The Larry Brooks Short Story Template: A Comprehensive Guide

Looking for a clear, step-by-step approach to writing a compelling short story? Larry Brooks’ short story template offers a proven method that helps writers craft focused, engaging narratives. In this guide, I’ll break down Brooks’ key story components and show you exactly how to apply his approach to your own short fiction.

Here’s what you’ll learn in this article:

• Understanding the seven story beats
• Creating characters with clear goals
• Building rising story tension
• Adapting for different story lengths
• Comparing it to other story structures
• Using practical story planning tools

What Is the Larry Brooks Short Story Template?

The Larry Brooks Short Story Template is a seven-beat story pattern designed to help writers create compelling short stories with clear direction. Rather than being a rigid formula, this template gives writers a flexible outline that guides them through the natural progression of a story while leaving plenty of room for creative expression.

At its heart, the template follows what Brooks describes as:

• setup
• shift
• response
• shift
• attack
• shift
• resolution

These seven beats create a plan for your character’s development, ensuring your story contains the necessary elements for making readers care.

Brooks points out that regardless of length, short stories need the same basic elements as longer works: conflict, stakes, character need, opposition, and setting—just in more condensed form. The template helps you include these elements without overwhelming your limited word count.

Background and Origins

Who is Larry Brooks?

Larry Brooks is a USA Today bestselling author who’s written six thrillers and three books on writing, including Story Engineering. His approach to story structure comes from years of analyzing what makes stories connect with readers.

Brooks believes that successful stories share common patterns across all genres. His template comes from seeing how stories naturally flow through specific phases of character challenge and change.

Unlike writing teachers who focus only on inspiration, Brooks takes a more practical approach—believing that understanding structure actually enhances creativity rather than limiting it.

How the Short Story Template Evolved

Brooks adapted his novel structure (which divides stories into four parts: Setup, Response, Attack, and Resolution) to work for the shorter format of short fiction. While novels typically give about 25% to each section, short stories need different proportions.

For short stories, Brooks condensed these four components while keeping three key turning points: the initial problem (similar to Plot Point 1 in novels), the midpoint revelation, and the final transformation.

This condensed approach means you need to be more efficient with establishing stakes. Brooks insists that even a 1,000-word story must hint at broader character histories and suggest consequences beyond the immediate events.

Basic Storytelling Principles

Brooks’ template works on several essential storytelling ideas:

• Conflict drives the story forward: Every scene must change the protagonist’s situation
• Stakes get higher: Consequences should become more serious through each beat
• Character motives matter: Actions must come from defined character needs
• Backstory informs without dominating: History shapes present decisions without lengthy explanations
• Theme connects events: Story events should tie to broader meaning

These principles help short story writers create work that feels complete despite limited word count. The structure provides just enough guidance to keep the story on track while leaving room for your unique voice and style.

The Seven Beats Explained

Beat 1: Setup

The Setup introduces your main character, their world, and the story’s central problem. This beat typically takes up the first 10-15% of your total word count and starts the story.

Key elements to include:

• Introduction to your protagonist
• Establishment of their normal world
• Introduction of a problem that disrupts this world
• Clear character goal and motivation

Good setups reveal necessary backstory through present action rather than static description. In Grace Paley’s short story Wants, the narrator meets her ex-husband on library steps, immediately establishing their history and tensions through their conversation.

In Ernest Hemingway’s Hills Like White Elephants, the setup introduces a couple waiting for a train in Spain, with tension in their conversation that hints at a bigger unspoken issue.

Beat 2: First Shift

The First Shift happens about 20% into your story and changes your protagonist’s situation. This disruption pushes the character out of their comfort zone and ruins their initial plan for dealing with the problem.

This beat should:

• Make their previous plans useless
• Raise the personal stakes
• Create time pressure or limitations
• Cause an emotional reaction in your character

In Wants, this shift occurs when the protagonist enters the library and her ex-husband follows her inside, forcing her to face past conflicts she’d rather avoid.

In Flannery O’Connor’s A Good Man is Hard to Find, the first shift comes when the family’s car accident puts them in the path of an escaped killer.

Beat 3: Response Phase

During the Response phase, your character reacts to the First Shift. They usually try cautious solutions using what they already know, often making the situation worse because they don’t fully understand what’s happening.

This is where character flaws shine through. A proud character might double down on failed methods rather than ask for help. A fearful character might hide rather than confront the issue.

This beat shows readers how the character handles challenges and sets up the need for bigger change later in the story.

