“Plot is no more than footprints left in the snow after your characters have run by on their way to incredible destinations.” – Ray Bradbury

Whether you're writing a movie or running a tabletop adventure, every great scene—every memorable moment—follows the same core structure. It’s not just about plot. It’s about rhythm. Tension. Motion.

And oddly enough, one of the best tools to teach it?

A nursery rhyme.

I. The Miss Muffet Method

Let’s break it down:

• Little Miss Muffet (Protagonist / Character)
• Sat on her tuffet (Setting)
• Eating her curds and whey (Plot)
• Along came a spider (Antagonist)
• Who sat down beside her (Conflict)
• And frightened (Climax)
• Miss Muffet away (Resolution)

That’s it. Seven simple beats that tell a full story. And it isn’t just for children’s poems—it’s the skeleton key to every great encounter, scene, and arc you’ll ever run as a Game Master.

II. The 7 Essential Elements of Story

Let’s lay them out plainly:

1. Protagonist – Who is the story about?
2. Setting – Where does it happen?
3. Plot – What are they doing?
4. Antagonist – What threatens them?
5. Conflict – What happens when threat meets goal?
6. Climax – What is the peak of tension?
7. Resolution – How does it end—or transition?

You can start with any of the first three (character, plot, or setting), but the moment you introduce an antagonist or a threat, you must deliver conflict. Without it, you don’t have a story—you have a travelogue.

Once you hit conflict, the climax is inevitable, and resolution follows close behind.

Think of each scene as a mini-narrative. Then stack them together. Scene becomes session. Session becomes saga.

III. Example: The Perfect Scene — Jaws (1975)

The opening scene of Jaws is pure Miss Muffet.

1. Setting: A beach party. Kids drinking, laughing, wandering into the night.
2. Protagonist + Plot: Chrissy Watkins runs to the water, teasing the guy chasing her. She dives in. She's our POV.
3. Antagonist: The shark. We don’t see it, but it’s there.
4. Conflict: It pulls her under. She screams. It hurts.
5. Climax: Her body thrashes—then disappears beneath the waves.
6. Resolution: Her drunk date collapses on the sand, unaware.

This perfect 90-second structure introduces tone, fear, and stakes without needing exposition. And it sets up the next scene with eerie efficiency: there’s no eyewitness. So the beaches stay open.

That’s masterful storytelling—and you can do the same at your table.

IV. The Encounter Test

Apply the Miss Muffet Method to your next TTRPG encounter. Here's how it plays out in different genres:

Fantasy

• A towering giant sleeps beneath a redwood tree (setting). The party seeks passage (plot). The giant wakes and demands a toll (antagonist). The heroes refuse (conflict). Blades are drawn (climax). One side falls (resolution).

Sci-Fi

• Inside a derelict ship (setting), the crew searches for a distress signal’s origin (plot). A parasite is loose (antagonist). The signal was bait (conflict). It leaps at the medic (climax). They seal the airlock—but something's still inside (resolution).

PsychScape Historical

• 1942. A resistance fighter meets an informant in a Berlin train yard (setting). The documents change hands (plot). But a man in a fedora watches from the shadows (antagonist). A whistle blows—Gestapo agents close in (conflict). The informant runs—into a wall of soldiers (climax). She drops the bag behind a crate and is dragged away (resolution).

Each scene tells a story. Each one builds your campaign.

V. Your Turn: Audit Your Next Encounter

Before your next session, look at your encounter notes. Ask:

• Who is this scene about?
• What is the player doing?
• Where are they?
• What threatens that progress?
• What’s the dramatic peak?
• How does it end?

If one element is missing, build it in.
Scenes without climax fall flat. Scenes without conflict stall.
Scenes without resolution? That’s how you lose emotional momentum.

VII. Cut Deep

This is more than just structure—it’s a weapon. A sharp, clean framework that makes your stories hit harder and stick longer.

Use it.

Sharpen your session.

And the next time you design an encounter, remember: even a rhyme about curds and whey can hold the blueprint to a cinematic, unforgettable moment at your table.

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