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Characters    
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Articles on Plot

Your Plot, Step by Step

Plot vs. Exposition

A Story's Limit

Audience "Reach"

A Tale is a Statement

A Story is an Argument

Creating Extra Tension with Consequences

Don't Forget the Requirements

Slicing and Dicing Stories

Writing Remakes

The "Grand Argument" Story

Revealing Your Goal

The "Collective" Goal

The Four Throughlines - Part 1

The Four Throughlines - Part 2

Success or Failure?

Four Essential Plot Points

A Screenwriter's Bag of Tricks

A Novelist's Bag of Tricks

Blowing the Story Bubble

Creating Characters from Plot

Work Stories vs. Dilemma Stories

Tricking the Muse: the Creativity "Two-Step"

What's in Acts One, Two and Three?

What is Story Structure?

 
 

Characters
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Genre
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Our Newest Articles

How to Structure Your Story's Theme

How to Create Archetypal Characters

Introduction to Characters

What's the Big Idea?

The Four Stages of Story Development

Using Dramatica & StoryWeaver Together

The Purpose of Stories

Four Stages of Communication (Transcript)

The Narrative Archetype

Our Most Popular Articles
From All Categories

Character Arc 101

How To Create Great Characters!

Be A Story Weaver - NOT a Story Mechanic!

Creating Characters from Plot

A Novelist's Bag of Tricks

Protagonist & Antagonist

Heroes & Villains

Introducing Characters - First Impressions

12 Essential Questions Every Writer Should Answer

Character Development Tricks!

Your Plot, Step by Step

The "Collective" Goal

Creating Characters from Scratch

What is Story Structure?

A Screenwriter's Bag of Tricks

Avoiding the Genre Trap

How to Write Characters of the Opposite Sex

How Male and Female Characters Think

Conflict Can Limit Your Characters

Finding Your Creative Time

Blowing the Story Bubble

Love Interests and the Dramatic Triangle

How to Write Villains

Tricking the Muse: The Creativity Two-Step

Genre - Act by Act

Finding Inspiration for Writing

Writing from a Character's Point of View

Psychoanalyze Your Story

Writing from the Passionate Self

Work Stories vs. Dilemma Stories

Character Justification

Four Essential Plot Points

Elements of Structure - Art of Storytelling

Fire Your Protagonist!

Theme - An Emotional Argument

Characters

Introduction to Characters

Character Arc 101

Character Development Tricks!

Creating Characters from Scratch

Creating Characters from Plot

Conflict Can Limit Your Characters

Character Justifications

Characters - The Attributes of Age

Characters' Personal Goals

Character Relationships Baselines

Antagonist vs. Obstacle Character

Do-er and Be-er Characters

Fire Your Protagonist

Heroes and Villains

How Male and Female Characters Think

How to Create Archetypal Characters

How to Write Heroes

How to Write Villains

Introducing Characters - First Impressions

Keep Your Protagonist Human

Love Interests and the Dramatic Triangle

Main Character "Approach" - Do-er or Be-er?

Main Character "Growth" - Start or Stop?

Main Character "Resolve" - Change or Steadfast?

Main Character "Style" - Logic or Intuition?

Male vs. Female Problem Solving

Men Are From Mars - Women Are From Next Tuesday

Mental Sex - The Truth About Cats and Dogs

On Archetypes

Subjective Characters and the Objective Story

The 12 Essential Questions - Main Character Resolve

The Archetypal Characters - Protagonist and Antagonist

The Chemistry of Characters

The Core of Your Protagonist

The Hero Breaks Down

The Love Interest

Things as Characters

Tips on Writing Characters

Types of Character Growth

Understanding the Main Character

Writing Characters of the Opposite Sex (class transcript)

Writing Characters of the Opposite Sex (article)

Writing from a Character's Point of View

Quick Tips on Writing Characters

Matching Characters' Personalities to Archetypes

Character Interests (Likes & Dislikes)

Constructive Criticisms

A Constructive Criticism of "True Lies"

Fried Rice: The Tale of "The Vampire Chronicles"

Jurassic Park - Building A Better Dinosaur

Natural Born Killers: A Constructive Criticism

THE XX AND XY FILES

Creative Writing

Be a Story Weaver - NOT a Story Mechanic!

Blowing the Story Bubble

Elements of Structure - Art of Storytelling

Finding Inspiration for Writing

Finding Your "Creative Time"

How to Beat Writer's Block

The "Nonsense Technique" for Overcoming Writer's Block

Pen, Pencil or Quill?

