Overcoming the Monster stories involve a hero who must destroy a monster (or villain) that is threatening the community. Usually the decisive fight occurs in the monster's lair, and usually the hero has some magic weapon at his disposal. Sometimes the monster is guarding a treasure or holding a Princess captive, which the hero escapes with in the end.
Examples: James Bond films, The Magnificent Seven, The Day of the Triffids
The Rags to Riches plot involves a hero who seems quite commonplace, poor, downtrodden, and miserable but has the potential for greatness. The story shows how he manages to fulfill his potential and become someone of wealth, importance, success and happiness.
Examples: King Arthur, Cinderella, Aladdin
As with many of the basic plots, there are variations on Rags to Riches that are less upbeat.
Variation 1: Failure
What is often called the “dark” version of this story is when the hero fails to win in the end, usually because he sought wealth and status for selfish reasons. Dramatica (and most other theorists) would call this a tragedy.
Variation 2: Hollow Victory
The second variation are stories where the hero “may actually achieve [his] goals, but only in a way which is hollow and brings frustration, because he again has sought them only in an outward and egocentric fashion.” Another way to describe this would be a comi-tragic ending or personal failure. In Dramatica terms, it's an outcome of success, but a judgment of failure since the hero fails to satisfactorily resolve his inner conflict.
Quest stories involve a hero who embarks on a journey to obtain a great prize that is located far away.
E.g. Odyssey, Watership Down, Lord of the Rings (though here the goal is losing rather than gaining the treasure), Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
Other variations on this basic plot include stories where the object being sought does not bring happiness. For example, Moby Dick, Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Voyage and Return stories feature a hero who journeys to a strange world that at first seems strange but enchanting. Eventually, the hero comes to feel threatened and trapped in this world and must he must make a thrilling escape back to the safety of his home world. In some cases, the hero learns and grows as a result of his adventure (Dramatica would call this a judgment of good). In others he does not, and consequently leaves behind in the other world his true love, or other opportunity for happiness. (Dramatica would call this a judgment of bad)
Examples include: The Wizard of Oz, Coraline, Robinson Crusoe, Gulliver's Travels, Lord of the Flies.
Here's where things get confusing.
Traditionally, comedy has been defined in several ways.
Comedy can be loosely defined in terms of three stages:
Tragedy, along with Comedy, is usually defined by its ending, which makes these two unlike the other basic plots. In Dramatica terms, a tragedy is a story in which the Story Goal is not achieved (outcome = failure) and the hero does not resolve his inner conflict happily (judgement = bad).
Booker's description of this plot is close to that of the classic tragedies (Greek, Roman, or Shakespearean).
Examples: Macbeth, Othello, Dr. Faustus
Rebirth stories show a hero (often a heroine) who is trapped in a living death by a dark power or villain until she is freed by another character's loving act.
One of the big problems with this plot is that the hero does not solve his own problem but must be rescued by someone else, and therefore can avoid resolving his inner conflict. This is why many women hate fairy tales: the heroines are so passive.
The Disney version of Beauty and the Beast solves the problem by making Belle the main character (she rescues Beast). Though Marley intervenes to rescue Scrooge in A Christmas Carol, Scrooge ultimately chooses to change and therefore saves himself. (Hint: any new version of Sleeping Beauty should make the Prince the main character.)
Examples include Sleeping Beauty, A Christmas Carol, Beauty and the Beast, The Secret Garden