My new Author Page on Amazon listing all my published books:
Author Archives: Melanie Anne Phillips
Do You Want to Write a Tale or a Story?
The difference between a tale and a story is that a tale is just a linear step by step progression through plot events and character growth in which the next step can be anything at all, as long it makes logical sense, within the logic of the tale’s “universe that you establish as an author.
But a story is more like a mosaic. As with a tale, it progresses step by step. But in a story, each dramatic moment, each next step, is like a mosaic piece. So, as the story unfolds, as each mosaic piece is laid down, a bigger picture emerges – a message or moral – the story’s meaning, and the underlying “argument” made by the author in the story’s structure to convince the reader of the author’s professed moral conclusion about the proper way to think or feel in regard to the core issue of the story (the message issue).
As an example, you can look to Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” in which all the events that happen are part of the effort of the ghosts (and others) to convince Scrooge that his point of view is flawed and he should learn to embrace love, and joy, to be generous toward others, and to keep Christmas in his heart. If that message were not argued, scene by scene and act by act, Christmas Carol would be a simple tale of a mean old man who comes to care about others and finds joy. But the message – the structure that compels the readers to embrace that moral and make it a cornerstone of their own life, would be missing without the complete story argument.
I assume you might like to transcend writing a simple tale or series of events and instead create a story in which all the parts eventually work together to a greater purpose. If that is the case, I can guide you to organizing your story elements in a structural way that is consistent with the timeline you have presented but simultaneously fashions that “bigger picture” that can move your readers to change their own lives.
Here’s how we begin.
The single most important dramatic in a story (that is not needed in a tale) is the “message argument” between the main character (who begins with one world view, attitude, or philosophy) and an influence character who represents the opposing moral or philosophic view. The moral argument between them runs from the beginning of the story to the climax at which the main character either sticks with his original perspective or decides to change his mind/heart and adopt the alternative view of the influence character.
To help you get a good sense of this relationship, here’s a link to a short article I wrote about these two characters that includes a video clip showing these two character as they appear in several different well-known stories.
Here’s the article with the clip, and after you view it, read on for the first step in creating structure for your story:
Your Story Will Fail (if you don’t do this…)
Now that you have seen the clip, you can easily recognize the main character who begins with one outlook, and the influence character who pressures him or her to change – either by direct pressure or by influence alone.
The entire message of your story will hinge on whether or not the main character changes, and whether or not that was a good or bad choice. (Sometimes it is better not to change and to stick with our beliefs; other times it is better to abandoned our long-held beliefs, update how we see the world, and try a different tack.)
Not having a clear message issue and/or not having an influence character is the biggest source of structural failure in a story because it leaves the story without a passionate throughline and without real human meaning in the end.
So, your first step in creating a sound story structure after you have your main character is to specify your message issue and identify your influence character who has a moral or philosophical belief system in direct opposition to that of your main character.
Melanie Anne Phillips
Co-creator Dramatica
Learn more about the main and influence characters
Contact me about my story consultation services
The Origin of Archetypes
Another excerpt from our book, Archetypes – Characters, Narrative and Mind –
If archetypes represent basic human qualities, each assigned to a different character, then how would such a convention of story structure come to be? The answer lies in the manner in which people organize themselves in the real world, which fiction hopes to document and seeks to understand.
When we attempt to solve a problem as individuals, we bring all of our mental tools to bear on the issue. Each provides is a different take on the problem, calling a different kind of evaluation into play. In this way, we look for a solution from every angle we have and thereby understand the situation as fully as we are able.
When we gather in groups to solve a problem of common concern, we begin as a collection of individuals, each trying to explore the issue from all sides, as we do on our own. In short order, however, we begin to specialize, each focusing on a different approach to the problem that represents just one of our basic human qualities.
For example, one person will become the voice of Reason for the group, while another will become the group’s Skeptic. In this way, the group as a whole is able to gain a deeper understanding of the issue because each specialist is able to devote full attention to just one aspect of the problem.
Thousands of generations of storytellers sought to discern the manner in which people interrelate and the roles they adopt. They observed the self-organization into the same specialties so often that the roles became codified in the conventions of story structure as the archetypes we know today.
And so, without anyone ever intentionally trying and without anyone ever realizing, the archetypal characters of fiction turn out to be perhaps the most accurate representation of the essential processes of problem solving we all possess, made manifest in an externalized representation of our own minds.
An Unpleasant Customer – Think Twice, Post Once
Email correspondence with a less than pleasant potential purchaser:
Customer:
Hello,
I recently came across your site as I am needing to purchase Move Magic Screenwriting 6. I see that you beat other authorized online pricing. I almost purchased one on this site: screenplay.com
when I decided to do some comparison shopping. I see that yours is more expensive, but if you are truly able to beat that price, I will purchase from you instead. I would love to purchase this weekend to start a class Sunday night if possible and would appreciate a quick response. Thanks!
