Story Plot Generator

• Hero as warrior (Odysseus): A near god-like hero faces physical challenges and external enemies
• Hero as lover (Prince Charming): A pure love motivate hero to complete his quest
• Hero as Scapegoat (Jesus): Hero suffers for the sake of others
• Romantic/Gothic Hero: Hero/lover with a decidedly dark side (Mr. Rochester in Jane Eyre)
• Proto-Feminist Hero: Female heroes (The Awakening by Kate Chopin)
• Apocalyptic Hero: Hero who faces the possible destruction of society
• Anti-Hero: A non-hero, given the vocation of failure, frequently humorous (Homer Simpson)
• Defiant Anti-hero: Opposer of society's definition of heroism/goodness. (Heart of Darkness)
• Unbalanced Hero: The Protagonist who has (or must pretend to have) mental or emotional deficiencies (Hamlet, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest)
• The Other-the Denied Hero: The protagonist whose status or essential otherness makes heroism possible (Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan)
• The Superheroic: Exaggerates the normal proportions of humanity; frequently has divine or supernatural origins. In some sense, the superhero is one apart, someone who does not quite belong, but who is nonetheless needed by society. (Mythological heroes, Superman)

Adventure

• One whose travels are unusual and often exotic, though not so unique as to qualify as exploration.
• One who lives by their wits.
• One who takes part in a risky or speculative course of action for profit or position.
• Mummies
• Cowboys
• Indians

Fantasy

• Dragons
• Wizards
• Witches
• Warlocks
• Princesses and Princes
• Castles
• Faries
• Magic

Horror

• Ghosts
• Murder/Suiside
• Vampires
• Werewolves
• Men with axes

Mystery

• Murder/Suiside for revenge, money, love, etc.
• All evidence points to one, but it is not really that person

Romance

• Love triangles
• Lovers displike eachother at first

Science Fiction

• Aliens
• Other planets
• Planet invasions
• Time travel
• Unearthly invetions
• Planet genocide

• Revenge:The subject is obvious, but the outcome differs. Sometimes the outcome is good, like in the movies Revenge of the Nerds or Animal House. Sometimes the outcome is bad, as in Macbeth and Moby Dick. Other movies based on this them are Revenge, staring Anthony Quinn and Kevin Costner, and Payback, starring Mel Gibson.
• Love and Friendship: Romeo and Juliet is a classic love story, as is the story of Lancelot and Guenivere. The films You've Got Mail and Message in a Bottle are also love stories. The ending may be be happy, sad, or bittersweet, but the main them is romantic love. Also included in this theme is platonic love--friendship--like in the movies Wrestling Ernest Hemingway and Midnight Cowboy. All Romance novels, whether straight or gay, fit into this category. All "buddy films" like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and Thelma and Louise fit into this category.
• The Big Trick: In this one, someone or some group of people intentionally trick someone else. Rumplestiltskin and Little Red Ridinghood are in this category. Stone Soup is an old story in which several men trick the inhabitants of a village into providing them with food. This theme was evident in Snatch, starring Brad Pitt, and The Sting, staring Robert Redford and Paul Newman.
• The Big Mystery: Something unexplained happened and it is the protagonist's job to find an explanation for it. The story of Sherlock Holmes are good examples, as are the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew mysteries. In film, we have seen it Silence of the Lambs and The Maltese Falcon, and it took a comedic turn in Clue and The Pink Panther. Almost all police and detective dramas work within this form, as do most espionage and spy thrillers. Agatha Christy and Tom Clancy work within this form.
• The Capriciousness of Fate: Greek tragedies fit this category. Often, there is a major reversal of fortune. It could be from good-to-bad or from bad-to-good. Oedipus Rex is a classic work that explores the concept of fate and destiny, having an unhappy ending. Cinderella is also a reversal of fortune story, but has a happy ending. In film, we have seen this theme at work in Pretty Woman. The common element is that there is some force guiding the person's life over which he or she has no control.
• The Fall From Grace: This theme shows us people going where only God should go, doing what only God is meant to do, or attempting to do something that human beings should never do. This is always followed by misfortune, whether it is the direct result of their action or an act of God. We see this in the tales of Coyote's theft of fire in the Native American tradition, or in the story of the Tower of Babel and the Garden of Eden in The Old Testament. Other examples would be the Prometheus myth, Pandora's Box, and the story of Icarus. Frankenstein by Mary Shelly is another work exploring this theme, and we have seen it at work in the films Jurassic Park and Westworld.
• The Great Journey: This follows a character or characters through a series of episodic adventures as they travel. It may be a sad story or a happy story, or it may even be comedic. Huckleberry Finn, Heart of Darkness, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and The Odyssey are good examples. In film, this theme can be seen in Apocalypse Now and National Lampoon's Vacation.
• Loss of Innocence: Sometimes called the "coming of age story," this most commonly introduces an "innocent" character to the evil or complexity of the real/adult world. In literature, we might look at David Copperfied or most of the Nick Adams stories by Ernest Hemingway, like "Indian Camp" and "The End of Something." In film, we might look at Stand by Me.
• The Noble Sacrifice: The sacrifice can be for any reason except self--a loved one, an enemy, a group of people, the whole of humanity, a dog--but the bottom line is that the protagonist sacrifices himself or herself in an effort to save others. In literature, this is demonstrated in the story of Jesus in the New Testament and King Arthur in Mallory's Morte d'Artur. This theme is used is used in the films Glory, Armageddon, The Green Mile, and in just about any war movie where the hero dies gloriously.
• The Great Battle: The Iliad and A Tale of Two Cities are classic examples of this theme. It is about people or groups of people in conflict. It is sometimes a good vs. evil story like 1984 by George Orwell, but not always. The film The War of the Roses, starring Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas, is an example of a battle in which neither character is wholly good or evil. In theatre, we see this theme at work in Westside Story and Les Miserables. We often see this theme in horror or science fiction, like in Alien and Terminator, where the antagonist--a monster/creature/human/alien/computer/etc.-- is trying to kill the protagonist, who must fight to stay alive and/or defeat the antagonist. Sub-categories would be person vs. person, person vs. nature, person vs. society, person vs. technology and etc.

