Story shapes
Overcoming the monster
A hero faces a threat that seems too big to beat, struggles, nearly loses, and wins against the odds.
- Time20 to 30 minutes
- People1 to 6 people
- Steps5
What it's for
The monster can be a competitor, a crisis, a legacy system or a market everyone said couldn't be cracked. What makes the shape work is the near-defeat: an easy win isn't a story.
Use it carefully in business: casting a competitor or another team as the monster can backfire. A problem makes a better monster than a person.
How to run it
Name the monster4 min
What's the threat, and why does it matter?
Early wins4 min
What went well at first?
It gets worse6 min
Where did the threat prove stronger than expected?
The worst moment5 min
When did it look lost?
The escape5 min
How was it beaten, and what changed?
Tips
- Make the monster specific. "Complexity" is not frightening; a deadline the system can't meet is.
- The win should come from something the hero learned along the way.
Where it comes from
One of the seven basic plots Christopher Booker described in The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories (2004). The stages here are a simplified version of his.
Pairs well with
The quest
A hero sets out for a distant goal, meets trials and setbacks on the way, and finally reaches it after one last ordeal.
Hero's journey
The pattern behind many myths and films: a hero leaves the ordinary world, is tested, and returns changed, with something to share.
Types of conflict
Check what your character is up against: another person, nature, themselves or the system, since conflict is what gives a story its pull.