15 STEPS TO A SITCOM STORY

by John
Vorhaus

WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT HERE... 

A couple of years ago at a comedy writing workshop in Switzerland, I was asked to break down a typical sitcom story into its fundamental sequence of steps. Thinking on my feet (though not entirely with them), I came up with the template you see here. It's pretty solid. It doesn't work for every sitcom story you might try to tell, but it does work for many, if not most, and it's a reliable means by which to test the structure of your own sitcom story.

Don't get bent out of shape if you find that you have 14 steps or 16 or 20. The precise number of story beats doesn't matter. The real utility of this model is the way it demonstrates the false communion and true communion which comprise the real heart of a solid sitcom episode.

For the sake of illustration, I present the problem of JOE, a young man living with friends who has the problem of calling his mother every day.

1. The lead character feels okay about something.

Joe calls his mother every day and feels fine. He doesn't see the need to be independent.

2. Something happens that makes him feel bad about it. 

Joe's friends give him a hard time.

3. He decides to do something about it.

Joe resolves to stop calling mom every day.

4. He makes an attempt.

At the appointed hour, Joe doesn't call his mom. 

5. The attempt fails and X now has a bigger problem.

But then he breaks down and calls her anyway.

6. X tries to do something about his problem...

He tells the others to physically prevent him from calling.

7. ...and fails again.

But he sneaks out and calls anyway.

8. X now faces the biggest possible problem and/or makes a very big (wrong) decision.

Joe decides that the best thing to do is just never speak to his mother again.

(End of Act 1)

9. X denies his problem und/or acts according to his decision.

Joe enjoys his new independence.

10. His situation (his problem) is discovered.

His mother shows up.

11. Others try to intervene.

Joe's friends fight for Joe's independence.

12. The first (wrong) intervention fails, because it does not tackle X's real problem (this is a moment of false communion).

Joe yields to his mother's argument that, in following his friends' advice, he's just swapped one dependence for another.

13. The real intervention. Truth is faced/put into words.

Joe finally stands up to both his mother and his friends.

14. X understands himself better or accepts himself or learns something new (this is the true communion).

Joe realizes that he can think for himself.

15. Back to the starting point.

And calls his mother the very next day - not because he has to, but because he wants to.

If you're having trouble putting a sitcom story on its feet, try this method.  Just pick any arbitrary character, assign any arbitrary problem, and put the wheels in motion.  

Here's another way of looking at this:  In sitcom (in fact, in most stories) there are really only two kinds of events: pressures; and responses.  Each new pressure demands a new response which, in turn, creates a new pressure.  There is more to be found on this subject, plus many similar nouns and verbs on many related topics, in my book Creativity Rules!