MythMatrix · The Framework
Three pillars that unlock every story ever told — and the story of your life.
Character. Plot. Story Pattern. Master this triangle and you can decode any film, design any narrative, and direct your own life with intention.
Pillar I
The art of interesting people
Move from boring to interesting to wow. Every person is a character — and every character can be developed.
Character is the first pillar of the MythMatrix triangle. Before plot, before pattern — we need to understand who we are, what we fear, and what role we’re playing. The tools here work for the characters you write and the character you are.
The rule is simple: don’t be boring. The question is how. That’s what this pillar answers.
The Three Buckets
Flat. Predictable. No tension, no contradiction, no stakes. Discard these chapters from your repertoire — they don’t serve you or your audience.
Has contradictions, desires, some stakes. Sharpen these — find what was more entertaining, more human, more revealing. The raw material is there.
Fully realized, archetypal, deeply human. Build this bucket deliberately. These are the chapters that change rooms — and change you.
Light Side Archetypes — Kim Hudson
Shadow Side — Every light archetype casts a shadow
The Comedy Equation — Steve Kaplan
“Comedy is about an ordinary guy or gal struggling against insurmountable odds without many of the required skills and tools with which to win, yet never giving up hope.”
The Nine Core Fears — Enneagram
Pillar II
The architecture of what happens next
Plot is where the author’s predictive power lives. How does a story move — and what makes an idea worth developing?
Once you understand plot, you stop being surprised by your own story. You start to see the beat you’re in, anticipate what’s coming, and design your way through it.
The tools here work for screenplays, novels, brand narratives — and the chapter of your life you’re writing right now.
The PROBLEM Framework — Erik Bork
Blake Snyder’s 15 Beats — Save the Cat
A snapshot of the hero’s world BEFORE transformation begins. Sets the tone, mood, and type of film. Bookends with the Final Image — usually reversed — to prove how far the character has come.
In your life story: What does your world look like at the start of this chapter? What’s the establishing shot?
Hero at work, home, and play. Who they are, what they want, what’s missing. We meet the world they’ll leave behind. The audience bonds with the protagonist before the storm hits.
In your life story: What was normal? What were you trying to achieve? What need wasn’t being met?
Someone — usually not the hero — states the theme of the film. The central question the whole story will explore. The hero won’t understand it yet. They will by the Final Image.
What question does your current chapter keep asking you? That’s the theme.
The inciting incident. The thing that kicks the story into motion — an event, arrival, loss, or revelation that makes the status quo impossible to maintain. Life is never the same after this beat.
What happened that started this chapter? What knocked you off your ordinary path?
Hero resists the call. Tries to answer the problem the simplest way first. The debate is the last chance to avoid the journey. Most choose poorly here — and then commit anyway.
Where did you hesitate? What were you avoiding before you finally crossed into the new world?
Hero crosses the threshold. Commits to the journey. The upside-down world begins. Everything before was Act One. Now the real story starts. There’s no going back.
What was the moment of commitment? When did you stop deciding and start doing?
The love story, key relationship, or new world connection that will carry the theme. Provides relief from the A Story stakes — and often delivers the breakthrough the hero needs at the end.
Who appeared in this chapter? What relationship began or deepened that carries the deeper meaning?
The promise of the premise. This is what the movie poster shows. The hero inhabits the new world with fresh eyes — testing it, enjoying it, struggling against it. The genre delivers its core experience here.
What were you learning, exploring, building? The “honeymoon phase” of the new chapter.
False victory or false defeat. Stakes are raised. The real battle begins. The hero either gets what they want (but not what they need) or loses big, making the goal more urgent. No more coasting.
What shifted halfway through? What felt like a win that wasn’t — or a loss that clarified everything?
External and internal pressures mount. The hero’s flaws are exposed. Allies doubt. Resources dwindle. The world reorganizes against the hero. It’s going to get worse before it gets better.
What external and internal forces were converging against you? What old patterns came back?
The lowest moment. Something major is lost — a relationship, a job, a belief, an identity. Death is present — literal or metaphorical. The hero’s old self must die before the new self can emerge.
What was your All Is Lost? What had to die before the new version of you could be born?
Hero gives up hope. Sits with the loss. Wallows — and has to. Transformation is cooking in the silence. The difference between comedy and drama is whether they flip the switch on hope.
What did your rock bottom look like? How long were you in the dark? What finally shifted?
Hero finds the solution — often from the B Story. New plan, transformed self. The synthesis of A and B stories. Everything learned converges into a new approach that wasn’t available before the journey.
What realization changed your approach? Where did the answer come from? Who helped you see it?
Hero executes the new plan. World is transformed. The antagonist is defeated — not just externally, but internally. The hero proves the change is real. All subplots resolve. The new world is established.
What did you actually DO differently? What changed when you applied the new version of yourself?
The opposite of the Opening Image. Proof that change has occurred. The camera pulls back on a different world — or the same world seen with new eyes. The bookend that proves the journey was real.
What does your world look like now? How is the final image of this chapter different from the opening?
The Engine of Dramatic Tension
The pull toward what we want — resolution, connection, victory. The reason we stay invested in the story. What the audience is rooting for.
The push away from what we dread — loss, failure, exposure. The reason every scene has stakes. What keeps the audience from looking away.
“All pleasure comes from tension reduction.” — Sigmund Freud, The Pleasure Principle
Every reel oscillates between hope and fear for approximately 15 minutes. Dramatic tension is two ingredients in dynamic conflict — fighting, pulling, pushing — suspending us between them until the tension resolves. Being aware of the tension is how you break the spell.
The But/Therefore Rule — Stone & Parker
Events just happen, one after another. No causation. No surprise. No momentum. “And then… and then… and then…” is the signature of a boring story — in film and in life.
Every scene ends with a but or a therefore. But: something goes wrong, something changes. Therefore: something must happen as a result. But… therefore… but… therefore… = infinite surprise.
Pillar III
The map of every story ever told
Over 500 films reduce to 5 pairs. Once you see this map, you can identify the pattern of virtually any movie — and any chapter of your life.
Story patterns are not just a tool for film analysis. They are a map of human consciousness — organized by the 5 stages of tribal development identified by Dave Logan in Tribal Leadership.
The MythMatrix innovation: all 10 Blake Snyder story patterns paired with the 5 tribal stages — fiction/ideal patterns on one side, grounded/reality patterns on the other.
5 Tribal Stages · Dave Logan — Tribal Leadership
Despairing hostility and alienation. Severs relationships from functional tribes. Will do anything to survive, even undermine others. The culture of gangs and prisons.
Not alienated but separated. Apathetic victim. Depressed about work and life. Resigned, quietly sarcastic, passionless. Not engaged — but still there.
Lone Warriors. Personal domination. Winning is personal. Knowledge is power — and they’ll hoard it. Most people park here permanently. The center of the bell curve.
Stable partnerships and tribal pride. Fully themselves, genuine, inspired, happy. Shared core values. Has an adversary — the bigger the foe, the more powerful the tribe.
Innocent wonderment. All on the same team with the same goal. Playing for the greater good. In competition with what’s possible, not another tribe.
The Agency Ladder
From Actor to Producer
A 47-person longitudinal study showed that increased agency appeared in people’s stories before their mental health improved. People created a new version of themselves — and lived into it.
Ready to apply the triangle to your own story?
The Life Story Builder walks you through all three pillars — character, plot, and pattern — for the chapter you’re living right now.