The StorySteps 25-day story series walks you through how to craft a complete fictional narrative using the StorySteps method, drawing inspiration from proven storytelling frameworks like Blake Snyder’s Save the Cat and Eric Edson’s Hero Goal Sequences.
Instead of just theory, we build a story step by step, so you can see how structure actually works in practice.
In this series, we develop the story Lost Boy from a simple idea into a fully structured story, breaking down each stage along the way. You’ll learn how to shape your protagonist, define the stakes, and build a story that keeps people engaged from beginning to end.
Each episode focuses on one clear step, giving you a simple, practical way to move your own story forward.
Whether you’re writing a novel, screenplay, or just exploring an idea, this series gives you a clear path from idea to structured story.
Each episode is designed to help you understand a single story concept in story structure and why it’s important to apply it, followed by a practical example. In our practical examples, we use the Lost Boy case study, which you can read more about below. Our theory draws heavily from the Save the Cat (Blake Snyder) and The Story Solution (Eric Edson), both of which we strongly recommend. The first few episodes deal with starting a story, figuring out what your story is about and matching your characters to the story. Then we proceed to talk about Blake Snyder’s Save the Cat beats and our take on how to cover them. The end of the series will deal with editing, tying up subplots, converting your work to a treatment and how to use it when writing your story, whether you are writing a screenplay or a novel.
Lost Boy is an original story inspired by classic themes from Peter Pan, developed for educational purposes to demonstrate how story structure works in practice.
Instead of talking about theory in isolation, we build a story step by step, applying principles like character development, theme, and structure in real time. Each episode, article, and podcast entry uses Lost Boy to show how these elements come together into a cohesive narrative.
It’s not just explanation and theory. It’s application.
Lost Boy is not a finished script, novel, or polished story.
It’s not meant to represent perfect writing, final dialogue, or production-ready material. You may see rough edges, evolving ideas, or alternative directions being explored.
It’s also not structured or refined to a level suitable for pitching. At this stage, the story is still being shaped, expanded, and tested, far beyond what a concise, pitch-ready concept would require.
That’s intentional.
The goal is not to present a flawless end product, but to show the process of building a story so you can apply the same thinking to your own.
Most writing advice tells you what to do.
This case study shows you how it actually plays out.
By following along, you’re not just learning concepts. You’re seeing how decisions are made, how problems are solved, and how structure supports creativity.
We could have used a produced movie or published novel to explain the same theory, but we choose to use our own story for one reason: It’s proof that a cohesive story can be written with an idea and with structure without removing its soul or your creative energy.
And when you’re ready, you can apply those same steps in your writing, with or without the guidance that StorySteps provides.
You can download the full Lost Boy treatment here.
What if one sentence could unlock your entire story? In this episode, we break down the logline: a clear, one-sentence description that defines your character, goal, and stakes. Using the Lost Boy case study, we turn a rough idea into a focused story direction.
In this episode, we look at one of the most important connections in storytelling: the relationship between your character’s emotional wound and the story you build around them. A strong story does not just give the hero random obstacles. It pressures the exact weakness, fear, or false belief the character needs to confront.
In this episode, we explain how to write a good villain by building a strong antagonist with clear opposition, believable villain motivation, an unbeatable advantage, and goals that directly collide with the hero’s. Using Lost Boy, we show how a powerful opposing force can pressure the hero’s weakness, sharpen the story conflict, and make the final victory feel earned.
Most of us know that our hero needs a character flaw, but in this episode, we look at one of the most overlooked parts of storytelling: making your protagonist someone the audience actually wants to follow. A likable character doesn’t mean making them perfect, nice all the time, or morally flawless. But in addition to that character flaw, your hero also needs positive traits to make us care what happens to them.
A blank page can be terrifying. In this episode, we challenge that blinking caret as we finally build the opening image of Lost Boy. As we apply the lessons from the previous videos, our protagonist Sam will enter the story, and we will discuss the 5 hoops we must jump through to make a successful opening image.
With the opening image out of the way, we need to expand our view of the hero’s ordinary world before they’re sent on an adventure. We call this the setup phase, which starts with the opening image and ends as the hero gets their call to adventure or their catalyst. As usual, we apply the lesson to our lost boy project, and we will be writing the full setup phase in this video.
Not everyone learns best through video.
You can follow this same series as a podcast or in written form—covering the same principles, but adapted for each format so you can learn in the way that works best for you.
© 2026 Implemi AS. All rights reserved.
Lost Boy is an original story created by Fredrik Roaldset and developed for StorySteps. All rights to the story and its elements belong to the creator. Unauthorized use, reproduction, or adaptation is not permitted.
