7 frameworks for telling your life story

Many of us start writing our life stories down to gain a deeper understanding of ourselves and our experiences. Once you start looking at your life this way— as a story, full of turning points and transformations—you can start observing your memories, thoughts and imagination differently. You can tap into the power of shaping your own narratives, and you can learn this through the practice of storytelling. 

why storytelling?

It’s been scientifically proven that storytelling heals, but right now I’m speaking from the heart. Storytelling has been the most healing and energizing of all the practices that have transformed my life. Blogging is how I started opening up and speaking my truths. Writing books is how I turned pain into purpose, and found the courage to start hosting workshops. Even if you choose not to share your story publicly, the practice of writing about your life can change how you interpret your experiences which can ultimately elevate your whole outlook.

Much of the writing I’ve done to heal will never be shared publicly. Between 2016 and 2019, I worked on a memoir about my childhood and mental health journey. I wrote down many of the childhood memories that haunted me, finding the words to tell these stories to myself for the first time. While I have no immediate plans to move forward with that project, the healing work it did for me is immeasurable. And one of the pieces I did share publicly was published on Shondaland, where my words have reached people around the world who grew up under similar circumstances, and who reached out to tell me that my words helped them feel less alone.

Vulnerability researcher and author Brené Brown said, “One day you will tell your story of how you overcame what you went through and it will be someone else’s survival guide.”

With that in mind, I’ve made it my mission to help people discover and share their stories, working to bridge the emotional obstacles between inner reflection and outer expression. One of the obstacles we face as storytellers is choosing which stories to tell and how to structure them. In my Self-Inquiry and Personal Storytelling workshop, we practice by studying the seven story archetypes according to author and theorist Christopher Booker, and how to leverage these frameworks to discover ideas for our own personal stories. 

the seven story archetypes

In his book, The Seven Basic Plots, Christopher Booker breaks down the seven story archetypes that he believes make up all of storytelling throughout history. While the following seven archetypes or plot styles are often referenced as tools for fiction writing, they also work for non-fiction personal narratives.

Overcoming the Monster.

The main character (you) must dig deep for the strength to overcome a monster or evil of some sort that is seemingly larger, greater, or smarter than you. The monster could be a physical one or a conceptual one. Examples that most of us are familiar with include David and Goliath and Star Wars. Personal stories about conceptual monsters could include anything from overcoming a life-threatening disease to overcoming a mundane circumstance like a traffic jam. Two memoirs I’ve read that use this style include Lit by Mary Karr and Madness by Maryah Hornbacher. 

Rags to Riches.

The main character grows up in poor living conditions and has to go through obstacles to find their way to wealth and prosperity. There are often ups and downs along the way in which the character achieves some success and then loses it because they still have a lesson to learn. Familiar fictional examples include Cinderella and Aladdin.

The Quest.

The main character sets out on a physical or spiritual mission to find a person, place or thing that requires them to face tests and obstacles. You might recognize The Lord of the Rings Trilogy or even Finding Nemo as well-known quests. A couple of memoirs that use this plot type include Wild by Cheryl Strayed and Inheritance by Dani Shapiro.

Voyage and Return.

The Voyage and Return story takes The Quest further because the main character is unexpectedly transported to a whole different world or universe with mysteries that must be solved before they can escape and return home. Well-known examples include The Wizard of Oz and Alice and Wonderland. For a true, personal story to work with this style, you have to tell a story of journeying outside of your ‘normal’ world to some new otherworldly place. 

Comedy.

With the Comedy story type, the main character is drawn to a certain person or situation, maybe a person, job or ideal, but there is an obstacle in the way, and it’s presented in an amusing or chaotic way. Eventually the confusion is cleared up, the main character learns something about themselves, and lives happily ever after with some version of their goal being actualized. Examples for using this style for personal storytelling include books like We Are Never Meeting in Real Life.: Essays by Samantha Kirby and The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl by Issa Rae.

Tragedy.

In this cautionary tale, the main character has a doomed outcome due to some kind of fatal flaw. This story could be about a villain (or misguided innocent) who goes down a dark road that ends in destruction—either a literal or symbolic death or loss. To put this in perspective, fictional stories that come to mind for this plot type include films like Goodfellas and Scarface. Personal narratives in this plot style can be about a compulsion for a love interest, money, status, power, or anything really, that ends in disaster. 

Rebirth.

The main character in a rebirth story has been under some kind of negative or limiting influence, and during the course of the story they encounter a person or situation that inspires them to see the world differently and break free. A familiar fictional story in this style is The Grinch. I haven’t read either of these yet, but The Bold World: A Memoir of Family and Transformation by Jodie Patterson and Educated by Tara Westover are both great examples of rebirth stories.  

In Summary

Do you see any of your life experiences reflected in these archetypes? 

In the Self-Inquiry and Personal Storytelling workshop, we study examples, answer writing prompts, and imagine our stories through the above frameworks.  Our responses provide different entry points to memories and ideas, which we use to draft a personal story and share with the group.

You can click here to learn more about Self-Inquiry and Personal Storytelling or to check out my other workshops.  

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