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Introduction
As
we discovered in the first lesson, the name Dramatica really stands for two
things: a theory of story structure and a software product that implements the
theory as a tool for story development. In the previous lesson, we
looked at the heart of the Dramatica software, the Story Engine, which
cross-references an authors dramatic choices to predict what must also be in
that particular structure. But how does the Story Engine know how to do
this? Because it operates according to rules of structure drawn from the
Dramatica Theory.
You
don't have to learn a lot of theory to use the Dramatica software, but you
will need to deal with a few essential concepts that lay the foundation of
everything Dramatica does, and what is asks of you.
In
this lesson, we'll cover the key features of the theory and describe how they
shape the Dramatica story development system.
Video
Clip Introduction (Excerpted
from the Dramatica
Software Companion)
The
Story Mind
At
the heart of the Dramatica Theory is a concept called the Story Mind.
In a nutshell, Dramatica sees every story as having a mind of its own - its
own personality and its own psychology. A story's personality is
developed through the author's storytelling style, but its psychology is
determined by the story's structure.
From
this point of view, every dramatic element in story represents an aspect of
the human mind. Characters, plot, theme, and genre, for example, are key
facets of the Story Mind. Characters represent our conflicting
drives. Plot describes our problem solving techniques. Theme
explores our troubled value standards. And genre outlines the Story
Mind's overall attitude and outlook.
Audio
Clip on The Story Mind (Excerpted
from Writing
with the Story Mind)
Characters
There
are eight archetypes in Dramatica, each of which can be broken down into a
number of specific traits or elements that can be distributed among any number
of characters. So, you might stick with the basic eight, or use
the sixty-four elements in other combinations. You
can also have fewer than eight characters by doubling up on the complement of
traits.
The
Dramatica theory also supports characters with no traits at all, being simply
window-dressing or comic relief, for example.
Video
Clip on Characters (Excerpted
from 20 Hour
Writing Course)
Plot
In
Dramatica you'll find that plot is more than just a series of events.
First of all, Dramatic separates the order in which events happen in the story
from the order in which they are unfolded or revealed to the audience or
reader. In addition, there are Signposts and Journeys, which outline the
overall kind of material being explored act by act.
Video
Clip on Plot (Excerpted
from 20 Hour
Writing Course)
Theme
Theme
goes beyond subject matter and deals more with perspective. Perspective
is not only what the audience or reader is supposed to look at, but also
depends on how you want them to see it. In other words, theme
Dramatica-style involves positioning the audience or reader in relationship to
the issues.
Video
Clip on Theme (Excerpted
from 20 Hour
Writing Course)
Genre
In
traditional approaches to story, genre is seen as a shopping list of dramatic
elements, settings, styles, subject matter, and technique. Dramatica
takes a more structural tack, dividing the structure into four parts
representing the external and internal states and processes of the story.
For
example, a story focusing on people trapped in a mine is about an external
state, or in other words, a fixed situation. In contrast, a story
centered on a character who gets into trouble because he can't make up his
mind is about an internal process gone wrong.
Video
Clip on Genre (Excerpted
from 20 Hour
Writing Course)
The
Four Throughlines
In
fact, all four parts of the structure need to be explored in every complete
story. The real key is, who does the exploring. One part will be
explored by all the characters as they travel through the story. One
part will be personally explored only by the Main Character. (This
exploration will develop the Main Character's personal conflicts.) The
third part delves into the inner workings of the character who is the Main
Character's foil - an Obstacle or Impact Character who tries to change the
Main Character's attitude, world view, or moral outlook. The final part
is the ground over which the Main Character and Impact Character argue.
In
Dramatica you'll decide which part of your structure is explored by which of
these four throughlines and, in so doing, you will position your audience in
relationship to the story as a whole, determining how the story will feel.
Theory
Into Practice
Of
course, theory is not of much use to a writer unless he or she can put it to
work. And, in fact, that is why the Dramatica software was created in
the first place. But, no matter how complete a theory may be, if the
learning curve is too high, the information will be more of an obstacle than
an aide, as it will stand between the author and his or her purpose, rather
than bolstering it.
That
is why the Dramatica software never puts the theory in your face.
Rather, it asks you questions and provides tools that, while built on the
theory, are focused on the development of your story. And yet, theory
help is always available by the push of a button on every question, in the
included theory book (in the Help area), and in a dictionary of dramatic
terminology and concepts.
In
summary, Dramatica is designed to take you step by step through every story
point, great and small, with a minimum of preliminary theory, but an unlimited
opportunity to study dramatic theory should you choose to enhance your
understanding.
Copyright
2003 Melanie Anne Phillips
Visit
http://storymind.com for tips, tricks,
techniques, and tools for writers
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