The Two Axes
Every moment in a story analysis lives at a dimensional intersection.
Horizontal Axis
Story Timeline Position
Where you are in the narrative's progression — clock position, act, beat, symmetry point. Measured through overlapping structural frameworks simultaneously.
Full Horizontal Axis reference →
Vertical Axis
Story Depth Dimension
What depth of meaning you're examining — from surface semiotics down to core thematic argument. Six analytical strata (D5 → D0).
Full Vertical Axis reference →
H Frameworks
Horizontal Axis — Framework Inventory
- Clock / Circle system (12-point structure)
- Act structures (3-act, 4-act, 5-act, 7-act)
- Beat systems (Save the Cat, Story Grid)
- Harmon's Story Circle (8-step cycle)
- Campbell's Hero's Journey (17 stages)
- Vogler's adaptation
- Runtime / percentage measurement
- Symmetry / mirroring geometry
- Story Geometry
- Story Structure
Notation: 12:00, 3:00, 6:00, 9:00
V Frameworks
Vertical Axis — Framework Inventory
- Jung (psychology, archetypes, shadow)
- Enneagram (9 types, motivations)
- Temperaments (4 types, emotional patterns)
- Dramatica (8 archetypes, quads, domains)
- Truby (character web, moral argument)
- Logical fallacies (thinking errors)
- Cognitive biases (perception distortions)
- Rhetoric (persuasion modes)
- ATU tale-types (mythic patterns)
- Propp functions (narrative roles)
- Semiotics (sign systems, meaning codes)
- Moral Premise (thematic argument)
- Defense mechanisms
- Lacan (desire, symbolic order)
- Spiral Dynamics (worldview systems)
Notation: D5 (surface) → D0 (core)
Reading a Coordinate
A coordinate is written [Story Timeline Position] / [Story Depth Dimension]. It answers one question: what should I look for, right here, at this depth?
How It Works
6:00 / D2 "What does Psychological Dimension 2 analysis (Jung, Enneagram, defense mechanisms) reveal about the Midpoint / Maximum Vulnerability moment in the story?"
3:00 / D4 "What does Structural Dimension 4 analysis (Dramatica, genre conventions) reveal about the First Threshold / End of Act I?"
You apply both axis frameworks simultaneously at the intersection. The horizontal axis tells you what structural moment this is; the vertical axis tells you which analytical lens to apply.
Notation
Format
[Story Timeline Position] / [Story Depth Dimension]
Terminology
Horizontal axis — use Position: 12:00, 3:00, 6:00, 9:00. These are temporal coordinates.
Vertical axis — use Dimension: D5 → D0, descending from surface to core. These are analytical strata.
Combined: [12:00] / [D3] → "Position twelve o'clock, Dimension 3 (cognitive)."
Examples
12:00 / D5 — Status quo as presented (visual, dialogue, setting)3:00 / D4 — Structural threshold function (what shifts mechanically)6:00 / D2 — Psychological revelation (internal discovery)9:00 / D3 — Cognitive crisis (thought pattern breakdown)12:00 / D0 — Resolution of central problem
At 6:00 / D2: What is the character discovering about themselves? What need is being fulfilled? What vulnerability is exposed?
Three Ways to Move
You can enter from any coordinate. There is no required starting position.
→ Horizontal
Move along the timeline at a fixed depth. Track how the same dimension evolves across positions.
D2 @ 3:00 → 6:00 → 9:00 ↓ Vertical
Drill through dimensions at a fixed position. Move from surface observation to core meaning.
6:00 / D5 → D4 → D0 ↗ Diagonal
Track a transformation: position and depth change together. Follow how a wound moves toward resolution.
3:00/D1 → 9:00/D2 For entry strategies, movement patterns, mirroring analysis, and thematic tracking, see Section V: Navigation Protocols →
Story Analysis Coordinate System v1.0 · Section I: Orientation
A Compass for Story Analysis and Narrative Mapping