By Melanie Anne Phillips
Creator of StoryWeaver

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Write Your Novel or Screenplay Step By Step

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Copyright Melanie Anne Phillips - Owner, Storymind.com, Creator Storyweaver, Co-creator Dramatica

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Thousands of writers use StoryWeaver to build their story’s world, characters, plot, theme,
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Thousands of writers use Dramatica to find and refine their story’s structure and to find and fix holes and missteps.

• 200 Interactive Story Cards guide you from concept to completion, step by step.

• Help Buttons with Writing Tips, Example Stories, Hints, and Tricks.

• Work on multiple stories at once.

• Jot down creative notes from anywhere in StoryWeaver.

• Placeholder: Pick up writing where you left off.

• Develop multiple levels of detail for your plot and characters.

• Intuitive navigation path helps you follow your Muse.

• Works on any device: desktop, laptop, tablet, phone, Windows, Macintosh, iOs, Android & Chrome

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• Patented Story Engine cross- references your dramatic choices to create a structure map.

• AI style narrative model finds holes, missteps and suggests how to fix & fill them.

• Automatically generates a timeline from your story’s structural map.

• Offers three levels of detail depending on the complexity of your story.

• Includes hundreds of examples, tips, tricks, and techniques.

• Comes with more than sixty structural maps for classic and popular novels, movies and stage plays.

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~ Step 129 ~

Projecting Message Issue – Act Three

An old performer's adage proclaims, "Always leave 'em laughing."  When it comes to theme, this truism could be paraphrased as "Always leave 'em feeling."  Theme is an emotional argument, and the best way to make such an argument is by involving the reader at a personal level.

Since the message issue is the human quality that your story is about, there is already a built-in level of attachment to your readers.  But people don't like to look at themselves critically.  The trick, then, is to find a way to involve their emotions without pointing a finger at them.

You can draw your readers into an emotional bond with your message issue by devising illustrations that show the impact of that issue on characters they have come to care about.

Previously, the examples you incorporated into your story may have been more philosophical or conceptual.  Or, they may have pertained to functional characters with which your readers have developed little empathy.  But by selecting or creating examples that affect a character your readers feel for, you can indirectly ignite passions without alienating them.

Referring to the material you have already developed, select those illustrations that best describe how your message issue will show its importance to the life of the reader.  If necessary, create new examples to bring the message issue home.