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Storytelling Guide: Dan Harmon’s Story Circle Explained

The act of storytelling has always been with us. Anthropologist Joseph Campbell collected stories from around the world and found that they all share the same basic structure. Campbell’s “Hero’s Journey” lays out each essential step in this story structure. Decades later, Dan Harmon drew on this idea to create the “Story Circle.” In Dan Harmon’s Story Circle there are 8 basic steps that can guide nearly any story from fade in to fade out.

The Universal Language of Storytelling

There are two universal languages. One is mathematics… the other is story. Storytelling is part of the human experience. We use stories to pass down history, to learn how to live, and to answer questions about “right” and “wrong.”

You don’t need a PhD in English literature to know whether a story works. We all understand what a story is supposed to do, even if we can’t always articulate it clearly. Perhaps the most common narrative element that determines a story’s success or failure is story structure.

Our goal today is to lay out a narrative formula: Dan Harmon’s Story Circle. Let’s start with a simple definition.

What Is Dan Harmon’s Story Circle?

Dan Harmon’s Story Circle is a story structure divided into eight distinct parts that describe the protagonist’s journey. These eight steps, also known as the “story embryo” or “plot embryo,” map out how a character leaves everyday life to pursue a goal. Whether they achieve that goal or not, they ultimately return to normal life changed.

Screenwriter and director Dan Harmon is best known for Community and Rick and Morty.

The 8 Steps of Dan Harmon’s Story Circle:

You – A character is in a zone of comfort,
Need – But they want something.
Go – They enter an unfamiliar situation,
Search – Adapt to it,
Find – Get what they wanted,
Take – Pay a heavy price for it,
Return – Then return to their familiar situation,
Change – Having changed.

Admittedly, these eight steps of the Story Circle are highly simplified. The diagram below shows the sequence and shape of the structure.

Why is the Story Circle a circle? Why isn’t it a straight line from step 1 to step 8? The circle gives the story an invisible momentum, almost like a roller coaster.

The protagonist starts at the top of the story and is bound to go through a symbolic descent, which is also a literal descent around the Story Circle. At the bottom of the circle, the protagonist is at a “low point” both literally and symbolically, and their eventual rise to success is likewise represented visually by the Story Circle.

The first thing you’ll notice is that Harmon’s Story Circle is very close to real life. The stories we often tell tend (quite naturally) to follow Dan Harmon’s Story Circle. The legendary writer himself once described the Story Circle and how it works in an episode of Rick and Morty.

You need to go, search, find, take, return, and change. These eight steps make up Dan Harmon’s Story Circle, because narrative is the way we make sense of the world around us. You can also think of the Story Circle as a streamlined version of Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey. Blake Snyder’s Save the Cat! is another three‑act structure that follows a similar path.

Campbell’s work had a huge influence on George Lucas in creating one of the most successful film franchises in history, Star Wars. You can also see the imprint of Campbell’s work in The Matrix, Harry Potter, and The Lord of the Rings.

Step One: You

The essence of “You” is to establish the story’s protagonist. The protagonist doesn’t have to be a single person; it could be a family or a team. This is our introduction to the protagonist and our chance to get to know them before the story truly begins.

This is crucial for building a compelling character arc. A key component of storytelling is the “transformation” the protagonist experiences on their journey. At this stage, we clearly set up the character arc so we can assess that transformation at the end of the story. It’s also the key time to understand the character’s environment—the world they live in, its rules, and how they fit into it.

If we look at our case studies, we can see what the “You” step looks like.

Toy Story – We meet Woody and see the happiness he gets from being Andy’s favorite toy.
Inception – We meet Cobb and learn that he is a contractor who steals information from people’s subconscious minds.
Star Wars – We meet Luke, who is stuck working on his uncle’s farm and longs to explore the outside world.

Step Two: Need

Once we know the protagonist and their world, the next step is to figure out what they “need.” Something happens to the protagonist that triggers a problem or a question—in other words, an inciting incident. This is where the story begins to take shape. If “You” is the “who” of the story, then “Need” is the “what.”

Here we learn the protagonist’s main goal, and the pursuit of this goal will drive the rest of the story.

Toy Story – With Buzz Lightyear’s arrival, Woody needs to find a way to become Andy’s favorite toy again.
Inception – Cobb needs to decide whether to accept Saito’s job, which may give him a chance to go home and reunite with his children.
Star Wars – When R2-D2 delivers Princess Leia’s message, Obi‑Wan invites Luke to join him in delivering the Death Star plans.

