The Concern of a story tends to revolve around a definable area of activity or exploration. This central hub may be internal such as Memory or Conceiving (coming up with an idea). Or, it may be external such as Obtaining or Progress.

When choosing a Concern it is often useful to ask, “What kind of things do I want the characters in my story to explore?”

Keep in mind that the Concern only describes WHAT is being looked at. HOW to look at it is determined by choosing the Thematic Issue.

The choice of Concern sets limits on how much dramatic ground the Theme can potentially encompass and therefore includes some kinds of considerations and excludes others.

Excerpted from
Dramatica Story Development Software