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Character Writing from a Character's Point of View by Melanie Anne Phillips Perhaps the best way to instill real feelings in a character is to stand in his or her shoes and write from the character's point of view. Unfortunately, this method also holds the greatest danger of undermining the meaning of a story. As an example, suppose we have two characters, Joe and Tom, who are business competitors. Joe hates Tom and Tom hates Joe. We sit down to write an argument between them. First, we stand in Joe's shoes and speak vehemently of Tom's transgressions. Then, we stand in Tom's shoes and pontificate on Joe's aggressions. By adopting the character point of view, we have constructed an exchange of honest and powerful emotions. We have also undermined the meaning of our story because Joe and Tom have come across as being virtually the same. A story might have a Protagonist and an Antagonist, but between Joe and Tom, who is who? Each sees himself as the Protagonist and the other as the Antagonist. If we simply write the argument from each point of view, the audience has no idea which is REALLY which. The opposite problem occurs if you stand back from your characters and assign roles as Protagonist and Antagonist without considering the characters' points of view. In such a case, the character clearly establish the story's meaning, but they seem to be "walking through" the story, hitting the marks, and never really expressing themselves as actual human beings. The solution, of course, is to explore both approaches. You need to know what role each character is to play in the story's overall meaning - the big picture. But, you also must stand in their shoes and write with passion to make them human. The Dramatica software focuses on Story Design, so it provides all kinds of support in the creation of character roles. Standing in the characters' shoes is up to you when you actually get down to writing. Visit the Dramatica Theory Home Page  $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 Together 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. 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 Both Programs 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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