John Truby wrote The Anatomy of a Story – 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller (2007, Farrar, Straus, and Giroux) and instantly put more meat on the bones than we’d had before. We’ve discussed other story structure templates here: A Simpler Story Structure and The Hero’s Journey and character templates, here: The Usual Cast of Characters. Soon, I’ll add The Heroine’s Journey. Just you wait!
Truby’s is practically an outline in and of itself. It divides the plot into 22 TWENTY TWO steps, which provides muscular guidance.
For your reference and education, here they are in full.
Truby’s 22 Steps to Tell a Great Story
- Self-revelation, need, and desire
Self-revelation: the character realizes something needs to change. They need to do something about it.
Need: Tell us why – both the psychological and moral need for them to undertake this journey
Desire: The character’s main goal - Ghost and story world
Ghost: The history of the character. Something that still haunts them and may cause struggle. Basically, the character’s ‘backstory’
Story World: Simply, the world surrounding the character and their daily life - Weakness and need
Weakness: The flaws in the character. Can be moral and/or psychological. Usually, characters have both. In other words, What is the character’s baggage/ internal damage that impedes their becoming their best self
Need: The change the character must go through in order to become their best self (they don’t know this about themselves yet) - Inciting event
The ‘spark’ moment that brings the character’s situation from bad to worse. This event also challenges the character into action - Desire
The goal that drives the character and the story. Usually, the desire grows/intensifies as the story progresses, raising the stakes for the character - Ally or allies
The best buds. Those characters that give aid/advice to the main character. The allies can also have a goal. Sometimes, the ally’s and main character’s goals are the same, promoting collaboration - Opponent and/or mystery
Opponent: This ‘bad guy’ doesn’t want the main character to achieve their goal. This relationship is usually the most important one in the story as it provides conflict
Mystery: Who the opponent is can be a mystery, thereby giving the protagonist the task of discovering their antagonist, before defeating them - Fake-ally opponent
A ‘sneaky’ character who the protagonist initially believes is their ally. There is usually heartbreak and deception for the protagonist when the truth is discovered - First revelation and decision: Changed desire and motive
A point of no return for the protagonist, usually prompted by new information. The revelation can change the protagonist’s desire. Each revelation adds levels of complexity to the plot - Plan
The protagonist’s blueprint to achieve their desired goal. If you want a good story, the protagonist shouldn’t succeed on their first try to execute the plan - Opponent’s plan and main counterattack
Opponents might be pursuing their own goals – in opposition to the hero, or may be actively trying to thwart and destroy the hero. These attacks can and should come at different points in the story and can be both overt or covert in nature - Drive
What series of actions does the protagonist take? and the antagonist? - Attack by ally
The hero of our story is never perfect, otherwise, what would be the point of the story?
The attack by an ally is the moment when the protagonist goes too far from their moral compass and gets called out by a true ally. This can result in a schism between the protagonist and the ally (because no one likes a goody-two-shoes). This attack also gives the story a deeper conflict, where the protagonist must decide whether or not follow a moral path - Apparent defeat
All hope is lost and the protagonist is about to give up in the pursuit of their desire. This is the lowest point in the story and the reader might be uncertain if the protagonist will succumb to the opponent, or rally and succeed - Second revelation and decision: Obsessive drive, changed desire and motive
Yay, the protagonist rallies! Perhaps with a changed perspective on their desire or a different goal, the protagonist continues in their pursuit.
There can also be an ‘apparent victory’ for the protagonist at this point. However, the stakes will be raised even higher when the ‘apparent victory’ dissipates - Audience revelation
At this moment, the audience may be privy to crucial information before the protagonist.
This is when the audience sees something that the hero doesn’t and learns a vital piece of information. This gives the audience a clearer picture of the stakes and the power of the opponent. - Third revelation and decision
The protagonist is given all the facts that are crucial to the story (like the true identity of the opposition or whatever the audience learned earlier), and what actions they’ll have to perform in order to achieve their desire. This information usually emboldens the protagonist and gives them an extra motivation to reach their goal - Gate, gauntlet, visit to death
The highest moment of tension before the final showdown between the hero and the opponent.
Visit to Death: Can be psychological, and might appear at an earlier moment in the story (perhaps in the apparent defeat) - Battle
During the battle, the goals of the protagonist and the opponent should be crystal clear. There should be no confusion about what each side is fighting for. The story’s plot and subplots usually converge of this point. The winner of the battle achieves their goal - Self-revelation
The moment after the battle where the protagonist comes to a deeper understanding of themselves and the world. The revelation should be meaningful and life-altering. Show, don’t tell, what the protagonist learned/understood. The revelation can be moral and/or psychological. At the same time, and usually surprising the audience, the opponent can have a change of heart through the protagonist’s revelation - Moral decision
The moral decision is the course of action that the protagonist will take once the self-revelation happens. The protagonist could make a new life plan or choose to dismiss the moral and/or psychological revelations. It is through the moral decision that the audience learns what the protagonist is truly ‘made of.’ - New equilibrium
The new stasis in the story world. The ‘new normal’ the protagonist lives in once the goal has been achieved or lost. It is often full circle. the world is new, but the same.