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Monthly Archives: October 2011
Character Development and the 28 “Magic” Scenes
A Dramatica user recently asked a couple of questions about developing characters other than the Main and Impact (Obstacle) and also about Dramatica’s reference to “28 magic scenes” in one place and 24 scenes in another. Here’s my reply … Continue reading
Posted in Building Characters, Scenes, Sequences
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Using Dramatica for a How-To Book
A Dramatica user recently asked: I bought your Dramatica Pro software a couple of weeks ago and am finding it difficult to figure out how to use it for writing a how-to type of book. I’ve developed a few imaginary … Continue reading
Posted in Q & A
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Storyforms in the Real World and the Mobius Doughnut
Ever since we developed Dramatica as a theory to describe the elements and mechanisms of story structure, we have understood that as a model of the Story Mind, Dramatica might also be applied to the psychologies of real people as … Continue reading
Posted in Beyond Dramatica
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Using Character Names from Someone Else’s Story
A writer recently asked: I purchased your Storyweaver, because I’ve had many stories rumbling around in my head for years. Several of them are adaptations of old tv dramas and old movies. My stories are totally different from the originals, … Continue reading
Posted in Practical Tips
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Act Order – Sign Posts, Journeys & Throughlines
A Dramatica user asks: Hi Melanie, In the [Dramatica] theory book you can find this text: “Just because we have absolute freedom, however, does not mean our decision will have no effect on our audience. In fact, the order in … Continue reading
Posted in Signposts & Journeys
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al Awlaki, the “Uncanny Valley” and Writing Empathetic Characters
Recently, al Awlaki (the infamous “American” Al Qaeda) was killed by American forces. He was viewed as a great threat because of his ability to speak to the domestic population of the United States in their own language and culture … Continue reading
Posted in Beyond Dramatica, Building Characters, Story Psychology
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Questions About Act Order in Different Cultures
A writer asked the following question regarding my earlier article, “Changing Dramatica’s Suggested Act Order.” How does one go about sussing this out? What approach would you recommend if I were trying to figure out which argument is primary in … Continue reading
Posted in Acts
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