Mindful Content: What’s your story archetype and theme?

Image from Unsplash: Anne Nygárd

Blog No. 24

By Marcus Coates, @homeinriyadh, 25th November 2021

Story archetypes and themes

In a previous blog, I researched 14 types of genres. I explored how each genre had certain conventions shaping the story and that readers and audiences expect.

For example, romance novels always finish with a happy ending and a restoration of faith in love; and thrillers contain multiple plot twists, red herrings and cliffhangers to keep the narrative fast-paced and exciting.

Here is a recap of the main genres:

Two other initial book research areas that help define a story before committing to the first draft are story archetype and theme.

The Merriam Webster online dictionary defines archetype as:

“The original pattern or model of which all things of the same type are representations or copies.”

And lists ‘prototype’ and ‘perfect example’ as synonyms. (MerriamWebster.com Dictionary)

Christopher Booker’s Seven Basic Plots

Deciding on an archetype for your story is a helpful way to structure your writing before commencing and may keep you from getting lost during the process — a case of keeping in mind the destination during the journey.

Christopher Booker’s seminal work, The Seven Basic Plots: Why we tell stories (2004), is an in-depth analysis of the human need to tell stories and how stories can be condensed down to seven basic archetypes.

It’s a book worth reading, but with over seven hundred pages, you’ll need to put some time aside to complete it.

In the meantime, here’s a summary of the seven archetypes.

The theme of a story

Another critical element of storytelling that goes hand in hand with the archetype is the theme.

Merriam Webster defines a story’s theme as:

“A subject or topic of discourse or artistic representation. A specific and distinctive quality, characteristic or concern.”

Synonyms include: content, matter, motif, question, subject and topic.

(MerriamWebster.com Dictionary)

Both story archetype and theme go to the heart of why humans tell stories. Philip Pullman once said:

“After nourishment, shelter, and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world

(Philip Pullman).”

For Christopher Booker, the story is the gateway to a psychological understanding of the human condition. Psychologist Carl Jung believed stories are the primal force of communication, stating:

“Humans share a collective unconscious, an understanding of patterns and meaning across experience. Stories tap into the universals, connecting us to a larger self and shared truths of humanity.”

(Image: Pamela Rutledge, PhD, Uncovering ‘Why’).

Getting back to Christopher Booker’s The Seven Basic Plots, the table below provides a summary of the archetypes, a definition, the underlying theme of the archetype and examples from novels and movies to reflect on:

Of course, not all readers and critics agree with Christopher Booker’s conclusion that all stories can be condensed down to seven archetypes and themes, as some great works of literary fiction and experimental writing defy easy categorisation.

Also, other literary critics and specialists hold a different number of archetypes and themes — such as nine — whilst others condense the number to a mere three or four universal plots and themes.

However, if you are interested in commercial or genre fiction, keep in mind that a story archetype and theme (as well as defining your genre, setting, and primary character motivation) are not bad starting places to help organise your writing.

To help you organise your thoughts, a downloadable and editable ‘story archetype template’ is available on my website: visit www.mc-mindful-content.com and download the Word doc ‘Template-Archetypes & Themes’

If you are interested in the steps used to generate initial story ideas, create character profiles, choose a setting, or find a genre generator — and you haven’t already done so — check out my previous blogs.

Blog 19, ‘Generating Story Ideas’,

Blog 20, ‘Creating Novel Characters with Individuality and Depth – Profiling’, Blog 22 ‘Creating memorable settings’, Blog 23 ‘Genre generator’.