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

The act of telling stories has always been with us. Anthropologist Joseph Campbell gathered stories from around the world and found that they all share the same basic structure. Campbell’s “Hero’s Journey” breaks down each fundamental step of 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 essential steps that can guide virtually 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 on history, learn how to live, and answer questions about “right” and “wrong.”

You don’t need a PhD in English literature to know whether a story works. We all have an intuitive sense of what a story is supposed to do, even if we can’t clearly express it. Perhaps the single most common narrative element that determines whether a story succeeds 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 track the protagonist’s journey. These eight steps, also called the “story embryo” or “plot embryo,” describe how a character leaves everyday life in pursuit of 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:

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.

Granted, the eight steps above are a very simplified version of the Story Circle. The diagram below shows the sequence and 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 circle and is bound to experience a symbolic descent within the story, as well as a literal descent around the Story Circle. At the bottom of the circle, the protagonist is at a “low point” both literally and metaphorically, and their eventual rise to success is also visually reflected in the upward arc of the circle.

The first thing you’ll notice about Harmon’s Story Circle is how grounded it feels. The stories we often tell (quite naturally) tend to follow Dan Harmon’s structure. The legendary writer himself once explained the Story Circle and how it works in an episode of Rick and Morty.

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

Step One: You

The essence of the “You” step is to establish the protagonist 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 main character and our chance to get to know them before the story truly begins.

This is crucial for creating a compelling character arc. A key part of storytelling is the “transformation” the protagonist undergoes during their journey. At this stage, we clearly define the character arc so we can evaluate that transformation by the end of the story. It’s also a key moment for understanding the environment the character inhabits—their world, its rules, and how they fit into it.

Looking at our case studies, we can see what “You” looks like in practice:

• 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 is a contractor who steals information from people’s subconscious.

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

Step Two: Need

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

Here, we discover 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 figure out how to become Andy’s favorite toy again.

• Inception — Cobb needs to decide whether to accept Saito’s mission, which might 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 into action. “Go” marks the protagonist’s first step toward fulfilling that need. This is why you so often hear, “We need a proactive protagonist.” If there is only “Need” but no “Go,” the story ends. When writing your own scripts, make the need so compelling that the protagonist simply cannot resist taking action.

Crossing this third step also means the protagonist enters the lower half of the circle, leaving their original world behind and officially 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 starts assembling a team for 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 out with Obi-Wan on the journey to Alderaan.

Step Four: Search

The “Search” phase is where things get more complicated, not only in the story itself but also in how you tell it. Characters may try to satisfy their need by searching for answers. But strong stories rarely present this search in a straightforward way. In Harmon’s Story Circle, keeping the narrative active and direct is key.

In an epic film or novel, “search” is never just literal searching. It means the protagonist must overcome a series of obstacles. This is the real test of whether they 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 push forward with the plan.

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

Step Five: Find

They’ve found it! After much searching, the hero finally finds the “Need” that drove them onto this journey. But is the story over? Not yet. 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 something far greater. This is often where plot and character development intersect.

• Toy Story — Woody plans an escape from 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 Six: Take

Take everything you’ve found! Then run! Campbell might have called this part of the story the “magic flight.” Even if the hero successfully gets what they needed, it comes at a price. Even after initial success, the protagonist suffers a great loss.

Depending on the genre, this “loss” might be a temporary setback or the death of a major character.

• Toy Story — As Woody and Buzz 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 the others can get away.

Step Seven: Return

The return phase means the story is nearing its end. The character brings 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 have changed.

• Toy Story — Woody and Buzz make it safely back to Andy.

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

• Star Wars — The Rebels attack 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 has the opposite effect: the world may be better off, but the protagonist may be worse off. Used skillfully, this step can be especially 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 fundamental level, we are trying to understand the changes around us—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 will inevitably come, and that life will go on.