Story Structure 22 Step Api

Story Structure: Twenty-Two Steps (API)

Apply Truby's 22-step framework from The Anatomy of Story to analyze plot structure.

The Twenty-Two Steps

1. Self-revelation, need, desire (Frame) - Planning tool combining Steps 20, 3, 5; establishes endpoint first so all steps lead there
2. Ghost and story world - Past haunting; world expressing weakness
3. Weakness and need - Psychological/moral flaw (detailed treatment)
4. Inciting event - "Frying pan into fire"
5. Desire - Specific goal (start low, build; detailed treatment)
6. Ally or allies - With own desire lines
7. Opponent and/or mystery - Must want SAME goal
8. Fake-ally opponent
9. First revelation and decision - Changed desire/motive
10. Plan - Hero's strategy
11. Opponent's plan and main counterattack - Critical often-missing
12. Drive - Development not repetition; immoral steps
13. Attack by ally - Confronts immorality
14. Apparent defeat - Only ONE
15. Second revelation and decision - Obsessive drive; moral decline
16. Audience revelation - Knows before hero
17. Third revelation and decision - More determined
18. Gate, gauntlet, visit to death - Narrow options
19. Battle - Values fighting; smallest space
20. Self-revelation - Sudden, shattering, through action
21. Moral decision - Choose between values
22. New equilibrium - Fundamental change

Note: Steps 3, 5, and 20 appear both in Step 1 (Frame) as planning overview AND in their sequential positions with full detail.

Critical Principles

• Organic plot: Events causally connected, essential, character-driven (not author-imposed)
• Same goal: Opponent must want SAME goal as hero (not just oppose)
• Step 11 crucial: Opponent's plan most often missing - more intricate/hidden = better plot
• Revelations sequence: Separate from plot; logical order, build intensity, increase pace; target 7-10 for average story
• Development not repetition: During drive, action changes fundamentally - don't hit same beat
• Frame technique: Start with endpoint (self-revelation) so every step leads there
• Seven-step foundation: Ensure seven key steps solid before expanding to twenty-two

Analysis Approach

Determine story type:

• Forward Development: New story - work through steps 1-22 systematically, establishing causal connections
• Reverse Engineering: Existing draft - identify which steps present/missing, where plot weakens/fragments
• Plot Diagnosis: Specific problem - identify weak/missing steps, focus on structural issue

Length check: Confirm story long enough for 22 steps. Short stories/sitcoms typically only hit seven major steps. Feature films/novels/hour-long TV need at least twenty-two.

Foundation check: Are seven key steps defined? (weakness/need, desire, opponent, plan, battle, self-revelation, equilibrium). If not, story may need seven-step foundation first.

Quality Checks - Ensure Analysis Covers:

Frame Connection:

• Does self-revelation (endpoint) address weakness/need (beginning)?
• Is hero wrong at beginning about what they'll learn at end?

Opponent Analysis:

• Does opponent want SAME goal as hero?
• Is this the necessary opponent (best able to attack hero's great weakness)?
• What is hidden about the opponent (iceberg technique)?
• Step 11: Is opponent's plan detailed and hidden enough?

Revelations Sequence:

• Extract all major revelations as separate list (target: 7-10)
• Do they occur in logical order (hero would learn them)?
• Do they build in intensity (each stronger)?
• Do they increase in pace (closer together as story progresses)?
• How many about opponent? (Best kind)
• Any not explosive enough? Any breaks causing plot to stall?

Organic Connections:

• Desire ↔ Opponent: Same goal?
• Opponent ↔ Weakness: Necessary opponent?
• Revelations: Build logically and intensify?
• Drive: Develops vs. repeats same beat?
• Plot: Character-driven vs. author-imposed?
• Causality: All events causally connected? Each essential?

Structural Completeness:

• Which steps present and working well?
• Which steps missing or underdeveloped (especially middle)?
• Where does plot fragment or drag (dead middle)?
• Is opponent's plan (Step 11) intricate enough?
• Do revelations build or stall?