Maryann
Me:
Hi, Maryann
Unfortunately, the 4th of July Sale ended yesterday on July 7th. You can see that is the end date on the screenplay.com web sit. They are the manufacturers and our reseller price depends on when they lower it for a sale. So prices went up today to us as well, so we can’t beat the expired sale price.
Melanie
Storymind
Customer:
I emailed you yesterday [Saturday]when that price was still active.
Me:
The price wasn’t active yesterday [Saturday]. The sale ended on Friday. The manufacturer just hadn’t taken the advertisement down yet, but the ad does state the end date of July 7.
Customer:
Oh interesting. I didn’t realize they could falsly advertise a different price than they would process at checkout. (I got all the way through the checkout process last night except to confirm it with that listed price)
Is ok though, I can let our group know to be aware of this in the future.
Turns out we are going to be able to get the program for $90 anyway, so it all worked out in the end!
Thanks anyway.
Me:
Hi, Maryann. I’m very glad you were able to get a good price! Actually, please don’t let your disappointment at being able to take advantage of the sale make you think the manufacturer was falsely advertising. We, for one thing, do not put the products on sale at all – always the same price – though we will beat other prices that are currently valid by the manufacturer or any other licensed reseller.
And as for the manufacturer – I went to college with these guys and they are honest as the day is long. All that happened was that they put up a notice of a sale that specified that the end date was July 7 right in the text in a prominent place. And since the sale ended Friday night and they aren’t open on the weekend, they just didn’t get around to taking down the notice – probably just an oversight, but they never falsely advertised.
So, with your comment, “Oh interesting. I didn’t realize they could falsly advertise a different price…” as you see they didn’t advertise a different price. I’m sorry you didn’t see the end date when you went to order.
Still, accusing my good life-long friends of falsely advertising does offend me, and I’m very sorry you felt the need to sling accusations. Though I am still glad you found good price.
Melanie
Storymind
— Now normally I just accept the abuse some customers feel they need to dump on me, as if I wasn’t a real person and as if their disappointment, justified or not, is a valid reason for shedding their own unhappiness onto someone else and making them miserable. Just the price of doing business I figure.
But THIS day, I’m sitting here watching a beautiful PBS documentary on the Pacific ocean, enjoying a Sunday dinner of pot roast, potatoes, and of shallots and carrots we grew in our own garden. I served it up on the very plates my beloved grandmother used to serve the very same meal for Sunday dinner hundreds of times in my life – very special.
And I am doing a little customer service on the computer to help any wayward purchasers, even though I’m technically closed for the weekend. And this one person stomps into the middle of that with accusations against my friends and just a generally bad attitude.
It is moment like these that make we want to retire from selling products at all and just do it all through Amazon or just focus on my story consultation services.
But I suppose my main reason for posting this is to remind us all (me included) that even a casual snarky comment, in person, in email, or in a post on social media and throw a little bitterness into a beautiful moment, or worse, be the straw that broke the camel’s back for someone just barely managing to cope with a bad day.
To paraphrase a famous quote: “Think twice, post once.”
Characters: Lost In Their Own Spotlight
True of people; true of characters:
When hit with great personal grief, how many of us stop to think about how all those around us are coping – especially those whose approach to life is to keep it all inside?
By nature, we all stand at the apex of our perception, with all roads leading to ourselves. We look out from the center of our circle and think ourselves compassionate because we consider and feel for all that falls within it. We put ourselves in their shoes, but only to see how our circle looks from their point of view. But how often do we consider that others within our realm have circles of their own that extend beyond the borders of our own domain with other issues we simply do not see?
And just as true, those who care about us do not see the totality of what weighs upon us, but only that part of our lives that falls within their horizons as well. And so, when we hurt, when we feel wronged by life or by others, it is easily possible that those we care most about are not given the attention and compassion they need and deserve.
We try to be objective and determine that, in this case, the loss is closest to us, most painful to us, and though our friends and family may feel the loss as well, we are at ground zero. And this may be true. But what of the additional losses they face that fall outside our personal spotlight?
We may have the greatest sense of loss for this particular person or event, but they may have three times the number of losses occurring at the same time. And while this particular one is not as great for them, collectively they suffer even more and, perhaps, another loss that we cannot (or at least naturally do not) see is even greater than ours, in addition to many others as well that they are suffering that never enter our minds.
What is most unpleasant and difficult is when we ourselves are the cause or source of a loss for others that we did not originally perceive. The hardest thing to do is see oneself as the villain. The hardest position to reevaluate is the one on which you stand.
