Seven-point story structure

The seven-point story structure is a way of planning a plot from both ends at once. It was popularised by the fantasy and horror novelist Dan Wells, whose talks on it are widely shared among writers. Its one big idea is simple: decide where your protagonist ends up, then make sure they start in the opposite place. Everything in between is the work of getting them from one state to the other, and the seven points are the landmarks along the way.

Unlike three-act or five-act structure, it has no acts. It's a sequence of turns and pressures, and it fits comfortably over most other shapes once you've learned to see it.

The seven points

The structure is symmetrical around the midpoint, and that symmetry is where its usefulness lies:

• Hook and Resolution are mirror images. A coward ends brave, a prisoner ends free, a believer ends doubting. If you can't say how your ending is the opposite of your opening, the arc isn't there yet.
• Plot Turn 1 and Plot Turn 2 are the doors in and out. The first moves the story from the hook towards the midpoint; the second moves it from the midpoint towards the resolution. The second often pays off something the first introduced.
• Pinch Point 1 and Pinch Point 2 are where the opposition shows its strength. They exist to apply pressure, and the second should be worse than the first.
• The Midpoint is the hinge: the moment the protagonist stops being pushed around by events and starts pushing back.

Plan it backwards

Wells's advice is to plan in an unusual order, and it's the most practical part of the method:

1. Resolution first: how does the story end?
2. Hook next: the opposite of that ending.
3. Midpoint: the moment the protagonist turns from the hook towards the resolution.
4. Plot Turn 1 and Plot Turn 2: what knocks them out of the start, and what gives them the means to finish.
5. Pinch Point 1 and Pinch Point 2: where the opposition bites hardest.

Working this way means the ending is never an afterthought. Every point is placed because the ending needs it, which keeps the middle from wandering.

Where it shines

Seven-point structure suits stories with a clear transformation and a strong opposing force: fantasy, science fiction and thrillers especially. It's good at:

• Keeping the ending in view. Because you plan from the resolution, the climax is set up rather than improvised.
• Fixing a sagging middle. The two pinch points and the midpoint give the long stretch after the opening three firm footholds.
• Subplots. You can run seven points for each thread (a romance, a rivalry, a mystery) and interleave them, so each has its own rise and turn.
• Revising. Mapping a finished draft onto seven points quickly shows where pressure is missing or where a turn comes from nowhere.

Where it struggles

• It's skeletal. Seven points don't tell you much about the opening chapters or the aftermath, and the gaps between points are large. Many writers combine it with a fuller beat sheet.
• Opposite states can feel mechanical. Not every story is about a complete reversal. A quieter change, or a character who ends where they started but understands it differently, can be forced into a too-neat mirror.
• It assumes an antagonist. The pinch points need someone or something pushing. Stories driven by contrast or circumstance rather than opposition fit it awkwardly; kishōtenketsu may suit them better.

Tips for using it

• Write each point as one sentence. If a point takes a paragraph to explain, it's probably two events, or none.
• Make the pinch points visible. Show the antagonist acting, not just being mentioned. A letter read aloud is weaker than a door kicked in.
• Let Plot Turn 2 come from earlier. The last piece the protagonist needs is most satisfying when it was planted in the first half, ideally near Plot Turn 1.
• Keep the midpoint active. It's a decision, not just a revelation. Something is learned, and then the protagonist chooses to do something with it.
• Use it for each thread. Give your main subplot its own hook, turns and pinches, then check the two don't peak in the same chapter.

A worked example

Imagine a story about Tamsin, a lighthouse keeper's apprentice who is afraid of the sea.

• Resolution: she sails alone through a storm to bring the lamp oil the island needs.
• Hook: she won't set foot on a boat, even to visit her mother on the mainland.
• Midpoint: after the keeper falls ill, she stops waiting for help and decides to learn to sail.
• Plot Turn 1: a supply ship fails to arrive, and the oil starts running low.
• Plot Turn 2: she finds the keeper's old charts, which show a sheltered passage through the reefs.
• Pinch Point 1: the last lamp goes dark one night, and a fishing boat runs aground.
• Pinch Point 2: her first attempt to sail ends in a capsize, and the islanders decide to abandon the lighthouse.

Read in story order, the points make a complete arc, and each was chosen because the ending needed it.

Compared with three acts

Lay seven points over a three-act structure and they line up: Plot Turn 1 falls near the end of Act I, the midpoint in the middle of Act II, and Plot Turn 2 near the end of Act II. The pinch points are what seven-point adds: two named moments of pressure that three acts leave to you. For the bigger picture, see Choosing a story structure.

Seven-point structure in Mythforge

Start a manuscript from Seven-Point Story Structure and Mythforge lays the seven points out as chapters, ready to write into. See Story structures for the steps.

• A word target of 85,000 words and 21 chapters to begin with.
• No acts: the structure has none, so the chapters sit in one list. You can add acts of your own later if you want them; see Acts.
• Every chapter has its point's synopsis and a word target that's its share of the whole, so the longer stretches, such as Plot Turn 2 and the Resolution, get more words.
• Change the word target and chapter count before creating. There's always at least one chapter per point; extra chapters split the longest points into parts, such as Resolution, part 2.
• Everything stays editable afterwards: rename, move, split or delete chapters as the story finds its shape, and check the points side by side on the planner.