Step Three: Go

Need pushes us to act. “Go” marks the protagonist’s first step toward fulfilling that need. That’s why you always hear that “we need a proactive protagonist.” If there’s “need” but no “go,” the story is over. When writing your own script, make the need so urgent that it simply cannot be resisted.

Crossing into this third step also means the protagonist enters the lower half of the Story Circle, leaving their original world and stepping into the unknown.

Toy Story – After Woody knocks Buzz Lightyear out the window, the other toys turn against him. Andy takes Woody with him to Pizza Planet.
Inception – Cobb begins assembling a team to carry out Saito’s mission, including a new architect, a forger, and a chemist.
Star Wars – After returning home to find his aunt and uncle murdered, Luke sets off with Obi‑Wan for Alderaan.

Step Four: Search

The Search phase is where things become more complex, both in terms of the story you’re telling and how you tell it. Characters can try to meet their need by looking for answers. But in strong stories, this is rarely straightforward. In Harmon’s Story Circle, what matters is keeping the narrative active and direct.

In an epic film or novel, “searching” is far more than just looking around. It means the protagonist must overcome a series of obstacles. This is the real test of whether the protagonist can achieve their goal.

Toy Story – Woody finds Buzz Lightyear, but they become trapped in Sid’s house and face impending destruction.
Inception – Cobb’s team is ambushed and Saito is shot; they have no choice but to continue with the plan.
Star Wars – Alderaan is destroyed by the Death Star, and the Millennium Falcon is captured by the Death Star’s tractor beam.

Step Five: Find

They’ve found it! After much struggle, the hero finds the “need” that drove them to embark on this journey. But is the story over? No. Because in a good story, the hero rarely finds what they truly need.

They may find what they wanted, but it turns out that what they actually need is much more—something larger. This is where plot and character development often intersect.

Toy Story – Woody plans an escape from Sid’s house and talks with Buzz Lightyear about the joys of being a toy.
Inception – Cobb uses his mark, Fischer, to help him enter his own subconscious, but Robert is killed and sent to limbo.
Star Wars – While planning their escape from the Death Star, Luke and Han rescue Princess Leia from the detention block.

Step Six: Take

Grab what you’ve found—and run! Campbell might have called this part of the story the “magic flight.” Even if the hero succeeds in obtaining what they need, there is always a price to pay. Even after initial success, the protagonist will suffer heavy losses.

Depending on the genre, these “losses” can be temporary setbacks or the death of major characters.

Toy Story – When Woody and Buzz Lightyear try to get back to the moving truck, the RC car’s battery dies, leaving them stranded.
Inception – To rescue Fischer and Saito, Cobb and Ariadne risk entering limbo, and Cobb ultimately lets go of his guilt over Mal’s death.
Star Wars – During the escape from the Death Star, Obi‑Wan sacrifices himself so that the others can get away.

Step Seven: Return

The return phase comes near the end. The characters bring everything they’ve discovered and taken back to the normal world. Whether it’s a magical object, a person, or a lesson… because of it, they are changed.

Toy Story – Woody and Buzz Lightyear make it safely back to Andy.
Inception – Cobb and Saito wake from limbo to find themselves on the plane, and their mission is a success.
Star Wars – The Rebels launch an attack on the Death Star, and Luke succeeds in destroying it.

Step Eight: Change

This change may be personal, or it may be a change in the surrounding world. In a film or long-form story, it’s often both.

Sometimes the change works in opposite directions. The world may become better, but the protagonist may become worse. It can be interesting to play with this step.

Toy Story – Woody learns to coexist peacefully with Buzz Lightyear.
Inception – Cobb lets go of his guilt and returns to his children.
Star Wars – Luke grows from a farm boy into a Rebel pilot.

Ending the Story Circle

Change is what makes a story good. Change is the key to any story. The eight steps of Dan Harmon’s Story Circle are designed to facilitate that change.

What are we doing when we tell stories? At the most fundamental level, we are trying to understand the changes around us—changes we can’t control. Why do people die? Why does the sun rise every day?

We use stories to better understand the world around us. In a sense, stories are also how we cope with change. They constantly remind us that change is inevitable, and life goes on.