Explanation of Can/Need and Want/Should

A document from early Dramatica Theory development (circa 1990)

Keep in mind these are embryonic concepts, many of which later proved inaccurate.They are provided to illustrate the path taken during the development of the Dramatica Theory

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Explanation of Can/Need and Want/Should

Written by Melanie Anne Phillips based on concepts developed by
Melanie Anne Phillips and Chris Huntley

MOTIVATION

There are only two motivations: CAN and WANT. All motivations grow from these. CAN is a measure of ABILITY, WANT is a measure of DESIRE. Characters, like real people, are continually motivated by their evaluation of what they DESIRE and their ABILITY to obtain it. Taken together, CAN AND WANT measure the DESIREABILITY of a situation, condition, goal, or state of being.

CAN/NEED ~ WANT/SHOULD

The ultimate achievement for a CAN person is to have ultimate SUCCESS. The ultimate achievement for a WANT person is to be ultimately HAPPY. Since ultimate success would require HAVING everything, it cannot be achieved. Since ultimate happiness would require universal happiness, it will not be achieved. Therefore, CAN people concentrate on using their abilities to achieve smaller goals. WANT people concentrate on using their desires to achieve a lesser state of being.

When a Can person has a want, he uses an ability to achieve his goal, which brings him one goal closer to ultimate success. When a Want person has an ability he activates a want to achieve a state of being one step closer to ultimate happiness. If the Can person has a desire and no ability to achieve it, he perceives it as a NEED and will strive to add to his abilities so he can fulfill that desire and achieve the goal, if the Want person has an ability and nothing he desires to use it for, he perceives it as a SHOULD and will strive to add to his wants in order to employ the ability and achieve a greater degree of happiness. The Can person will take stock of his accumulated goals and establish his degree of success by his situation. The Want person will evaluate how people feel about him and establish his degree of happiness by his condition. So far, there is no problem.

If he is told he MAY NOT BECOME who they are without worsening his current condition (what others think of him) and/or diminishing his current situation (what he has), he tries to find something he MAY BECOME to achieve a state of being that allows him to pursue the second justification without worsening his condition or diminishing his situation. This is the THIRD JUSTIFICATION.

He makes a deal with whoever told him he MAY NOT pursue the second justification, /he deal specifies that if he attains a specific state of being, he will BE ALLOWED to pursue the second justification without worsening his current condition, nor diminishing his current situation. This deal is the FIRST OBLIGATION.

Copyright © Melanie Anne Phillips ~ Contact archives@storymind.com

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