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Comment by mycall | Hacker News Reader

In the late 19th century, Georges Polti claimed that all human drama can be boiled down to exactly 36 situations [0]. These are much more granular and include things like:

Slaying of a kinsman unrecognized.

Disaster.

Falling prey to cruelty or misfortune.

The Enigma (solving a mystery).

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thirty-Six_Dramatic_Situat...

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In modern scripts, it isnt even 36, they are narrowed down much more to just 9. A lot of what is in the 26 can be grouped into one of these.

Stability Incitement Pursuit Reversal Crisis Revelation Climax Resolution (sometimes) Epilogue / New Beginnings

I'm not a writer but I like the more granular ones better

"Narrative structure is composed of two main layers: Macro Beats (the overall roadmap or big-picture structure) and Micro Beats (the minute-by-minute actions and emotional changes within scenes)"

You win too :)

Btw, Thanks for sharing this - i went down this rabbit hole.

So insight: Polti's insight isnt really useful as a story structure. However it does label all the possible dramatic moments. So it doesnt care much for introducing the characters or how their life is resolved, but talks how about transition in the middle happens - so how act 2, act 3 play out.

I took all the 36 situations and mapped it. It predominantly maps to 4 beats. Which isnt surprising because it is the middle drama.

This is quite useful for writers to analyse - especially if they have a "your act 2 is sagging" note and need to look at how to fix it. Definitely useful as a prescription layer. Thanks for helping me discover that.

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