Output Instructions

IMMEDIATELY return the complete 22-step analysis directly in your response using this structure:

# 22-Step Analysis: [Story Name]

**Story Type**: [Forward Development / Reverse Engineering / Plot Diagnosis]
**Length**: [Appropriate for 22 steps? Short vs feature-length]

## FRAME (Step 1)

*Planning overview combining Steps 20, 3, 5 to establish the overall range of change*

**Self-Revelation (Step 20 - Endpoint)**:
- Psychological: [What hero learns about who they are]
- Moral: [What hero realizes about how they've acted toward others]

**Weakness/Need (Step 3 - Beginning)**:
- Psychological weakness: [Flaw hurting hero themselves]
- Psychological need: [What must overcome]
- Moral weakness: [How hero clearly hurting others]
- Moral need: [What must overcome to stop hurting others]

**Desire (Step 5)**: [Specific goal driving hero; level: survival/revenge/win/achieve/etc.]

**Initial Error**: [What hero wrong about at beginning - cannot learn at end unless wrong at beginning]

## STEPS 2-22

**Step 2 - Ghost/Story World**:
- Ghost: [Past event haunting hero; open wound; counterdesire]
- Story world: [Arena, settings; how expresses hero's weakness]
- Opening type: [Community start / Running start / Slow start]

**Step 3 - Weakness/Need (Detailed)**:
- Psychological weakness: [How inner person is damaged; specific flaw ruining life]
- Psychological need: [What must fulfill for better life]
- Moral weakness: [How hero clearly hurting at least one other person at story start]
- Moral need: [What must overcome to stop hurting others]
- Problem: [Immediate crisis hero faces at beginning; outgrowth of weakness]

**Step 4 - Inciting Event**: [External event causing goal; "frying pan into fire" - hero thinks solves problem but gets into worst trouble]

**Step 5 - Desire (Detailed)**:
- Specific goal: [What hero wants; extends through most of story]
- Starting level: [Where desire begins - should be low to allow building]
- How it builds: [How desire intensifies and stakes increase through story]

**Step 6 - Allies**: [Who helps; their desire lines; how define hero through comparison]

**Step 7 - Opponent**:
- Who: [Character/entity]
- **Opponent's goal**: [Must be SAME goal as hero]
- Values: [How differ from hero's]
- Why necessary: [Best able to attack hero's great weakness]
- What's hidden: [Iceberg opponent hierarchy if applicable]

**Step 8 - Fake-Ally Opponent**: [Who; appears to help but actually opponent; true allegiance]

**Step 9 - First Revelation & Decision**:
- Revelation: [Explosive new info, preferably about opponent]
- Decision: [What hero decides]
- Changed desire: [How goal bends not breaks]
- Changed motive: [Why want it now]

**Step 10 - Plan**: [Hero's strategy to overcome opponent; why will initial plan fail]

**Step 11 - Opponent's Plan & Counterattack**:
- Opponent's strategy: [Detailed]
- Hidden attacks: [List specific attacks opponent has devised]
- Main counterattack: [How sprung on hero as revelation]
- **Note**: More intricate and hidden = better plot

**Step 12 - Drive**: [Series of actions hero performs; ensure development not repetition; immoral steps hero begins taking]

**Step 13 - Attack by Ally**: [How ally confronts hero's immoral actions; hero's justification]

**Step 14 - Apparent Defeat**: [What happens 2/3-3/4 through; why feels devastating; only ONE defeat]

**Step 15 - Second Revelation & Decision**:
- Revelation: [New info showing victory still possible]
- Obsessive drive: [Hero becomes tyrannical]
- Changed desire: [Goal intensifies]
- Moral decline: [Continued immoral actions]

**Step 16 - Audience Revelation**: [What audience learns hero doesn't know; shows true power of opposition; often fake-ally reveal]

