Storytelling Guide: A Detailed Look at Dan Harmon’s Story Circle

The act of storytelling has always been with us. Anthropologist Joseph Campbell collected stories from all over the world and discovered that they 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 and created the “Story Circle.” In Dan Harmon’s Story Circle, there are eight basic steps that can guide almost 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 tell stories to pass down history, learn how to live, and answer questions about “right” and “wrong.”

You don’t need a PhD in English literature to recognize whether a story is good or bad. We all know what a story is supposed to do, even if we can’t clearly express it. Perhaps the most common narrative element that determines whether a story succeeds or fails is story structure.

Our goal today is to outline 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,” depict a character’s pursuit of a goal outside their everyday life. Whether or not they achieve that goal, 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:

1. You – A character is in a zone of comfort,

2. Need – But they want something.

3. Go – They enter an unfamiliar situation,

4. Search – Adapt to it

5. Find – Get what they wanted,

6. Take – Pay a heavy price for it

7. Return – Then return to their familiar situation

8. Change – Having changed

Admittedly, these eight steps of the Story Circle are very simplified. The diagram below shows the order and the shape of this structure.

Why is the story structure a circle? Why not 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 inevitably undergoes a symbolic descent within the story, which is also a literal descent in the Story Circle. At the bottom of the circle, the protagonist is in a “low point” both literally and symbolically, and their eventual rise toward success is likewise visually represented in the Story Circle.

The first thing you’ll notice about Harmon’s Story Circle is how true-to-life it feels. The stories we tell most often (quite naturally) tend 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 must go, search, find, take, return, and change. These eight steps make up Dan Harmon’s Story Circle, because narrative is how 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 greatly influenced George Lucas in creating Star Wars, one of the most successful film franchises in history. You can also see the imprint of Campbell’s work in The Matrix, Harry Potter, and The Lord of the Rings.

Step 1: You

The essence of “You” is establishing the main character of the story. The protagonist doesn’t have to be a single person; it can also 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 crafting a compelling character arc. A key component of storytelling is the “transformation” the protagonist undergoes during their journey. At this stage, we explicitly set up the character arc so that we can evaluate this transformation by the story’s end. At the same time, this is also a critical moment for understanding the character’s environment—the world they inhabit, the rules of that world, and how they fit into it.

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

• Toy Story — We meet Woody and see the joy he gets from being Andy’s favorite toy.

• Inception — We meet Cobb and learn that he works as a contractor who steals information from people’s subconscious minds.

• Star Wars — We meet Luke, stuck working on his uncle’s farm and yearning to explore the outside world.

Step 2: Need

Once we know the protagonist and their world, the next step is figuring out what they “Need.” Something happens to the protagonist that creates 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 that goal will drive the rest of the story.

• Toy Story — With the arrival of Buzz Lightyear, 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 the 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 3: Go

Need propels us into action. “Go” marks the protagonist’s first step toward fulfilling that need. That’s why you always hear, “We need an active protagonist.” If there’s only “Need” but no “Go,” the story is over. When writing your own script, make your need so urgent that it becomes irresistible.

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

• Toy Story — After Woody knocks Buzz out the window, the other toys turn on him. Andy takes Woody with him to Pizza Planet.

• Inception — Cobb begins assembling a team to execute Saito’s job, including a new architect, a forger, and a chemist.

• Star Wars — After returning home and discovering his aunt and uncle have been murdered, Luke sets out with Obi-Wan on the journey to Alderaan.

Step 4: Search

The “Search” stage makes things more complicated—not only for the story you’re telling, but for the entire process. Characters can try to meet their need by looking for answers. But good stories don’t present this search too straightforwardly. In Harmon’s Story Circle, keeping the narrative active and direct is the key.

In a grand epic film or novel, the “Search” is never just simple looking. It means the protagonist must overcome a series of obstacles. This is the true test of whether the protagonist can achieve their goal.

• Toy Story — Woody finds Buzz, but they end up trapped in Sid’s house, facing imminent destruction.

• Inception — Cobb’s team is ambushed, Saito is shot, and they have no choice but to continue with the plan.

• Star Wars — Alderaan has been destroyed by the Death Star, and the Millennium Falcon is pulled in by the Death Star’s tractor beam.

Step 5: Find

Found it! After searching hard, the hero finally finds the “Need” that drove them onto this journey. But does the story end here? No. Because in a good story, the hero does not actually find what they truly need.

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

• Toy Story — Woody plans to escape Sid’s house and talks with Buzz about the joy 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 6: Take

Take everything you’ve found! Then run! Campbell might call this part of the story the “magic flight.” Even if the hero successfully obtains what they needed, there’s still a price to pay. Even after initial success, the protagonist suffers a major loss.

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

• Toy Story — As Woody and Buzz try to get back to the moving truck, the RC car runs out of batteries, leaving them stranded.

• Inception — To rescue Fischer and Saito, Cobb and Ariadne risk entering limbo. 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 they can get away.

Step 7: Return

The return phase is nearing the end. The character brings everything they’ve discovered and taken back into the normal world. Whether it’s a magical object, a person, or some kind of lesson… because of it, they have changed.

• Toy Story — Woody and Buzz safely return to Andy.

• Inception — Cobb and Saito wake up from limbo and find themselves on the plane; their mission has succeeded.

• Star Wars — The Rebels launch an attack on the Death Star, and Luke succeeds in destroying it.

Step 8: Change

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

Sometimes the change can even be inverted. The world might become better, but the protagonist might become worse. Using “Change” in a clever way can be very interesting.

• Toy Story — Woody learns to coexist peacefully with Buzz.

• 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 this change.

What are we doing when we tell stories? At root, we are trying to understand the changes around us—the changes we cannot 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 that life goes on.