hackertube.io

Kurt Vonnegut on the Shapes of Stories

David Comberg · lecture · Watch on YouTube

Literature & writing craft

What it is

A short lecture in which Kurt Vonnegut graphs the simple shapes of stories, such as Man in Hole and Boy Gets Girl. He sketches how fortune rises and falls over a narrative.

Why Hacker News recommends it

HN cites it as a charming, funny way to see story structure and a source for the idea that plots have shapes.

  • 5 people recommended it
  • 5 different months
  • 2 strong recommendations
  • first 2012, last 2022

What HN commenters said

  1. “It reminds me of this great video of Vonnegut graphing the emotional shape of stories.”

    Vonnegut graphing emotional shapes of stories

    baconner, 2012-12 · Strong recommendation · in “Programmer creates 800,000 books algorithmically, starts selling them on Amazon”

  2. “Vonnegut is really special. I always like coming back to his Shape of Stories talks”

    Vonnegut's charming talk on story shapes

    bmitc, 2020-11 · Strong recommendation · in “Kurt Vonnegut, The Art of Fiction No. 64 (1977)”

  3. “see this Kurt Vonnegut video where he explains story shapes”

    Vonnegut explains story shapes

    ZenPsycho, 2012-01 · Recommendation · in “Dear Tech Community, We Have A Communication Problem”

  4. “I really love this video of his, on the shape of a story”

    Vonnegut explains the shape of stories

    meesterdude, 2015-05 · Recommendation · in “How to Write with Style (1985)”

  5. “Vonnegut drawing graphs of famous story plots”

    Vonnegut graphing famous story plots

    jonahx, 2021-09 · Recommendation · in “Chekhov's Gun”

Excerpts from Hacker News comments, linked to the originals. Summaries and labels were written by a language model from those comments.

Topics: kurt vonnegut, storytelling, narrative arcs, writing, plot shapes

Also recommended by the same people