Storytelling is valuable skill. Studying it helps you get better. There is a category that was added to this blog for storytelling. A recent BBC article nicely covers the idea that there are six basic plots.

“Researchers analysed over 1700 novels to reveal six story types – but can they be applied to our most-loved tales? Miriam Quick takes a look.
By Miriam Quick
25 May 2018
“My prettiest contribution to the culture” was how the novelist Kurt Vonnegut described his old master’s thesis in anthropology, “which was rejected because it was so simple and looked like too much fun”. The thesis sank without a trace, but Vonnegut continued throughout his life to promote the big idea behind it, which was: “stories have shapes which can be drawn on graph paper”.”

If you want to see the origin of concept check out this video that is good for a laugh.

The computer analysis of the story was covered 2 years ago in MIT Technology Review.

Kurt Vonnegut came up with this idea of the shape of stories for his master's thesis in anthropology at University of Chicago.

If you are still curious check out the paper which goes into depth on the idea that there are six shapes dominate stories.

Here is the shape of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows.