The Plot Thickens

7 Basic Plots Found in All Stories

Many book critics seem to agree that when it comes to story plots, authors are basically just recycling old ideas like a sitcom rerun. The most popular theory out there suggests that every book ever penned can be boiled down to one of just seven basic plots. Yes, just seven! This literary banter began in 2004, when Christopher Booker, a UK journalist, published the book The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories. If you're a bookworm who devours more than 50 books a year, you might be shaking your head right now, thinking, "No way, that can't be right!" So, I figured it would be a good idea to explore the "7 plot theory" to see what all the fuss is about.

Here are the 7 with examples of each.

Overcoming the Monster: The hero must venture to the lair of a monster that is threatening the community, destroy it, and escape (often with a treasure).

Here are key examples across literature and media:

Classic Literature

• Beowulf: The Geatish hero battles Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and a dragon to protect kingdoms from monstrous threats.
• Dracula by Bram Stoker: Van Helsing and allies destroy the vampire Count Dracula to end his reign of terror.
• Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens: The titular character confronts his cruel uncle Ralph to rescue his family from exploitation.

Modern Fiction

• Jaws by Peter Benchley: Sheriff Brody hunts a maneating great white shark terrorizing a coastal town.
• Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros: This fantasy novel follows a protagonist confronting existential threats, though specifics are unconfirmed.
• Everything the Darkness Eats by Eric LaRocca: A horror story involving supernatural monsters.
• Avatar by James Cameron: Humans and Na’vi unite to defeat corporate military forces destroying Pandora’s ecosystem.
• A Series of Unfortunate Events by Daniel Handler: The Baudelaire orphans repeatedly outwit the villainous Count Olaf across multiple books.
• The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix: A group of 1990s Southern literary ladies takes on one of the town's most popular developers, who just happens to be a vampire.

Rags to Riches: in which someone who seems quite commonplace or downtrodden but has the potential for greatness manages to fulfill that potential. 

• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë: The orphaned protagonist rises from an abusive childhood to achieve independence and love, overcoming societal constraints as a governess.
• Great Expectations by Charles Dickens: Pip transitions from a poor blacksmith’s apprentice to a gentleman, grappling with newfound wealth and moral growth.
• The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas: Edmond Dantès escapes wrongful imprisonment, acquires vast wealth, and exacts revenge, embodying a darker twist on the archetype.
• David Copperfield by Charles Dickens: The semi-autobiographical journey follows David from a traumatic childhood to success as a writer.
• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald: Jay Gatsby’s rise from poverty to opulence explores the illusions of the American Dream, though his tragic end subverts traditional fulfillment.
• The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand: Howard Roark’s unwavering integrity as an architect defies societal norms, culminating in professional triumph.
• The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid: Follows a Hollywood icon’s rise from poverty to stardom, weaving ambition, love, and sacrifice.

 The Quest: The hero embarks on a journey to obtain a great prize that is located far away. The quest plot structure follows a five-stage framework: Call to Adventure → Journey → Arrival/Frustration → Final Ordeals → Goal Achieved:

• Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir: A reluctant space traveler finds himself in a quest to save earth.
• The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien: Frodo inherits the One Ring and learns of its corrupting power, prompting him to go on a quest to discover the ring's powers.
• The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien: Bilbo joins Thorin’s company to reclaim Erebor from Smaug.
• The Odyssey by Homer: Odysseus must return home to Ithaca after the Trojan War.
• Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson: Jim Hawkins discovers a map to Captain Flint’s treasure and embarks upon a journey to find it.
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling: Harry's quest to destroy Voldemort.
• The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum: Dorothy is swept to Oz and must find her way home.
• The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster: Milo enters a magical world to restore Rhyme and Reason to the Kingdom of Wisdom.
• The Stand by Stephen King: Multiple characters embark on individual quests in a post-apocalyptic setting, converging to confront ultimate evil.

Voyage and Return: The hero journeys to a strange world that at first is enchanting and then so threatening the hero finds he must escape and return home to safety.

• Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll: Alice follows a White Rabbit into a surreal world of logic-defying rules, navigates bizarre encounters (e.g., the Mad Hatter, Cheshire Cat), and returns home with a deeper appreciation for reality.
• Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift: Lemuel Gulliver explores fantastical societies (Lilliput, Brobdingnag) that critique human nature, eventually returning to England disillusioned yet wiser.
• The Time Machine by H.G. Wells: The Time Traveller visits a distant future divided into Eloi and Morlocks, escaping back to his era with grim insights about humanity’s trajectory.
• The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis: he Pevensie siblings enter Narnia through a wardrobe, defeat the White Witch, and return to their world as mature leaders.
• The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg: A boy’s magical train journey to the North Pole and return with renewed belief.
• The Tunnel by Anthony Browne: Siblings navigate a surreal world through a portal, resolving familial tensions upon returning.
• The Road by Cormac McCarthy: A father and son journey through a post-apocalyptic wasteland, facing existential threats, before the son finds a new community (a symbolic "return" to safety and hope).

Comedy: A character or group of characters that are driven by frustration, selfishness, bitterness, confusion, lack of self-knowledge, lies, etc. and must be reunited in love and harmony (often symbolized by marriage and true love). According to Booker, the plot path goes something like this: Separation → Escalation → Reconciliation.

• The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare: Twin brothers are the centers of mistaken identities and chaotic encounters that finally get corrected and end in marriages to the women they love.
• Bridget Jones's' Diary by Helen Fielding: Bridget’s diary entries exaggerate trivial conflicts (e.g., Mark Darcy vs. Daniel Cleaver). Eventually, self-awareness and reconciliation lead to romantic closure.
• Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan: Cultural expectations and wealth disparities obstruct relationships. Finally the protagonists overcome familial opposition through wit and loyalty.
• Catch-22 by Joseph Heller: Bureaucratic rules (e.g., the "Catch-22" paradox) produce chaos.
• The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams: A normal human navigates absurd interstellar politics and existential jokes.

 Tragedy: A character falls from prosperity to destruction because of a fatal mistake. The ending of a tragedy usually ends in the death or deaths of the main characters.

• King Lear by William Shakespeare: Lear divides his kingdom between his daughters on hollow flattery, and he dies recognizing his folly too late.
• Macbeth by William Shakespeare: Driven by ambition, Macbeth’s murderous ascent leads to paranoia, tyranny, and death, epitomizing hubris and fate’s inevitability.
• Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson: Jess and Leslie’s friendship ends abruptly with Leslie’s accidental death, forcing Jess to confront loss and mortality.
• The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein: The tree’s self-sacrifice for the boy’s selfishness culminates in mutual depletion, symbolizing one-sided relationships.
• Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton: A group of eco-idealists face off against an ultra-wealthy opportunist. It doesn't end well for either side.
• Good Neighbors by Sarah Langan: A suburban dystopia where community paranoia and mob mentality result in violence and isolation. The protagonists’ prejudices and insecurities fuel their downfall.
• Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward: Set during Hurricane Katrina, this novel portrays a family’s struggle against natural and systemic disasters, emphasizing resilience amid inevitable loss.

Rebirth: A dark power or villain traps the hero in a living death until he/she is freed by another character's loving act.

• The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North: A man relives his life repeatedly, retaining memories of past iterations. His journey shifts from self-interest to confronting existential threats. He is reborn through self-reinvention and morals.
• The Midnight Library by Matt Haig: Nora, feeling trapped in a life of regret, is given a chance to explore alternate realities and ultimately choose a path that leads to a more fulfilling life, embracing the present and finding happiness in the simple things. 
• Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver: Demon, born into poverty and hardship, navigates a challenging life, ultimately finding a path towards self-discovery and agency. 
• A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens: Ebenezer Scrooge, a miserly and uncharitable man, undergoes a profound transformation after being visited by three ghosts, ultimately becoming a generous and compassionate person. 

Therefore, learning these structures involves embracing timeless designs to enhance originality, rather than suppressing it! As readers, this is what we have learned to expect. Writers who master these archetypes have the ability to twist, turn, or combine them, thereby piquing our reading interests and satisfying our reading cravings with each page turn.