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 discovered that they all share the same basic structure. Campbell’s “Hero’s Journey” lays out each fundamental step in this story structure. Decades later, Dan Harmon built on this idea and created the “Story Circle.” In Dan Harmon’s Story Circle, there are 8 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… and the other is story. Storytelling is part of the human experience. We pass down history through stories, learn from them how to live, and use them to answer questions about “right” and “wrong.”

You don’t need a PhD in English literature to know 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 a story’s success 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 chart the protagonist’s journey. These eight steps, also known as the “story embryo” or “plot embryo,” depict a character pursuing a goal outside their normal life. Whether or not they achieve the goal, they ultimately return to normal life changed.

Writer-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, the eight steps of the Story Circle above are highly simplified. The diagram below shows the order and shape of the 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 goes through a symbolic descent, which the Story Circle also represents literally. At the bottom of the circle, the protagonist is at their “lowest point” both literally and figuratively, and their eventual climb toward success is also visualized on 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 naturally tend to follow Dan Harmon’s Story Circle. The legendary writer himself even described the Story Circle and how it works in an episode of Rick and Morty.

You have to go, search, find, take, return, change. These eight steps make up Dan Harmon’s Story Circle. Story 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 had a huge impact on George Lucas when he created the most successful film franchise in history, Star Wars. You can also see traces of Campbell’s ideas in The Matrix, Harry Potter, and The Lord of the Rings.

Step 1: You

The essence of “You” is establishing the story’s main character. The protagonist doesn’t have to be an individual; it can also be a family or a group. This is our introduction to the protagonist and our chance to get to know them before the story really begins.

This is crucial for building a compelling character arc. A key component of storytelling is the “transformation” the protagonist undergoes during their journey. At this stage, we clearly establish the character arc so we can evaluate that transformation at the end of the story. It’s also key to understanding the environment the character is in—the world they inhabit, 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, as a contractor, he 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 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 raises a question (in other words, an inciting incident). This is where the story starts 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 drives 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 could 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 3: Go

Need drives us to act. “Go” marks the protagonist’s first step toward fulfilling that need. This is why you always hear “we need a proactive protagonist.” If there is only “Need” and no “Go,” the story is over. When writing your own script, make the need so compelling that it can’t be resisted.

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 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 discovering his aunt and uncle have been murdered, Luke sets off with Obi-Wan on the journey to Alderaan.

Step 4: Search

The Search stage is where things start to get more complex, both for the story you’re telling and for the process itself. Characters can try to satisfy their need by looking for answers. But great stories don’t always present this in a straightforward way. In Harmon’s Story Circle, staying active and direct in your storytelling is crucial.

In a grand epic film or novel, “Search” is far more than a simple hunt. It means the protagonist must overcome a series of obstacles. This is where we really test whether the protagonist can achieve their goal.

• Toy Story — Woody finds Buzz, but they get 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 caught in the Death Star’s tractor beam.

Step 5: Find

They’ve found it! After much searching, the hero finally discovers what drove them to embark on this journey in the first place. But is the story over? No. Because in a good story, the hero doesn’t actually find what they truly need.

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

• Toy Story — Woody plans their escape from Sid’s house and talks with Buzz about the joys of being a toy.

• Inception — Cobb uses their 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—and run! Campbell might call this part of the story the “magic flight.” Even when the hero succeeds in obtaining what they needed, there is always a price to pay. Even after initial success, the protagonist suffers great loss.

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

• Toy Story — As Woody and Buzz try to get back to the moving truck, the RC car’s batteries die, leaving them stranded.

• Inception — To rescue Fischer and Saito, Cobb and Ariadne risk entering limbo, and Cobb finally lets go of his guilt over Mal’s death.

• Star Wars — During the escape from the Death Star, Obi-Wan sacrifices himself so the others can get away.

Step 7: Return

The Return phase means we’re nearing the end. The character brings everything they’ve discovered and taken back to the normal world. Whether it’s a magical object, a person, or some kind of lesson… because of it, they are now changed.

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

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

• Star Wars — The Rebels launch an attack on the Death Star, and Luke successfully destroys it.

Step 8: Change

This change may be personal, or it may be a change in the world around them. In a film or long-form story, it’s 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 that change.

What are we doing when we tell stories? At the most basic level, we are trying to make sense of 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 way, stories are also how we cope with change. They constantly remind us that change will come, and life will go on.