One Obsessive Dude
Trying to Make a Point

(Avant-Garde Vs. Dramatica?)

Please forgive me for insisting so much, but it was so hard for me to understand Dramatica that I somehow got into a quest to make sure everyone got it clear.

No, no, no, Jurgen. This only tells you understood Dramatica only in conventional terms. Perhaps names like "Story Goal" throw you off and you understood it as the stereotypical tragicomedic generic (adventure) "Goal" (like obtaining the plans of a secret weapon). Dramatica's Goal refers to a story item that must be resolved and affects objectively all the characters. For example, in "The Seventh Seal" the goal evidently has to do with "dying" (yes: that's "Obtaining"), yet Bergman did a wonderful job in concealing the goal and subtly exposing how every character is affected by it. (except the Main Character and of course, Death).

Maybe you could understand this by writing with Dramatica, but there's always a part of the Dramatica writing process where it would be easier to write an avant-garde story with what you've done already, than a mainstream story.

I'm gonna quote from my actual work: Here are some Dramatica encodings notes for a Sitcom episode I'm supposed to deliver tomorrow:

Can I write some Kafkian avant-garde scene with those encodings?

Do I make my point? Was the above stylistically flamboyant enough to make David Cronenberg's ears bleed? And those encodings are for a Sitcom.

Here's another real life story: Two weeks ago a director asked me for a teleplay. He has just gotten back from some film festival (he won a prize two years ago in Venice) and was in some serious "rule breaking" mood. He spoke to me of breaking almost every single TV rule: spinning dolly shots, surrealistic breaks, characters suddenly talking to the camera... I just laughed under my breath and said "wait and see"

Three days later I gave him the teleplay: It had no time continuity whatsoever (think "Remains of the day" on peyote). Time jumped back and ahead in such a way that I--nor him--couldn't tell which was a flashback and which a flashforward, yet at the end (and only at the end) it make perfect sense and everything became clear. It was pure Dramatica

My only trick was this: Objective Throughline Scenes happened "in real time" from 10:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m.; Obstacle Character scenes happened "in real time" from 12:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m.; Subjective Throughline Scenes happened "in real time" from 2:00 a.m. to 4:00 a.m. and Main Character Throughline Scenes happened "in real time" from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. of the next day.

The weave it as I want it.

My point is Dramatica deals nothing in matters of style. That is completely up to you. If you use it to analyze the meaning of the stories (as opposed to the style), you'll find grand argument stories in the best stories.

For example: "8 1/2" is a grand argument story with a "Conceptualizing" goal, the Director (Mastroiani) as Main Character and his own movie as the Obstacle Character. "The Andalucian Dog" is another grand argument story (ever felt that "completion" feeling at the end? as opposed to "The Golden Age" that's more of a series of incomplete grand argument stories) it's just encoded with non-related items for each appreciation and the MC and OC are handed-off throughout all the movie, so the "completion" is more "felt" than "understood".

The task of a great storyteller is concealing that her story is a grand argument story.

  


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About Dramatica and StoryWeaver

What They Do

Dramatica is a tool to help you build a perfect story structure.  StoryWeaver is a tool to help you build your story's world.

Dramatica focuses on the underlying logic of your story, making sure there are no holes or inconsistencies. 

StoryWeaver focuses on the creative process, boosting your inspiration and guiding it to add depth, detail and passion  to your story.

How They Do It

Dramatica has the world's only patented interactive Story Engine™ which cross-references your answers to questions about your dramatic intent, then finds any weaknesses in your structure and even suggests the best ways to strengthen them.

StoryWeaver uses a revolutionary new creative format as you follow more than 200 Story Cards™ step by step through the story development process.  You'll design the people who'll inhabit your story's world, what happens to them, and what it all means.

How They Work Alone

By itself Dramatica appeals to structural writers who like to work out all the details of their stories logically before they write a word.

By itself, StoryWeaver appeals to intuitive writers who like to follow their Muse and develop their stories as they go.

How They Work Together

But, the finished work of a structural writer can often lack passion, which is where StoryWeaver can help.  And the finished work of an intuitive writer can often lack direction, which is where Dramatica can help.

So, while each kind of writer will find one program or the other the most initially appealing, both kinds of writers can benefit from both programs.

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Copyright Melanie Anne Phillips - Owner, Storymind.com, Creator Storyweaver, Co-creator Dramatica