Dan Harmon Story Circle: What Authors Can Learn from Rick and Morty
Studio Binder / How Dan Harmon’s Story Circle Can Make Your Story Better