Beat 4: Midpoint Shift

The Midpoint Shift happens halfway through your story and delivers a revelation that changes how everyone sees the situation. This might be:

• A betrayal discovered
• A hidden motive revealed
• A misunderstood relationship clarified

Unlike novels where midpoints often feature dramatic action, short story midpoints may use quieter realizations. In Wants, the narrator realizes that despite appearing indifferent, she does want things from life—specifically to become someone who takes control of her circumstances.

In Raymond Carver’s Cathedral, the midpoint comes when the narrator begins to see the blind man as a person rather than a stereotype.

Beat 5: Attack

With insights gained from the Midpoint Shift, your protagonist now takes a more active approach. They try new approaches that fix the flaws in their earlier attempts.

The Attack phase often features:

• Unexpected approaches to the problem
• Using previously overlooked resources
• Moral choices that test the character’s values
• Direct confrontation with opposition

This beat shows growth in the character’s approach, demonstrating how they’ve evolved from their reactive state in the Response phase.

Beat 6: Final Shift

The Final Shift introduces a last-minute complication that tests the protagonist’s growth. This happens just before the Resolution and separates surface-level victories from meaningful change.

This shift might involve:

• A friend withdrawing support
• A new obstacle appearing
• Realizing that initial goals weren’t enough

How the character handles this final challenge reveals the depth of their transformation and sets up the Resolution.

Beat 7: Resolution

The Resolution shows the outcome of the protagonist’s journey. Brooks suggests avoiding neat endings, instead preferring conclusions that:

• Reflect genuine character change
• Leave some questions about long-term impacts
• Call back to opening scenes but with new context

In Wants, the narrator’s decision to return her library books on time represents a small but important change in taking control of her life, contrasting with her earlier passive acceptance.

The Resolution shows how the character has changed and what this means for their future, even if we don’t see that future play out.

Quick Reference: The Seven Beats

1. Setup (10-15%): Introduce character, world, and problem
2. First Shift (20%): Disrupt the character’s world/plan
3. Response (20-30%): Character reacts, often ineffectively
4. Midpoint Shift (50%): Key revelation changes perspective
5. Attack (50-70%): Character takes new, proactive approach
6. Final Shift (70-80%): Last challenge tests character growth
7. Resolution (80-100%): Show outcome and character change

How This Template Builds Better Stories

Creating Characters With Clear Goals

Brooks’ template helps you create main characters with defined wants and needs from the beginning. This clarity drives the story forward and gives readers someone to care about.

When you establish clear character goals in the Setup, you make it easier to write choices and actions that connect to these motivations throughout the story. This consistency makes characters feel real and their journeys meaningful.

The template encourages you to differentiate between:

• External goals – what the character consciously wants
• Internal needs – what the character unconsciously requires

This tension between want and need adds depth and makes your story resonate beyond the surface plot.

Building Rising Tension

The three shifts in Brooks’ template create natural points of escalation. Each shift raises stakes and changes the context of the story, preventing the narrative from becoming flat or predictable.

These shifts force your character to:

• Abandon comfortable patterns
• Gain new insights about their situation
• Take increasingly bold actions

By planning your shifts carefully, you ensure your story keeps moving forward even with limited word count. Each shift should increase pressure on your protagonist, making their situation more urgent or complex.

Showing Character Growth

Brooks’ template creates a natural arc for character development through its seven beats. Characters start with limited understanding in the Setup, gain perspective through the shifts, and show change by the Resolution.

The template helps you demonstrate character growth through:

• Comparing early and late decision-making
• Revealing deeper aspects of personality after each shift
• Showing new capabilities in the Attack phase

This progression makes character change feel natural rather than forced. By the Resolution, readers should see a meaningful difference in how the character approaches their world, even if the external change is subtle.

Putting the Template to Work

Adapting for Different Word Counts

One strength of Brooks’ template is its flexibility across story lengths. You can adjust beat proportions based on your target word count:

For a 1,000-word story:

• Setup: ~150 words
• First Shift + Response: ~200 words
• Midpoint Shift + Attack: ~400 words
• Final Shift + Resolution: ~250 words

For a 5,000-word story:

• Setup: ~750 words
• First Shift + Response: ~1,000 words
• Midpoint Shift + Attack: ~2,000 words
• Final Shift + Resolution: ~1,250 words

Notice that as story length increases, more space goes to the middle sections (Response and Attack). This allows for more complex character reactions and actions.

Adjustments for Different Genres

Different genres may require tweaks to the template:

Literary Fiction: Focus on emotional shifts over plot events. Your “shifts” might be internal realizations rather than external events. The Attack phase might involve confronting emotional truths rather than external opponents.

