In | Story Arcs

Every story has a distinct shape. Some start with a crisis and move toward its resolution. Some stories begin with a happy time, things get worse and then the happiness returns in a new form. Some portray the unfolding of a romantic relationship. There are many stories in the Bible and each has distinctive shape to its plot. The shape of a plot is called a story arc.

Many people have studied the various shapes of story arcs. Six main types emerge when analyzing stories.

Rising Action

In this kind of story, the experiences of the characters simply get better and better. One basic example of this is found if you look at Genesis 1 and 2 as a self-contained story. God’s creation of the earth and all living things, including Adam and Eve, is a continuously rising story arc.

Falling Action 

In this kind of story, the experiences of the characters simply get worse and worse. This is the kind of story arc we observe unfolding in 1 and 2 Kings, with the height of the unified kingdom under Solomon descending to the fall of Jerusalem to Nebuchadnezzar.

Rise then Fall 

The story of King Saul fits this classic pattern. This arc begins with rising action followed by a tragic fall, most often the result of a tragic flaw of a main character. The fall normally aims to warn the audience against the kind of tragic flaw found in the main character.

Fall then Rise

The classic story of this kind of arc is Job. The story begins with him losing one thing after another until he has nothing left. However, by the end of the story, all is restored to Job.

Rise-Fall-Rise

In this story arc the character(s) experience a high, and then things turn for the worse. But then another crucial turn occurs leading to a new rise. The story of King David’s reign has basic elements of this arc with his rise to power, the conspiracy of Absalom and then David’s return to power.

Fall-Rise-Fall

This story arc also involves two turns, but it begins in a low place, progresses to a high point and then descends again to the depths. The Hebrews in the Exodus story follow this pattern. They had descended into slavery after Joseph, but God brings them out with many signs and wonders to met with him in the desert. But they repeatedly rebel and end up perishing without entering the Promised Land.

Charting a Story Arc 

Story arcs can be charted using a basic graphic with two axes. The horizontal axis represents the unfolding of time in the plot. The vertical axis represents rising and falling action.

See an example below of Little Red Riding Hood story arc: