Julia West's Writing Idea Generators: The 37 Dramatic Situations

Julia H. West's Writing Ideas and Prompts

The Thirty-six (plus one) Dramatic Situations

Georges Polti says that all stories boil down to just 36 dramatic situations and takeoffs of those situations. Somebody else out there added #37. If you're stuck for a situation, try this. A situation appears below randomly (in bold print). If you'd like more information, or want to see the subplots for the situation, click on its link below.

(Note: In several cases, specific gender in the original descriptions has been replaced with non-specific gender. After all, men aren't the only ones out there having adventures! And women aren't only there to be loved, taken advantage of, or rescued.)

Your situation:

1. Supplication	2. Deliverance	3. Crime Punished by Vengeance
4. Vengeance Taken For Kindred Upon Kindred	5. Pursuit	6. Disaster
7. Falling Prey to Cruelty or Misfortune	8. Revolt	9. Daring Enterprise
10. Abduction	11. The Enigma	12. Obtaining
13. Enmity of Kinsmen	14. Rivalry of Kinsmen	15. Murderous Adultery
16. Madness	17. Fatal Imprudence	18. Involuntary Crimes of Love
19. Slaying of a Kinsman Unrecognized	20. Self-sacrificing for an Ideal	21. Self-sacrifice for Kindred
22. All Sacrificed for a Passion	23. Necessity of Sacrificing Loved Ones	24. Rivalry of Superior and Inferior
25. Adultery	26. Crimes of Love	27. Discovery of the Dishonor of a Loved One
28. Obstacles to Love	29. An Enemy Loved	30. Ambition
31. Conflict With a God	32. Mistaken Jealousy	33. Erroneous Judgement
34. Remorse	35. Recovery of a Lost One	36. Loss of Loved Ones
37. Mistaken Identity

Last updated 10 December 2014

Illustration from http://www.morguefile.com; photographer mconnors