Questions and Answers
(Answers to writers' and users' questions
about the Dramatica theory and software.)

NOTE: Most of these require some
previous knowledge of Dramatic Theory,
which can be obtained by reading the free online book:
Dramatica: A New Theory of Story.

An Overview of Dramatica

bulletCan you answer some basic questions about the Dramatica theory and software for a review I'm writing?

bulletDramatica's "New Language" of Story

Character

bulletIs an Objective Character the same thing as an Obstacle Character?

bulletIs the Emotion Archetype most often the Love Interest and also the Obstacle Character in a story?

bulletCan a "do-er" change into a "be-er" over the course of a story?

bulletHow do Character Elements relate to theme?

bulletThe notion that "Men Are From Mars & Women Are From Venus is just so much garbage!

bulletMental Sex and the Blustery Day

bulletMental Sex - The Truth About Cats & Dogs

Genre

bullet

How does Dramatica deal with Genre?

Storyforming

bulletHow do you know when you've got your Storyform right?

bulletWhat does Dramatica's concept of "problem solving" have to do with story creation?

Storyencoding

bulletDefine Dramatica's use of the term "illustrate" in regard to Storyencoding.

Dramatica Software Tips

bulletHow should a new user approach the software?

bulletWhy is the Objective Story Concern the same as the Story Goal?

bulletCan you skip questions? Does Dramatica fill in blanks?

bulletShould one just forge ahead even though he/she might not understand or agree with the choices made by Dramatica?

bulletHow do the Writer's DreamKit and Dramatica Pro differ?

bulletDramatica requires specific decisions. Doesn't this limit the ambiguity of truly great art?

bulletHow to interpret Dramatica Pro's Objective Story Act order thematics report.

bulletHow do you apply Dramatica to short stories?

bulletWhat can you tell me about different screenwriting programs?

The Psychology of Story

bulletWhat about the "Whole Brain" theory of placing subject, space and so forth within the sentences, paragraphs, pages etc?

Tips from Dramatica Users

bullet

Encoding Signposts & Journeys

bullet

Avoid getting lost in Storyweaving

bullet

Defining the Main Character in stories with multiple narrators

Comments from Writers

bulletCompliments to the chefs...

bulletI'm absolutely overwhelmed!

bulletWhat is the worst part of writing for you personally?

bulletDramatica's terminology is so obscure! Can't you come up with simpler words?

bulletYou are under the mistaken illusion that academically accurate must be boring and incomprehensible.

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Index of Dramatica Theory Materials

Storymind.com is pleased to present this collection of materials about the Dramatica Theory of Story. We hope you find it both useful and through-provoking.

This information is divided into three sections:

The Dramatica Theory
A complete exploration of the theory in every detail

Historic Documents
The development of Dramatica from the beginning

Speculations
Dramatica applied to psychology, physics, religion and more

The Dramatica Theory

Dramatica Theory Book Online
Free online edition of the 400+ page book, Dramatica: A New theory of Story, in which Melanie Anne Phillips & Chris Huntley originally documented their work.

Dramatica Dictionary
Official definitions of all terms in the Dramatica theory and software.

Dramatica Writing Tips
Useful and informative articles on how to approach and employ both the Dramatica Theory and Software.

Constructive Criticisms
Practical illustrations of how applying the Dramatica theory could have made some well-known successful story's even better!

Dramatica Q & A
Answers to questions from users of the Dramatica Theory and Software.

Instant Dramatica
Even more directly practical essays on using Dramatica for real-world writing situations and problems provided by noted screenwriter Armando Saldaņa Mora.

Historic Documents

Dramatica - The Lost Theory Book
Early attempts to document the theory, including many unfinished conjectures and false starts.

Dramatica Development Archives
Early documents created during the development of the foundations of Dramatica.  Often later discarded, they show the roots of the thinking that ultimately evolved into the theory as it stands today.

Speculations

Deep Theory
Transcript of a class on the outer fringes of Dramatica Theory I taught as part of a now-defunct Dramatica Certification course.

Dramatica Math
A mathematician takes a stab at describing the Dramatica model in terms of dimensional distortions.

Mental Relativity
An exploration of the theory of psychology modeling which grew out of the development of Dramatica.

Dramatica I Ching
Several of our users have noticed a similarity between the character grid in Dramatica and the elements of the traditional I Ching.  Though unintentional, perhaps all models that look deeply into the mind will resemble each other.

Our Most Popular Products

StoryWeaver Story Development Software

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)


Movie Magic Screenwriter

is one of two industry standard word processing screenplay formatters, the other being Final Draft.  Each of these programs offers a complete suite of screenwriting tools to make your next script a breeze to write.  (Details


Dramatica Pro

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


20 Hour Writing Course on CD ROM

This intense program features 20 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)

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