Psychoanalyze Your Story

The 12 Essential Questions – Overview

The 12 Essential Questions Every Writer Should Answer

The Dangers of Micromanaging Your Story

The Writer's Notebook

Tricking the Muse: the Creativity "Two-Step"

What is the Worst Part of Writing for You Personally?

Writing from the Passionate Self

You Got Me! (Both of Us!)

Screenwriting 101

A Novelist's Bag of Tricks

Express Your Pet Peeves Through Your Characters

Dramatica Software

What is the Best Way for a New User to Approach Dramatica?

Can You Skip Questions in Dramatica?

Creativity vs. Dramatica

Do Dramatica’s Specific Questions Limit Story Richness?

Does Dramatica Limit Your Story?

Dramatica for Structural vs. Intuitive Writers.htm

Dramatica Software - Assigning Character Elements

Dramatica Software - Character Purposes

How to Tell if your Story’s Structure (Storyform) is Right

Illegal Plot Progressions

Is Dramatica Software Binary?

The Creative Way to Use Dramatica

Using Dramatica for Short Stories

Using Dramatica's Plot Sequence Report

What Determines Plot Progression Sequences?

What Does Dramatica Mean by the Word Illustrate?

Where to Start - Story Engine, Theme Browser, Query System?

Dramatica Theory

What Is Dramatica?

A Talk on Dramatica

About Dramatica's Learning Curve

Archetypal Breakdown (Deep Dramatica Theory)

Dramatica - The Lost Theory Book (Part 1)

Dramatica - The Lost Theory Book (Part 2)

Dramatica - The Lost Theory Book (Part 3)

Dramatica - The Lost Theory Book (Part 4)

Dramatica - The Lost Theory Book (Part 5)

Dramatica - The Lost Theory Book (Part 6)

Dramatica - The Lost Theory Book (Part 7)

Dramatica - The Lost Theory Book (Part 8)

Dramatica - The Lost Theory Book (Part 9)

Dramatica - The Lost Theory Book (Part 10)

Dramatica - The Lost Theory Book (Part 11)

Dramatica - The Lost Theory Book (Part 12)

Dramatica Domain Placement in Story Structure

Dramatica: Where'd the Idea Come From?

Dramatica’s "New Language" of Story

Dramatica’s Terminology is Too Obscure!

Dramatica's Plot Sequence Report (Deep Theory)

Dramatica's Split Personality

The "Grand Argument" Story

How Scenes Relate to Dramatica's Story Elements

How StoryWeaver Came to Be

Is "Objective" Character the Same As "Obstacle" Character?

Origins of a Story

Sine, Cosine, & Dramatica

The Dramatica Chart

The Dramatica Chart (video version)

The Dramatica Structure - Elements

The Dramatica Structure - Elements & Variations

The Dramatica Theory

The Dramatica Theory and Software - Class 1

The Dramatica Theory and Software - Class 2

The Dramatica Theory and Software - Class 3

The Dramatica Theory and Software - Class 4

The Dramatica Theory and Software - Class 5

The Dramatica Theory and Software - Class 6

The Dramatica Theory and Software - Class 7

The Dramatica Theory and Software - Class 8

The Dramatica Theory and Software - Class 9

The Four Throughlines - Part 1

The Four Throughlines - Part 2

The Objective Throughline is a Battlefield

The Quad: Dramatica’s Steering Wheel?

Why Does Dramatica Keep Harping on Problem Solving?

Z Patterns & the Theme Browser

Z Patterns in the Dramatica Structure

Sequences, Acts & Variations

Genre

A New Approach to Genre

Avoiding the Genre Trap

Genre - Revealing Your Story's Personality

Genre- Act by Act

Plot

Creating Extra Tension with Consequences

Don't Forget the Requirements

Four Essential Plot Points

Plot Holes

Plot vs. Exposition

Revealing Your Goal

Subplots

Success or Failure?

The Collective Goal

Yes, but is it a Plot?

Your Plot, Step by Step

Propaganda

Introduction to Propaganda

The Basics of Propaganda

Propaganda and Symbols

Four Levels of Propaganda

Shock as Propaganda

Awareness as Propaganda

Conditioning as Propaganda

Misdirection as Propaganda

A Word of Warning About Propaganda

Reception

Author and Audience - A Collaboration

Who Are You Writing For?