Step 4: Plot Outline

Choose Your Hero's Archetypal Journey

• The quest for identity
• The epic journey to find the promised land/to found the good city
• The quest for vengeance
• The warrior's journey to save his people
• The search for love (to rescue the princess/damsel in distress)
• The journey in search of knowledge
• The tragic quest: penance or self-denial
• The fool's errand
• The quest to rid the land of danger
• The grail quest (the quest for human perfection)

Outline for Your Hero's Journey

• Stage 1: Departure: The hero is called to adventure, although he is reluctant to accept.
• Stage 2: Initiation: The hero crosses a threshold into a new, more dangerous world, gaining a more mature perspective.
• Stage 3: The Road of Trials: The hero is given supernatural aid, endures tests of strength, resourcefulness, and endurance.
• Stage 4: The Innermost Cave: The hero descends into the innermost cave, an underworld, or some other place of great trial. Sometimes this place can be within the hero's own mind. Because of this trial, the hero is reborn in some way-physically, emotionally, or spiritually. Through this experience, the hero changes internally.
• Stage 5: Return and Reintegration with Society: The hero uses his new wisdom to restore fertility and order to the land

Ideas to Keep Your Story Going

• The hero is naïve and inexperienced
• The hero meets monsters or monstrous men
• The hero has a strange, wise being as a mentor
• The hero yearns for the beautiful lady who is sometimes his guide or inspiration
• The hero must go on a journey, learn a lesson, change in some way, and return home
• The hero often crosses a body of water or travels on a bridge
• The hero is born and raised in a rural setting away from cities
• The origin of the hero is mysterious or the hero losses his/her parents at a young age, being raised by animals or a wise guardian
• The hero returns to the land of his/her birth in disguise or as an unknown
• The hero is special, one of a kind. He/she might represent a whole nation or culture
• The hero struggles for something valuable and important
• The hero has help from divine or supernatural forces
• The hero has a guide or guides
• The hero goes through a rite of passage or initiation, an event that marks a change from an immature to a more mature understanding of the world
• The hero undergoes some type of ritual or ceremony after his/her initiation
• The hero has a loyal band of companions
• The hero makes a stirring speech to his/her companions
• The hero engages in tests or contests of strength (physical and/or mental) and shows pride in his/her excellence
• The hero suffers an unhealable wound, sometimes an emotional or spiritual wound from which the hero never completely recovers.

Choose your archetypal hero

• 1Hero as warrior
• 2Hero as lover
• 3Hero as scapegoat
• 4Romantic/Gothic hero
• 5Apocalyptic hero
• 6Anti-Hero
• 7Defiant Anti-hero
• 8Unbalanced hero
• 9The other/The denied hero
• 10The superheroic

Choose your genre

• 1Adventure
• 2Fantasy
• 3Horror
• 4Mystery
• 5Romance
• 6Science Fiction

Choose theme

• 1Revenge
• 2Love and Relationship
• 3The Big Trick
• 4The Big Mystery
• 5The Capriciousness of Fate
• 6Fall From Grace
• 7The Great Journey
• 8The Loss of Innocence
• 9The Great Sacrifice
• 10The Great Battle

Choose your hero's journey

• 1The quest for identity
• 2The epic journey to find the promised land/to found the good city
• 3The quest for vengeance
• 4The warrior's journey to save his people
• 5The search for love (to rescue the princess/damsel in distress)
• 6The journey in search of knowledge
• 7The tragic quest: penance or self-denial
• 8The fool's errand
• 9The quest to rid the land of danger
• 10The grail quest (the quest for human perfection)

Choose your characters vices

• 1Lust
• 2Gluttony
• 3Greed
• 4Sloth
• 5Wrath
• 6Envy

Choose your characters virtues

• 1Humility
• 2Kindness
• 3Patience
• 4Diligence
• 5Charity
• 6Temperence