Mystery: Include clues during Setup, connect dots at the Midpoint, and use the Attack phase to test theories. The Final Shift often introduces a last piece of evidence that changes everything.

Romance: Use shifts to deepen relationship dynamics. The Midpoint often reveals vulnerability, while the Final Shift tests commitment. Resolution shows how the relationship has changed both characters.

Science Fiction/Fantasy: Allow extra Setup space for world-building, but weave it into character action rather than explanation dumps. Use shifts to reveal new aspects of your created world.

Example: Breaking Down “Wants” by Grace Paley

Story Analysis: Wants by Grace Paley

Setup: The narrator sits on library steps when her ex-husband appears. Their interaction immediately establishes their history and ongoing tensions.

First Shift: The ex-husband follows her into the library and begins listing trivial reasons for their divorce (like not inviting the Bertrams to dinner).

Response: The narrator tries to deflect his accusations by focusing on positive aspects of their past (raising children).

Midpoint Shift: The narrator realizes she does want something from life—to become someone who takes control of circumstances.

Attack: She pays her library fine and checks out the same books again, taking action to address what’s in her control.

Final Shift: She acknowledges the pattern of letting things slide in her life and decides to change it.

Resolution: The narrator returns her library books on time, a small but significant step toward taking control of her life.

Example: A Genre Story Analysis

Story Analysis: The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe

Setup: The narrator insists he’s sane while revealing his obsession with an old man’s “vulture eye” and his plan to kill him.

First Shift: After seven nights of watching the old man sleep, the narrator finally sees the “evil eye” open and is driven to action.

Response: The narrator smothers the old man, dismembers the body, and hides it under the floorboards, believing he’s committed the perfect crime.

Midpoint Shift: Police arrive to investigate a shriek heard by neighbors, and the narrator feels confident in his deception as he invites them to sit directly above the hidden body.

Attack: The narrator tries to appear normal while chatting with the officers, working hard to maintain his composure.

Final Shift: The narrator begins to hear the beating of the dead man’s heart growing louder, though only he can hear it.

Resolution: Unable to bear the sound any longer, the narrator confesses his crime to the police, revealing his guilt and madness.

Comparing to Other Story Structures

vs. Three-Act Structure

The traditional three-act structure divides stories into Beginning (25%), Middle (50%), and End (25%). This works well for novels and films but presents challenges for short stories:

Key differences:

• Brooks combines parts of Acts 1-2 into Setup/Response (30-40% total)
• Brooks uses active midpoints rather than “false victory” moments
• Resolution suggests future consequences rather than showing them

For a 3,000-word story, Brooks’ approach might use 800 words for Setup, 600 for Response, 900 for Attack, and 700 for Resolution. This creates a more dynamic flow than the rigid 750-1500-750 split of three-act structure.

vs. Hero’s Journey

Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey includes 17 stages and works well for epic tales but becomes unwieldy for short stories because:

• It requires significant character separation phases
• It dedicates substantial space to mentor/ally development
• Its multiple challenge sequences demand high word counts

Brooks’ template streamlines these elements by:

• Using composite characters (mentors appear briefly or through remembered advice)
• Suggesting mythology through subtle references rather than extended flashbacks
• Focusing on a single transformative challenge rather than a series of tests

This simplification makes Brooks’ approach more practical for short fiction while preserving the essence of character transformation.

Mixed Approaches

Many writers combine Brooks’ template with other structural techniques:

In Medias Res: Starting after the First Shift and revealing Setup details through flashbacks.

Nonlinear Timeline: Using Resolution imagery as bookends to frame the story while maintaining the seven beats in altered order.

Multiple Viewpoints: Alternating perspectives while keeping each character’s arc aligned with the seven-beat progression.

These mixed approaches maintain story structure while accommodating experimental styles. For example, a story with a fragmented timeline might spread Setup elements across flashbacks triggered by Midpoint revelations.

Common Mistakes and How to Fix Them

Trying to Include Too Much

Many writers try to pack too much into a short story, causing readers to feel overwhelmed. Signs you’ve included too much:

• Character motivations that feel unexplained
• Emotional reactions that seem out of proportion
• Plot developments that appear to come from nowhere

Solution: Focus on a single main conflict and character arc. Hint at broader world and history rather than attempting to show everything. Remember that short stories are glimpses, not panoramas.