Writing for Oneself

Writing for Groups

Communication vs. Storytelling

The Grand Argument Story

The Free Form Author

Symbolizing Concepts in Dramatica

Communicating Through Symbols

Author's Intent

Both Sides of the Thematic Argument

A Tale is a Statement

A Story is an Argument

Four Stages of Communication

Four Stages of Communication (Transcript)

Audience "Reach"

StoryWeaving and Structure

Medium and Format

The Purpose of Stories

Story Justifications

The Narrative Archetype

The Audience and the Main Character

Short Series on Propaganda

Introduction to Propaganda

The Basics of Propaganda

Propaganda and Symbols

Four Levels of Propaganda

Shock as Propaganda

Awareness as Propaganda

Conditioning as Propaganda

Misdirection as Propaganda

A Word of Warning About Propaganda

Story Development

The Four Stages of Story Development

Throughlines - and How to Use Them!

What's in Acts One, Two and Three?

Work Stories vs. Dilemma Stories

Writing Remakes

All About Using Narrators in Your Story

The Story Mind

Inside the Story Mind

Introducing the Story Mind

Introducing the Story Mind (video version)

The Story Mind

What's in Your Story's Mind?

Why a "Story Mind" ?

Your Story as a Person

Story Points

The Objective Story Issue

Overall Story Concern

Overall Story Issue

Overall Story Problem

Overall Story Throughline

Story "Driver" - Action or Decision?

Story "Judgment" - Good or Bad?

Story "Limit" - Time Lock or Option Lock?

Story "Outcome" - Success or Failure?

Story Structure

What is Story Structure?

A Story is an Argument

A Story is an Argument (video version)

A Story's Limit

A Tale is a Statement

A Tale is a Statement (video version)

Bad Story Structure is No Joke

Slicing and Dicing Stories

Story Perspective

Story Structure for Passionate Writers

Story Structure vs. Storytelling

Structure vs. Passion

StoryWeaver Software

Using Dramatica & StoryWeaver Together

Theme

How to Structure Your Story's Theme

Both Sides of the Thematic Argument

Coming Apart at the Theme

Premise Leads to Lack of Conflict

Theme - An Emotional Argument

Terminology

The Preconscious

Write Your Novel Step By Step

Introduction

Step 1  What's the Big Idea?

Zen of Story Structure

Prediction

Fate

 

 

  
 Our Most Popular Products

StoryWeaver Story Development Software - $29.95

Our Bestseller!  By far, our most popular product, outselling all of our other products combined!  StoryWeaver takes you step by step through the entire process--from initial inspiration to completed novel or screenplay.  At just $29.95, StoryWeaver is affordable for any writer.  (Details)

Dramatica Pro 4.0<br>Plus FREE Bonus!

Dramatica Pro - $179.95

Unlike any other story development product, Dramatica Pro uses a patented Story Engine to interactively help you build a structure, find and fix dramatic holes and inconsistencies.  (Details)

Dramatica Writers DreamKit 4.0

Dramatica Writer's DreamKit - $49.95

Little brother to Dramatica Pro, Writer's DreamKit is built around the same patented Story Engine - it just tracks fewer story points.  So, you develop the same solid story structure, just with fewer details.  Perfect for beginning writers or those new to Dramatica. (Details)

20 hour Writing<br>Course on CD ROM<br>featuring Dramatica

12 Hour Writing Course on DVD - $19.95

This intense program features 12 hours of video documenting the entire college-level course in creative writing given by Melanie Anne Phillips, creator of StoryWeaver and co-creator of Dramatica.  Just $19.95  (Details)



$179.95                       $29.95          

*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.

 
StoryWeaver Demo
 
Dramatica Demo
 

$29.95padFormat: Windows / Mac CD-ROM
 

  $29.95padFormat: Windows Download
 

$29.95padFormat: Mac OSX Download
 

Download ~ $179.95 

Boxed version ~ $199.95


 
Student or Teacher?
Get Dramatica Pro for just $99.95!

 

 

 


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Top Articles

Be a Storyweaver
NOT a Story Mechanic!


How to Create
Great Characters!


A Novelist's
Bag of Tricks


A Screenwriter's
Bag of Tricks


Character Arc 101

Heroes and Villains

Avoiding the
Genre Trap


Creating Characters
from Plot

Browse All Articles


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Progressive Plot Points

Audience Reach

A Story is an Argument

Dramatica Theory

The Story Mind

Time Locks and
Option Locks


Four Throughlines
Part One


Four Throughlines
Part Two

Browse All Classes

 
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Power Structure Demo

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Theory Book


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Structure Chart

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