Seven Point Story Structure: Explained

The Seven Point Story Structure was created and popularized by Dan Wells and focuses on structure as a plotting device where previous structures we’ve discussed, while great for plotting, are also useful for analyzing. That isn’t to say you can’t analyze a story using the Seven Point structure, just that its primary purpose is for plotting. You will see some very obvious similarities to the Classic Roller Coaster but also a huge deviation. 

The strength of the Seven Point structure is that it calls for specific plot points at each, well, point. If you remember both the Classic Roller Coaster and Freytag’s Pyramid, you’ll realize that there are sections of the outline that express multiple plot points rather than specific ones, where this structure has those "empty" sections, but they aren't part of the outline. Because of this specificity and the plot points chosen for the focus, the Seven Point structure focuses heavily on the rising action and basically disregards the falling action entirely. This of course doesn’t mean you don’t need one, just that it’s not a priority in this narrative plotting method. This specific and limited number of plot points also means this structure lends itself best to simple plots and shorter works, but you can flesh it out by using the seven points to create subplots as well.

Before we get any further, let’s take a look at what the seven points are: the Hook, Plot Point 1, Pinch Point 1, Midpoint, Pinch Point 2, Plot Point 2, and Resolution. See what I mean by them all being specific plot points rather than sections? The first two line up with the exposition and inciting incident, but everything up until the resolution is in the rising action and the resolution point is meant to encompass the climax, falling action, and resolution itself.

But, there is a method to this madness!

This structure is meant to give you a bare bones timeline and the rest is discovered as you go. In fact, the process of outlining is very discovery writer friendly. (We’ll come back to this method after we’ve defined the plot points themselves!) These points simply give you the next place to write toward and from climax to resolution tends to write itself if you know what the ending is (and with this method, you definitely do). Getting there, the middle of the story, is where most of the meat is. 

A final thought about the overall structure I'd like to point to is how it embodies the try-fail cycle (which we will look at more in the Fichtean Curve post). This is encouraged in writing often, but the Seven Point structure ensures it. The try-fail cycle is what makes the rising action interesting; your hero can’t always be winning, they need obstacles, and they need to fail sometimes. That failure still moves us forward with a lesson learned or a new path opened.

The Hook 

The hook and the exposition are basically the same. The focus is introducing the characters, the world, and, most importantly, the status quo. In naming it the hook, Wells puts an emphasis on this piece of your writing being compelling. It needs to hook the reader's attention. 

Plot point 1 

We still don’t deviate from the Classic structure, plot point 1 lines up perfectly with the inciting incident. This is the moment where the journey begins. Something happens to call your protagonist to action. A problem presents itself. It’s the first inkling of conflict but not yet fully formed.

Pinch point 1

Now we are into the rising action, the first of four points which cover this section of the roller coaster. A pinch point is a place where things get harder, your protagonist is pushed up against a wall, the stakes are raised. In the first pinch point, we are introduced to the antagonist and the conflict is more obvious.

Midpoint

The midpoint in the Seven point structure can certainly be compared to the midpoint of Freytag’s pyramid. They are not exactly the same, simply because Freytag’s pyramid is so focused on tragedy, but this is a moment where a peak is reached and a loss of sorts occurs. In simpler terms the midpoint in this structure is a victory with a cost or a false victory.

The key thing that happens is our protagonist goes from reacting to the world around them to proactively taking charge of the situation. This false victory is a trigger for them to take the reins and create a new goal or find the true goal.

Pinch point 2

Pinch point 2 is the “all is lost moment.” Even though the protagonist has figured out the true goal (or true antagonist), and they’ve found the confidence and ability to take matters into their own hands, that doesn’t mean the hardship is over.

This is the real nail-biter moment where the reader (and obviously the protagonist) isn’t sure if this story will end happily or not. This is a major set back, likely the biggest obstacle they’ve come up on yet. And once they solve this the true win is just around the corner.

Plot point 2 

The climax is just around the bend in plot point 2 as our protagonist discovers the secret of winning. This might be a big epiphany moment, the protagonist has found an out of the box way to push the envelope, or they might choose to make a bigger sacrifice than they originally set out to. The fact that it is a choice is important as a contrast to the reactiveness of plot point one.

Resolution

Somewhere just between the moment of discovery and the conflict being resolved in the climax followed quickly by the consequences (or falling action) and the resolution. In this structure the resolution encompasses that winning moment as well as all the fallout. The importance is that the victory has occurred and whatever that means will come out through the writing as do all the little things that happen between plot and pinch points.

How to Use the Seven Point Story Structure

This is the biggest difference between this structure and the others in the series so far. It comes with instructions on how to use it as an outlining tool! And it’s not as straightforward as you might think. It’s not working through the points in order, nor is it working through them backwards, but working symmetrically through mirrored points. Since the midpoint is this switch from reactive to proactive, it’s really helpful to look at each point as a mirror to the one on the other side of the midpoint.

