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Chapter 1 - The Story Mind 1.9 What is the Story Mind? What is the Story Mind?
Dramatica says that "Every complete story is an analogy to a single mind
trying to deal with an inequity." Now that's very scientific, but
what does it really mean? It means that characters, theme, plot and genre
are not just people with value standards doing things in an overall setting -
rather, character, theme, plot and genre are different families of thought that
go on in our own minds, mad tangible, incarnate as character, thematic arguments
and plot points. So a story is as if an
author took the mechanism of our minds, made it tangible and put it out there
for us to look at so we could examine the problem solving process. Rather
than having to be involved in it subjectively, we are told by the author that he
or she has the benefit of insight or experience, and that even though it may
feel one way to us on the inside, there is a more objective understanding of how
we should proceed. In fact, the Main Character
represents the reader/audience position in the story. It represents our
own position in our own heads. We know who we are at any given time.
In regard to any given issue, we know where we stand. In essence then, the Story
Mind concepts says, "Think of a story as if it were a person." There's
only one Main Character in a story because there's only one "I" in our
own minds. Further, we all have the same emotion and logical
considerations, and each of these must appear as characters in a story for it to
feel complete as well. If any parts are missing, the story's argument will
feel incomplete. Dramatica also says that
this Story Mind system came into being as a natural by-product of the process of
communication. If you want to state that the approach you are promoting in
your story is either the best or worst of all that might be tried, that you have
to actually show all the other approaches that might reasonably be taken and
illustrate why they aren't as powerful as yours. When you create a story
argument that has no holes, then you have included all the ways a human mind
might consider to solve a problem. In effect, you have created a model of
the mind's problem solving process - a Story Mind. No one set out to build
this model directly. But through centuries of trial and error in
storytelling, conventions were developed that worked because they built an
analogy to the psychology of the mind. Every once in a while,
stand back from your story. It is so easy for an author to get so lost in
the details of making all the parts work that he or she loses sight of the big
picture - the overall impact of the story as a whole. Take time to examine
whether your story has a sound psychology that makes it feel like a
functional person, that there are no wanky inconsistencies, and that the
personality of the story itself is both human and interesting as well.
*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 |
Format:
Windows / Mac CD-ROM