Writing Notes: 10 Story Genres
Save the Cat! Genre Mapper
10 Story Genres by Blake Snyder
Buddy Love: A hero is transformed by meeting someone else,
including (but not limited to) love stories, friendship stories, and
pet stories.
Dude with a Problem: An innocent, ordinary hero suddenly finds themselves in the midst of extraordinary circumstances and must rise to the challenge.
Fool Triumphant: An underestimated, underdog hero is pitted
against some kind of “establishment” and proves a hidden worth
to society.
Golden Fleece: A hero (or group) goes on a “road trip” of some
type (even if there’s no actual road), in search of one thing and
winds up discovering something else—themselves.
Institutionalized: A hero enters or is already entrenched inside a certain group, institution, establishment, or family and must make a choice to join, escape, or destroy it.
Monster in the House: A hero (or group of heroes) must overcome some kind of monster (supernatural or not), in some kind of enclosed setting (or limited circumstances), and someone is usually responsible for bringing the monster into being.
Out of the Bottle: An ordinary hero is temporarily “touched by
magic,” usually involving a wish fulfilled or a curse bestowed,
and the hero learns an important lesson about appreciating and
making the most of “reality.”
Rites of Passage: A hero must endure the pain and torment brought about by life’s common challenges (death, separation, loss, divorce, addiction, coming of age, and so on).
Superhero: An extraordinary hero finds themselves in an
ordinary world and must come to terms with being special or
destined for greatness.
Whydunit: A mystery must be solved by a hero (who may or may
not be a detective) during which something shocking is revealed
about the dark side of human nature.
Sources: 1 2 3
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