Before:

“Jane remembered her childhood in rural Montana, her time at Harvard Law, her messy divorce, and the case that made her famous as she stepped into the courtroom to face her old nemesis, who had once been her mentor until the betrayal three years ago.”

After:

“Jane straightened her jacket before entering the courtroom. Across the aisle, Professor Matthews looked up and gave her the same dismissive smile he’d worn the day he’d told her she’d never make it as an attorney. She gripped her case files tighter.”

Too Many Shifts

While Brooks’ template includes three shifts, adding more can dilute their impact and confuse readers. Problems include:

• Too many reversals creating confusion
• Character motivations becoming inconsistent
• Thematic focus getting lost amid constant changes

Solution: Make each shift count by ensuring it genuinely changes the context of the story. Focus on depth of impact rather than number of changes. Each shift should alter how the character sees their situation.

Before:

“Mark learned his wife was cheating, then he got fired, then his car broke down, then he won the lottery, then his wife returned, then her lover threatened him, then his old boss offered him a better job.”

After:

“When Mark found his wife’s hotel receipts, his world collapsed. But nothing prepared him for the moment two weeks later when she returned home with an unexpected proposal that would force him to choose between his pride and his heart.”

Resolution Problems

A common mistake is creating a Resolution that doesn’t match the story’s setup or the character’s journey. Examples include:

• Sudden character changes without proper setup
• Solutions that come too easily or from outside sources
• Thematic endings that contradict earlier story values

Solution: Your Resolution should grow naturally from everything that came before. The character’s final state should reflect their journey through all three shifts. Ask yourself: “What has this character earned or learned?”

Before:

“Though Tom had been selfish throughout the story, he suddenly decided to give away his fortune to charity because a stranger on the bus inspired him.”

After:

“Tom hesitated before signing the donation form. Three months ago, he would have laughed at the idea. But after watching his sister’s struggle and recognizing his own part in it, the numbers on his bank statement had lost their meaning. Some debts couldn’t be repaid with money, but this was a start.”

Tools and Resources

Using Plottr Software

Plottr is story planning software that includes the Larry Brooks Short Story template as a built-in structure. To use it:

1. From the Plottr Dashboard, select “Create From Template”
2. Choose the Larry Brooks Short Story template from the sidebar
3. Click “Create New Project” and name your project
4. The template will open in Timeline view with all seven beats
5. Click on any scene card to add your story details

You can also add this template to an existing project by hovering over the + button to add another plot line, choosing “Use Template,” and selecting Larry Brooks Short Story.

Additional Resources

To deepen your understanding of Brooks’ approach, check out these resources:

• Story Engineering by Larry Brooks – His comprehensive guide to story structure
• StoryFix.com – Brooks’ website with articles on story structure
• Short Story Structures: A Group of Short Essays edited by Grace Paley – Contains examples of structured short fiction
• The Art of the Short Story by Dana Gioia and R.S. Gwynn – Provides context on short story craft

Reading published short stories with Brooks’ template in mind will help you recognize how successful authors implement these structural elements while maintaining their unique voice.

Why This Template Works So Well

Works With Different Endings

Brooks’ template works with various story outcomes while maintaining good structure:

• Happy endings – Character achieves goals and grows
• Tragic endings – Character fails but gains insight
• Ambiguous endings – Questions remain, but character has changed
• Circular endings – Return to beginning with new perspective

This flexibility makes the template useful across genres. A mystery can end with the case solved, a romance with a relationship defined, or a literary piece with a moment of quiet realization—all while following the same basic beats.

Structure Without Stifling Creativity

The real strength of Brooks’ approach is that it provides just enough structure to guide without restricting. The template:

• Focuses on key turning points rather than dictating every scene
• Emphasizes character change without prescribing specific traits
• Outlines story progression while leaving content choices to you

This balance helps you avoid both wandering aimlessly and following a formula too rigidly. You know where your story is heading, but how you get there remains your creative choice.

Works Across Different Formats

Modern storytelling extends beyond traditional print to digital platforms, audio formats, and visual media. Brooks’ template adapts well to these contexts:

• Online fiction – The clear structure works well for screen reading
• Short films – The shifts create natural scene breaks
• Podcasts – The beats provide episode structure for serial fiction
• Interactive stories – Decision points can align with the shifts

This adaptability makes the template valuable for writers working in multiple formats. A story structured with Brooks’ beats can move from written form to audio or visual adaptation while maintaining its core impact.

The seven-beat structure also aligns with how digital readers consume content—in clear chunks with obvious movement between sections. This makes Brooks’ approach particularly effective for reaching today’s audiences.