The 7 Basic Plots
Have we run out of stories? Some think we’ve covered just about every premise there is. According to Christopher Booker’s “The Seven Basic Plots,” published in 2005, pretty much every novel or movie fits into one of them.
They are: Overcoming the Monster (Jaws, Dracula), Rags to Riches (Cinderella, David Copperfield), The Quest (The Wizard of Oz, Lord of the Rings), Voyage & Return (Alice in Wonderland, The Hobbit), Comedy (Much Ado About Nothing, Bridget Jones’s Diary), Tragedy (Romeo & Juliet, The Great Gatsby), Rebirth & Renewal (A Christmas Carol, Groundhog Day).
There are countless novels with every variation of plot you can imagine and some that include several of the 7 plots into a single story. I enjoy those with action, adventure, comedy, and romance. But as an author, it’s quite a challenge to come up with something unique. I tend toward comedy and romance, family dynamics, and the inner journey of finding belief in yourself in my books.
What draws you?
They are: Overcoming the Monster (Jaws, Dracula), Rags to Riches (Cinderella, David Copperfield), The Quest (The Wizard of Oz, Lord of the Rings), Voyage & Return (Alice in Wonderland, The Hobbit), Comedy (Much Ado About Nothing, Bridget Jones’s Diary), Tragedy (Romeo & Juliet, The Great Gatsby), Rebirth & Renewal (A Christmas Carol, Groundhog Day).
There are countless novels with every variation of plot you can imagine and some that include several of the 7 plots into a single story. I enjoy those with action, adventure, comedy, and romance. But as an author, it’s quite a challenge to come up with something unique. I tend toward comedy and romance, family dynamics, and the inner journey of finding belief in yourself in my books.
What draws you?
No comments have been added yet.
