Questions about Dramatica Pro

A writer recently emailed:

I have many questions.

Does Dramatica Pro have built in tutorials to bring someone up on the language and terminology?

Do you offer a package with movie magic?

Are any mainstream screenwriters using this? The only place I hear about it is the Write Bros. website and reviews on Amazon.

Does anyone offer a class on the software? The closest thing I can compare it to is 2nd year grad-level Greek. (In a good way!)

I found the companion book on iTunes and am picking through these videos. So happy to have found something that could help with my stories. It looks like an amazing amount of work on your part.

Thanks,
Steve

My reply:

Hi, Steve.

Here are answers to your questions:

Yes, Dramatica has built-in tutorials including the entire theory book included in the software.  There’s also a built-in searchable dictionary of terms, and extensive support information in many categories on every question page.

We do offer Dramatica in a package with Movie Magic.  Just visit our web site at storymind.com, click on the link at the top to our store and then click on Package Deals to see the latest prices.

Lots of mainstream writers use Dramatica (we’ve sold well over 50,00 copies) but most writers don’t advertise they use it for fear the industry will think they “need” software to write their stories.  But, if you visit Dramatica.com you can see a number of endorsements by well-known novelists, screenwriters, producers and directors.  Just as a sample, it was used by the emmy-winning head writer of Band of Brothers on that production, it was used extensively in the inventive television series, Dead Like Me, and is a big favorite of the fellow who wrote The China Syndrome.  (We really wish other writers would have the courage to step up to the plate and publicly admit they use it!)

As for classes, you can find the Dramatica Software Companion program on our web site at Storymind.com, which fully describes all the features of the software and how to use them, and you will also find Dramatica Unplugged – a program consisting of 12 hours of video describing the Dramatica theory of story (based on my seminars and on the 12 week course I taught for a few years through UCLA).

I hope this gives you some direction, and please feel free to contact me with any other questions you may have.

Melanie Anne Phillips
Co-creator, Dramatica