A starting list of story structure references to mull over later:
- "A character is in a zone of comfort. But they want something. They enter an unfamiliar situation, Adapt to it, Get what they wanted, Pay a heavy price for it, Then return to their familiar situation, Having changed." -- Dan Harmon's Story Circle (alt reference) - origin:episodic television
- "The three-act structure is a model used in narrative fiction that divides a story into three parts (acts), often called the Setup, the Confrontation, and the Resolution. It was popularized by Syd Field in his 1979 book Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting." -- Three Act Structure - origin:screenwriting
- "Dramatic structure (also known as dramaturgical structure) is the structure of a dramatic work such as a book, play, or film. There are different kinds of dramatic structures worldwide which have been hypothesized by critics, writers and scholars alike over time. This article covers the range of dramatic structures from around the world. How the acts are structured, what the center of the story is supposed to be about widely varies by region and time period." -- Dramatic Structure
- "Narrative structure is a literary element generally described as the structural framework that underlies the order and manner in which a narrative is presented to a reader, listener, or viewer. The narrative text structures are the plot and the setting." -- Narrative Structure