Written by
Melanie Anne Phillips
Based on the Dramatica theory of story
originally developed by Melanie Anne Phillips
and Chris Huntley
A STORY MIND
Prologue
Before the final version of "Dramatica - a New
Theory of Story" there was an earlier draft which contained unfininished concepts
and additional theory that was ultimately deemed "too complex". As a
result, this material was never fully developed, was cut from the final version of the
book, and has never seen the light of day -- until now! Recently, a copy of
this early draft surfaced in the theory archives. The following are excerpts from
this "lost" text.
CAVEAT:
Because the text that follows was not fully developed, portions may be incomplete,
inaccurate, or actually quite wrong.
It is presented as a look into the history of the development of Dramatica and also as
a source of additional theory concepts that (with further development) may prove useful.
NOTE: This excerpt errs in seeing only two points of
view - the Main Character (Subjective) and Author (Objective). Later it was
discovered that there are four points of view - Main Character, Obstacle Character,
Subjective Story, and Objective Story.
For a more accurate description of these concepts read The Story Mind or hear the
material presented in Real Audio.
A Story Mind
Stories have traditionally been viewed as a series of events affecting
independently-acting characters -- but not to Dramatica. Dramatica sees every character,
conflict, action or decision as aspects of a single mind trying to solve a problem. This
mind, the Story Mind, is not the mind of the author, the audience, nor any of the
characters, but of the story itself. The process of problem solving is the unfolding of
the story.
But why a mind? Certainly this was not the intent behind the introduction of stories as
an art form. Rather, from the days of the first storytellers right up through the present,
when a technique worked, it was repeated and copied and became part of the
"conventions" of storytelling. Such concepts as the Act and the Scene,
Character, Plot and Theme, evolved by such trial and error.
And yet, the focus was never on WHY these things should exist, but how to employ them.
The Dramatica Theory states that stories exist because they help us deal with problems in
our own lives. Further, this is because stories give us two views of the problem.
One view is through the eyes of a Main Character. This is a Subjective view, the
view FROM the Story Mind as it deals with the problem. This is much like our own limited
view or our own problems.
But stories also provide us with the Author's Objective view, the view OF the
story mind as it deals with a problem. This is more like a "God's eye view" that
we don't have in real life.
In a sense, we can relate emotionally to a story because we empathize with the Main
Character's Subjective view, and yet relate logically to the problem through the Author's
Objective view.
This is much like the difference between standing in the shoes of the soldier in the
trenches or the general on the hill. Both are watching the same battle, but they see it in
completely different terms.
In this way, stories provide us with a view that is akin to our own attempt to deal
with our personal problems while providing an objective view of how our problems relate to
the "Bigger Picture". That is why we enjoy stories, why they even exist, and why
they are structured as they are.
Armed with this Rosetta Stone concept we spent 12 years re-examining stories and
creating a map of the Story Mind. Ultimately, we succeeded.
The Dramatica Model of the Story Mind is similar to a Rubik’s Cube. Just as a
Rubik’s Cube has a finite number of pieces, families of parts (corners, edge pieces)
and specific rules for movement, the Dramatica model has a finite size, specific natures
to its parts, coordinated rules for movement, and the possibility to create an almost
infinite variety of stories -- each unique, each accurate to the model, and each true to
the author’s own intent.
The concept of a limited number of pieces frequently precipitates a "gut
reaction" that the system must itself be limiting and formulaic. Rather, without some
kind of limit, structure cannot exist. Further, the number of parts has little to do with
the potential variety when dynamics are added to the system. For example, DNA has only
FOUR basic building blocks, and yet when arranged in the dynamic matrix of the double
helix DNA chain, is able to create all the forms of life that inhabit the planet.
The key to a system that has identity, but not at the expense of variety, is a flexible
structure. In a Rubik's cube, corners stay corners and edges stay edges no matter how you
turn it. And because all the parts are linked, when you make a change on the side you are
concentrating on, it makes appropriate changes on the sides of the structure you are not
paying attention to.
And THAT is the value of Dramatica to an author: that it defines the elements of story,
how they are related and how to manipulate them. Plot, Theme, Character, Conflict, the
purpose of Acts, Scenes, Action and Decision, all are represented in the Dramatica model,
and all are interrelated. It is the flexible nature of the structure that allows an author
to create a story that has form without formula
[Lost Theory Book Contents]
