With the ArcGIS Online update later this week, a new configurable Story Map will be introduced. It's called Story Map Series, and consolidates a couple of other story maps into a single configurable app with multiple layout options—tabbed, side accordion, and bulleted.
Here's a Story Map of the top 10 visited US National Parks in 2012 I authored over a year ago (update coming soon). It uses the Story Map Playlist.
Here's another iteration on the same map done by Rupert Essinger and used for testing during the app development cycle. It's using the soon-to-be-released Story Map Series, and is configured with the bulleted layout.
Story Maps continue to evolve in new directions. The consolidation of these formerly separate templates into a single Story Map Series is yet another example of their evolution. With multiple layout options, the new Story Map Series is sure to be one of the more popular choices.