There’s a reason for why certain storytelling elements just keeps coming back, again and again.
Well, it’s because they work.
I’ve done some research and collected the different storytelling elements in one place.
Here we go:
Via Gregg Morris, Judith van Praag, Sarah McElrath



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Years ago, while studying screenwriting with John Truby I used the graph I drew after his story elements class to understand life. Over time I put together the elements that would make up the novel I'm finishing now.
Seeing this list, I immediately think: Oh, that looks like the timeline of my first marriage.
Which makes me want to add:
Stories don't need to have a happy ending, as long as the reader knows there are next steps that will be taken. Such endings make us long for more, for a sequal. Some writers do, for that very reason end with "to be continued".
Sometimes, or often, The End heralds a New Beginning.
I have heard Donna Napoli describe #3 as "the extraordinary on an ordinary day."
I think we should all do this every now and again; reflect the above list to your life or to one day of our life. I'm sure it would make our lives feel much more eventful and exciting.