Story arc

The elements of story:

1. Situation
2. Conflict
3. Climax
4. Resolution

This is the traditional story arc, and it has many incarnations:

• Hero's journey — Joseph Campbell's Monomyth
• Once there was a — fairytale structure
• Three-act story structure
• Lost and found
• What is, what could be, call-to-action
• Platform, tilt, resolution

While the traditional story arc is powerful and reliable, other approaches are possible.

Different story structures produce different results.

Kurt Vonnegut has fun with story shapes.

For more on technique, see storytelling. For visual storytelling, see panel-to-panel transitions.