Dan Harmon Story Circle: 8 Proven Steps to Better Stories

Have you ever felt like you’re stuck in a creative loop? You start a script, get halfway done, but because you can’t figure out the ending, you abandon it, then start a new one. And then it happens again. And again. ►► So writer/producer Dan Harmon tackled this problem. He took centuries of storytelling principles and turned them into an easy-to-use guide for building a compelling story. One circle. Eight steps. Understanding good narrative structure won’t just make you a better writer. It’ll make you a better storyteller. Today, we’re going to look at Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Dark Knight’, a film with a seemingly complex plot, that we can break down into the 8 steps of the story circle. The theory boils down to three sentences: (1) A character is comfortable (2) but they see something they want, (3) So they head out into uncharted territory to get it (4) but have to change in order to succeed. (5) When they finally grasp it, (6) they pay a hefty price (7) and return to their