The Story Spine
Once upon a time. Every day. Until one day…
A few sentence openings can help a story find its direction. The Story Spine develops an ordinary situation into a chain of consequences and a changed ending. Its causal connections are useful when you have several events and want to discover how one leads to another.
How it works
Kenn Adams, an improv teacher, devised the Story Spine in 1991 as a row of sentence openings that a group can complete together in real time. The form traveled to Pixar, where story artist Emma Coats included it in her widely shared storytelling rules in 2011. Its claim is that eight lines, filled in order, are enough for a complete plot, and the repeated “because of that” makes each event the result of the one before.
Once upon a time… (0–8%) sets out the world and the hero, and Every day… (8–12%) establishes the routine. Until one day… (12–16%) brings the event that breaks it. The middle is a run of consequences, starting with a Because of that… from 16% to 40%. A second spans the midpoint from 40% to 60%, and a third carries the rising pressure to 76%. Until finally… (76–92%) is the climax, and And ever since then… (92–100%) describes the new normal.
Harmon’s Story Circle also has eight parts, spaced evenly at 12.5% each. The Spine moves faster at the start, covering the setup and the inciting event in the first 16%, and gives 60% of the story to consequences. It names no midpoint reversal or lowest point; if those appear, they grow out of the chain. Like Todorov’s Equilibrium, it travels from routine to a new normal, and its particular emphasis is causality, with every link stated out loud.
Writing all eight lines in one sitting is a fast test of whether a premise has a plot. Each consequence line should only be possible because of the one before it; if “and then” fits just as well, that link needs a real cause. Once the spine holds, each line can grow into a sequence or an act, with Until finally… pointing straight at the climax scene. The finished eight lines also make a summary short enough to say in one breath.
The framework, part by part
Positions are illustrative comparison references, not universal timing rules.
- Once upon a time… (0%–8%, Ordinary world): The world and the hero.
- Every day… (8%–12%, Ordinary world): The routine.
- Until one day… (12%–16%, Inciting incident): The event that breaks the routine.
- Because of that… (16%–40%, Commitment): The first consequence.
- Because of that… (40%–60%, Midpoint): The next consequence.
- Because of that… (60%–76%, Pressure mounts): And the one after that.
- Until finally… (76%–92%, Climax): The climax.
- And ever since then… (92%–100%, New normal): The new normal.
Use it for
Brainstorming, pitching, children’s stories and plotting fast.
Watch for
Each “because of that” has to cause the next; a chain of “and thens” breaks it.
See how your story works.
Explore 30 approaches to story structure through short films and illustrated guides. Bring an idea or a draft, build your outline, and compare how different frameworks organize its events.
Free to use. No account needed to write. Save a backup to keep your work.
A short film on every structure
Each of the 30 structures has a 90-second animation that draws its shape beat by beat, and a page with every beat, how its parts work, questions to try, and when it can help. Start with one you’ve heard of.
All 30 structures on one timeline
Each row is one structure. The story runs left to right, from the first page (0%) to the last (100%). Bars are beats that last a while; diamonds are single moments. Drag the red line to any point, and the list below shows the nearby beats in each structure.
- Bar: a beat that lasts a while
- Diamond: a beat at one moment
- Red line: the point you’re reading
- A blank stretch: that structure names no beat there
- Act II-A and II-B are the two halves of Act Two, split at the midpoint.
Rows 1 to 13 follow Robert Carlson’s Ultimate Story Structure Chart (2015). Rows 14 to 21 are the structures readers of that thread asked him to add, and rows 22 to 30 are nine more we added. Positions combine source conventions and editorial estimates. Use them to compare approaches; they are not universal timing rules.
† Credited on Carlson’s chart. We found no primary source; the tree line is also credited to George Abbott and George M. Cohan.
Outline your story in any structure
Choose a framework and give its prompts a few sentences. Compare suggested placements in other frameworks to find a useful question or a different way to develop an event.
Pick a structure you know
Not sure? Try one of these, or any of the 30.
Write a sentence for each beat
A beat is one turn in the story, like the Catalyst that knocks your hero’s life off course. Each beat comes with a question to help you answer it.
Compare another framework
The comparison suggests where your notes could fit. Review each match. You decide which prompts matter to your story.
We wrote The Wonderful Wizard of Oz as a Save the Cat! outline. These excerpts from our outline of Baum’s 1900 novel show how suggested placements change between frameworks. Unmapped prompts describe this partial outline, not a flaw in Oz. Pick any structure you know and try it with your own story.
Sketch your story’s ups and downs
Kurt Vonnegut drew stories as a line that rises when things go well for the main character and falls when they go badly. Draw yours from left to right and we’ll name the classic shape it’s closest to.
Take it to the page
The free 91-page guide has the full chart, a chapter on each structure, printable worksheets and beat calculators for films, episodes and novels.