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The concept behind this method of finding inspiration is quite simple, really: It is easier to come up with many ideas than it is to come up with one idea. Now that may sound counter-intuitive, but consider this... When you are working on a particular story and you run into a specific structural problem, you are looking for a creative inspiration in a very narrow area. But creativity isn't something you can control like a power tool or channel onto a task. Rather, it is random, and applies itself to whatever it wants. Yet creative inspiration is always running at full tilt within us, coming up with new ideas, thinking new thoughts - just not the thoughts we are looking for. So if we sit and wait for the Muse to shine its light on the exact structural problem we're stuck on, it might be days before lightning strikes that very spot. Fortunately, we can trick Creativity into working on our problem by making it think it is being random. As an example, consider this log line for a story: A Marshall in an Old West border town struggles with a cutthroat gang that is bleeding the town dry. Step One: Asking Questions Now if you had the assignment to sit down and turn this into a full-blown, interesting, one-of-a-kind story, you might be a bit stuck for what to do next. So, try this. First ask some questions: 1. How old is the Marshall? 2. How much experience does he have? 3. Is he a good shot? 4. How many men has he killed (if any) 5. How many people are in the gang? 6. Does it have a single leader? 7. Is the gang tight-knit? 8. What are they taking from the town? 9. How long have they been doing this? You could probably go on and on and easily come up with a hundred questions based on that single log line. It might not seem at first that this will help you expand your story, but look at what's really happened. You have tricked your Muse into coming up with a detailed list of what needs to be developed! And it didn't even hurt. In fact, it was actually fun. Step Two: Answering Questions But that's just the first step. Next, take each of these questions and come up with as many different answers as you can think of. Let your Muse run wild through your mind. You'll probably find you get some ordinary answers and some really outlandish ones, but you'll absolutely get a load of them! For example: a) How old is the Marshall? a. 28 b. 56 c. 86 d. 17 e. 07 f. 35 Some of these potential ages are ridiculous - or are they? Every ordinary story based on such a log line would have the Marshall be 28 or 35. Just another dull story, grinding through the mill. Step One Revisited But what if your Marshall was 86 or 7 years old? Let's switch back to Step One and ask some questions about his age. For example: c. 86 1. How would an 86 year old become a Marshall? 2. Can he still see okay? 3. What physical maladies plague him? 4. Is he married? 5. What kind of gun does he use? 6. Does he have the respect of the town? And on and on… Return to Step Two As you might expect, now we switch back to Step Two again and answer each question as many different ways as you can. Example: 5. What kind of gun does he use? a) He uses an ancient musket, can barely lift it, but is a crack shot and miraculously hits whatever he aims at. b) He uses an ancient musket and can't hit the broad side of a barn. But somehow, his oddball shots ricochet off so many things, he gets the job done anyway, just not as he planned. c) He used a Gattling gun attached to his walker. d) He doesn't use a gun at all. In 63 years with the Texas Rangers, he never needed one and doesn't need one now. e) He uses a sawed off shotgun, but needs his deputy to pull the trigger for him as he aims. f) He uses a whip. g) He uses a knife, but can't throw it past 5 feet anymore. And on and on again... Methinks you begin to get the idea. First you ask questions, which trick the Muse into finding fault with your work - an easy thing to do that your Creative Spirit already does on its own - often to your dismay. Next, you turn the Muse loose to come up with as many answers for each question as you possibly can. Then, you switch back to question mode and ask as many as you can about each of your answers. And then you come up with as many answers as possible for those questions. You can carry this process out for as many generations as you like, but the bulk of story material you develop will grow so quickly, you'll likely not want to go much further than we went in our example. Imagine, if you just asked 10 questions about the original log line and responded to each of them with 10 potential answers, you'd have 100 story points to consider. Then, if you went as far as we just did for each one, you'd ask 10 questions of each answer and end up with 1,000 potential story points. And the final step of 10 answers for each of these would yield 10,000 story points! Now in the real world, you probably won't bother answering each question - just those that intrigue you. And, you won't trouble yourself to ask questions about every answer - just the ones that suggest they have more development to offer and seem to lead in a direction you might like to go with your story. The key point is that rather than staring at a blank page trying to find that one structural solution that will fill a gap or connect two points, use the Creativity Two-Step to trick your Muse into spewing out the wealth of ideas it naturally wants to provide.
*Try either or both for 90 days. Not working for you? Return for a full refund of your purchase price! About Dramatica and StoryWeaver Hi, I'm Melanie Anne Phillips, creator of StoryWeaver, co-creator of Dramatica and owner of Storymind.com. If you have a moment, I'd like to tell you about these two story development tools - what each is designed to do, how each works alone on a different part of story development and how they can be used together to cover the entire process from concept to completion of your novel or screenplay. 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 Dramatic 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. Try Either Program Risk Free! We have a 90 Day Return Policy here at Storymind. Try either or both of these products and if you aren't completely satisfied we'll cheerfully refund your purchase price.
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Contact Us - About Us - Lowest Price Guarantee - Shipping - Return Policy - Bonus Package Copyright Melanie Anne Phillips - Owner, Storymind.com, Creator Storyweaver, Co-creator Dramatica |
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Windows / Mac CD-ROM