A Story-Structure Method
"You stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes." — The Matrix (wr./dir. Wachowski/Wachowski, 1999)
The Method
Tale Spinning is a method that grows stories from theme and character outward. Every beat earned, every beat inevitable. For writing your own, evaluating someone else's, or developing with a team.
“You stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.” — The Matrix (wr./dir. Wachowski/Wachowski, 1999)
For storytellers
For people who want to write better stories themselves, in any genre or medium.
Start the free course →For producers & development teams
For people who read scripts for a living and would rather bring in a structural read.
Work with me →Tale Spinning in action
Ratatouille is a Pixar kitchen comedy. In Bruges is a Belgian hitman drama. On the surface they share nothing. Run them through the method and the same story appears in both: same protagonist, same false victory, same earned, honest ending.
Read the essay →Not infinite
Two questions decide which type of story you are dealing with. The first is about the character: do they change, or refuse to? That's the difference between comedy and tragedy. The second is about their world: does it reward goodness, or ruthlessness? That's the difference between kind and cruel.
Comedy the character changes
Tragedy the character refuses
Ratatouille / In Bruges
A hero sets a good example, and a good world rewards it.
● Live · Read →
Nightcrawler / Whiplash
A villain sheds the last of their humanity, and a bad world rewards it.
○ Soon
Scream / The Social Network
A villain refuses to change, and a good world makes an example of them.
○ Soon
Sicario / Parasite
A hero keeps their humanity, and a bad world breaks them for it.
○ SoonThe Newsletter
Start with the Story Type Guide, free. Then the Fundamentals course over the next few weeks, plus every new essay as it lands.
Keep reading
Film breakdowns and essays that put the method to work, one story at a time.
July 27, 2026
Second act advice says raise the stakes and add complications. That is the instinct that makes middles sag. The second act is not where things get worse for your protagonist. It is where things get better, using the exact behaviour that will cost them everything.
Read →July 12, 2026
Your protagonist is allowed to get worse. The Godfather rewards Michael's descent and calls it an ending. Character regression isn't bad writing: it's a verdict.
Read →The terms
The method names its parts: 37 terms across five categories. A full system, not a few tips.
A term in use
A supreme talent lodged in the one identity least allowed to use it — the gift and the flaw, the same trait.
See the definition →