So the order in which you work through them is Resolution, Hook, Midpoint, Plot Point 1, Plot Point 2, Pinch Point 1, Pinch Point 2. You slowly stitch together each side with the major events and obstacles, but importantly you start at the end. This is something that is given as general writing advice all the time: start with the end in mind because if you don’t know where you’re going, how will you know when you get there? Also, from experience not just writing but also reading a lot of short stories as a judge, endings are hard to land.

Before you get to plotting, you have to have a concept. This can be a character, a conflict, a speculative “what-if?” You just need something to get you started.

When the royalty has no heir, the next king is won in a lottery filled contest.

Once you have a concept, you start at the end. How will this concept play out? 

An unlikely king, our farmhand protagonist, is crowned at the end of the contest.

Your next step is to jump all the way to the beginning and mirror this ending with the status quo. This decides where your protagonist starts their journey in order to change to meet the final scene.

Our story opens on a young man doing his chores around the farm. His family consists of his mother and 3 small children. His father is nowhere to be seen.

Then rather than moving to the next thing that happens, we jump to the midpoint in the story where our protagonist goes from being reactive to proactive after a trigger which feels like a false victory or a victory with a cost.

After moving on through the first round of the contest, the protagonist finds out it is rigged in favour of one contestant. This contestant is also the worst human being our protagonist has ever met.

Now that we have the three anchor points of our story we can start stitching them together. We begin with plot point 1 or the inciting incident.

Our protagonist receives the letter that he has been “invited” to participate in the royal contest. The letter is not so much an invitation but a summons. He has to leave his mother alone with the farm and the small children.

Next we jump to the mirror mark in the structure: plot point 2. This plot point reflects the reactive moment in plot point one with a more proactive moment in which our protagonist finds the secret to winning.

The final round of the contest comes down to three participants. Our protagonist realizes if he can convince the other contestant, the one not set up to win, to work together, maybe they can win.

In our final two points on the seven point structure we add in the juicy obstacles. First, pinch point 1 where the antagonist and conflict are introduced. 

Our protagonist gets to the city and is ushered into a room with the other contestants. These other people are his opponents for the foreseeable future. Part of him wants to win so he can use the power to help his family but the other part of him just wants to go home. His mother told him to try.

And our final piece of the puzzle to figure out is pinch point 2, the moment when all seems lost.

As if to confirm our protagonist's desire to not let the contest remain rigged in the terrible human's favour, the terrible human tries to take him out of the contest beyond contest rules. Take him out by means of killing him. (He has the chance to return the favour but chooses to beat him the noble way.)

In the end what we get is:

The Hook - Our story opens on a young man doing his chores around the farm. His family consists of his mother and 3 small children. His father is nowhere to be seen.

Plot point 1 - Protagonist receives the letter that he has been “invited” to participate in the royal contest. The letter is not so much an invite but a summons.

Pinch point 1 - Enters the room with the other contestants and makes both friends and enemies among them. Part of him wants to win and and part of him wishes to be home supporting his family.

Midpoint - After moving on through the first round of the contest, the protagonist finds out it is rigged in favour of one contestant. 

Pinch point 2 - True Antagonist tries to kill protagonist to remove him from the contest proper

Plot point 2 - The final round of the contest comes down to three participants. Our protagonist convinces the other contestant to team up and beat the antagonist.

Resolution - An unlikely king, our farmhand protagonist, is crowned at the end of the contest.

It might feel weird to work in this order but it is a great exercise in thinking about the character arc within the narrative and how the two fit together. Of course, you are free to work in any order you so choose, but I highly recommend giving this a try.

And once you have this outline created, it's time to fill in the blanks! This is what makes this outline so pantser friendly: there's still loads to discover about what happens between these key plot points.

Conclusion

This discovery writer friendly, planning-focused story structure is great for shorter or simpler stories where a bare bones outline is all you need. It comes with a unique set of instructions to follow when all you have is a concept and need to figure the rest out. It helps you manage some very specific elements of the story; namely a reflection on reactive versus proactive points in the character arc. The seven point structure is great to find the key ploy points without getting bogged down in the details.

However, I will say, working through this for my own story was a bit of a brain twister. (Maybe I’ll share that experience in more detail in the video when it comes out!) Like many things, this style of structure and planning may not work for you! Or you may need to work through it in a more linear order while still keeping in mind the mirrored aspects. The theory behind this structure is solid, and I’d love to hear how it works out for you and your story and workflow!

Once your story is finished, come on back for some editing techniques or help!

---

Jerrica is a writer and editor who inspires up-and-coming writers to create compelling fiction and creative nonfiction works while providing them with the confidence to do it themselves or ask for a helping hand when they need it. She enjoys speculative fiction, horror and gut-wrenching emotion with a side of food & drink and the cozier things in life.