**Step 17 - Third Revelation & Decision**: [Hero discovers (often fake-ally truth); becomes more determined]

**Step 18 - Gate/Gauntlet/Visit to Death**: [Conflict intensifies, options narrow; mortality realization spurs fight]

**Step 19 - Battle**:
- Final confrontation: [Where/when; smallest space possible]
- **Values fighting**: [What two sides fighting for - not just who stronger]
- Who wins goal: [Outcome]
- How hero like opponent yet different: [Crucial differences clearer in similarity]
- Theme explosion: [How theme first explodes in audience's mind]

**Step 20 - Self-Revelation (Detailed)**:
- Psychological: [What hero learns about who they really are; seeing themselves honestly]
- Moral: [What hero realizes about how they've acted toward others]
- How shown through action: [Not stated directly; revealed through what hero does]
- Quality: [Sudden, shattering, new - something hero didn't know until this moment]
- Optional double reversal: [Does opponent also have self-revelation? How do they connect? What is moral vision?]

**Step 21 - Moral Decision**:
- Two courses of action: [Choices]
- Values each represents: [What each stands for]
- Hero's choice: [What chosen]
- Proves self-revelation: [How demonstrates what learned]

**Step 22 - New Equilibrium**: [What fundamentally changed; higher or lower level; lasting impact]

## REVELATIONS SEQUENCE

**Total count**: [Number - industry standard: 7-10 for hit films]

| # | Revelation | Source | About Opponent? | Intensity (1-10) | Builds from previous? |
|---|------------|--------|-----------------|------------------|-----------------------|
| 1 | [What learned] | [How/from whom] | [Yes/No] | [#] | N/A |
| 2 | [What learned] | [How/from whom] | [Yes/No] | [#] | [Yes/No - explain] |
| 3 | [What learned] | [How/from whom] | [Yes/No] | [#] | [Yes/No - explain] |
| ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... |

**Sequence Assessment**:
- Logical order (hero would learn them): [Yes/No/Mostly - explain]
- Build in intensity: [Yes/No/Mostly - explain; note any drops]
- Increasing pace (closer together): [Yes/No/Mostly - explain]
- Reversals: [Any reversals where understanding changes instantly?]

## ORGANIC CONNECTIONS

**Frame**: Self-revelation addresses beginning weakness/need? [Analysis]

**Desire ↔ Opponent**: Competing for SAME goal? [Yes/No - explain]

**Opponent ↔ Weakness**: Necessary opponent (best able to attack hero's great weakness)? [Analysis]

**Revelations**: Build logically and intensify? [Analysis]

**Drive**: Develops (not repeats same beat)? [Analysis]

**Plot**: Character-driven vs. author-imposed? [Analysis]

**Causality**: All events causally connected? Each essential? [Analysis]

## ASSESSMENT

**Seven-Step Foundation**: [Are seven key steps solid? If not, recommend seven-step skill first]

**Strengths**: [What works well in structure]

**Weaknesses/Missing**:
- Which steps missing/underdeveloped (especially middle)?
- Where plot fragments or drags (dead middle)?
- Step 11 (opponent's plan) detailed enough?
- Revelations build or stall?

**Recommendations**:
- What to work on first?
- Missing connections to strengthen?
- How to fix weak steps?
- Ripple effects of changes?

**Next Steps**:
*Concrete actions to develop this story further*
1. **Scene Outline**: [Key scenes to develop]
2. **Character Details**: [What to flesh out]
3. **Setting/World Research**: [What to explore]
4. **Tone/Voice Samples**: [What to try]
5. **Backstory Expansion**: [What to develop]

CRITICAL - DO NOT:

• Use bash commands or date command
• Create files or use heredocs
• Execute code or print intermediate drafts
• Ask follow-up questions before providing analysis
• Reference file paths or directories

Just return the complete filled-in analysis immediately in your response.

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Based on John Truby's 22-Step Story Structure from The Anatomy of Story

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: scott2b
• Source: scott2b/claude-skills
• License: Apache-2.0

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.