Stories explore the kinds of problems we encounter every day and provide a message about how best to deal with them.

The Dramatica theory of narrative structure has created a chart that organizes these potential problems into different families.

Each kind of dramatic element can be thought of as a seed from which to grow a character, a plot, or a thematic message.

One of these dramatic elements is Accurate and is the core issue of problems that grow either from believing something to be “good enough” or believing things need to be more accurate before one is ready to act.

Here’s how the Dramatica dictionary defines it:

Accurate • [Element] • dynamic pair –  Non-accurate

Accurate • being within tolerances

How it works in narrative structure:

Not all concepts work everywhere or all the time. When an understanding has limitations, it can still provide a useful way of looking at the specific issues. The more accurate an understanding, the more one can apply it with certainty. When the Accurate element comes into play it will lead to accepting rough approximations that are “within tolerance” or “good enough” for the purpose at hand. The advantage is that little energy is wasted on “the law of diminishing returns.” The disadvantage is that appraising things as Accurate can lead to gross generalizations in which important or dangerous considerations slip though the cracks. • syn. within tolerance, sufficient, adequate, acceptable, passable

Excerpted from the Dramatica Dictionary