What if we, driven by grief, pull back from those we love so that they suffer not only the source of loss that pains us, but the loss of our love as well, albeit for a short but crucial time? And more – what if we, though a change in attitude, outlook, lifestyle or presentation have, in the name of growth and being true to one’s inner self, become a different person from their point of view, leaving them to morn the friend or mate or parent that was?
This we simply cannot see at the time. We make our choices to soothe the inner beast, to calm the seething cauldron of our angst. Yet in so doing, we may enrage the beast within other, fuel their own internal conflagration and, in the end, do far more harm to one or many of those for whom we care the most than the good we have struggled so hard to do for ourselves.
Age brings perspective and, with it, a greater sense of context. The young cannot be expected to rise to an an elevated grasp of life’s interconnections before they have travelled them one by one. And so, for those of use blessed with enough time on the planet to have the opportunity to stand beside ourselves and see behind the invisible walls that previously bound us, perhaps we can rise a little further, to appreciate not only how our losses may affect others, but how we may both contribute to or even be the cause of loss we have not previously seen.
What we do next, now graced with that extended panorama, determines who we are to ultimately be in this one life.
Learn more about character psychology
Story Structure with the Muse in Mind
Story Structure can be a straight-jacket for your Muse. On the one hand, structure is necessary for a story to have a point or even just to make sense! But on the other hand, structure tends to channel ideas down predictable paths and to rob a story of serendipity.
In my twenty-five years as a teacher of creative writing and story structure, I’ve developed a number of techniques to help you find your perfect balance between the rigors of structure and the free-wheeling flow of inspiration.
Here’s the short list:
Structure Hobbles the Muse
The Muse explodes outward into a world of passion and possibilities. As a teacher of creative writing for twenty-five years, my experiences with many types of writers tell me that one should never consider structure at … Continue reading
Let your Muse run wild
Let your Muse run wild The easiest way to give yourself writer’s block is to bridle your Muse by trying to come up with ideas. Your Muse is always coming up with ideas – just not the ones you want. … Continue reading
Narrative Analysis – American Student Released by DPRK (North Korea)
American student released from DPRK (North Korea) – What’s the narrative?
Salient narrative facts:
1. The student is in a coma since March due to botulism, according to DPRK sources.
2. The DPRK has launched 16 missiles in the last few weeks, garnering international concerns.
3. The DPRK recently threatened a first strike nuclear attack against the United States to “protect itself.”
4. The student has been in custody for 17 months and his condition was not known.
Narrative assessment:
The release of the American student, especially in a coma from a cause that creates suspicion of foul play or at least lack of expected protections, is not an olive branch but a further provocation designed to additionally fan the flames of American sentiment against the DPRK.
Clearly, the DPRK is trying to provoke some sort of preemptive action on the part of the United States beyond merely tightening sanctions.
Narrative question:
What is the motivation of the DRPK in attempting to provoke preemptive action against it by the United States, and what are their likely reactions to alternative potential actions?
In previous work we have done for the CIA, NSA, NRO and Joint Chiefs of Staff, this would be the starting point for full-scale narrative analysis of potential scenarios including the creation of a motivation map of the DRPK and specifically of KIm Jong-un, as well as a narrative projection of future behavior , leading to a recommendation of the most effective action plans for United States policy officials.
Most of our analyses, ranging from our presence in Afghanistan to psychological deterrents against Chinese cyber incursions, are largely based on open source material, which holds a wealth of narrative data, hidden within the subject matter, invisible to those untrained in the science and methods of narrative analysis and narrative creation.
Contact us for information about narrative analysis and creation services at narrative@storymind.com
Group Identity – A Society’s Sense of Self
Here’s a little essay on how narrative can determine whether a group, culture, or society will hang together or fall apart…
When you see a society as a group mind, you can see that it must have an identity, just as we do: “I think therefore I am.” In stories, this identity is the main character – the sense of self of the story mind. Think of “corporate identity” of being a fan of a television show who goes to a convention about the show and connects with all the other fans. As individuals, we get a sense of belonging to something bigger than ourselves, that reflects a part of who we are and binds us all together.
When we say we are Democrats or Republicans, we are not saying that is all we are, or that the group identity for our part is the totality of our being, but rather that a portion of ourselves as individuals is represented by that group identity and, in that regard “we are all alike” and at the same time, we are NOT like members of the other party.
Every tribe, every sports team, needs a corporate identity or there is no glue to hold it together as it is just a collection of individuals (This IS the United States used to be These ARE the United States). Of late, we are struggling with our common identity as Americans because the gap between the two party’s agendas has become so wide that we no longer feel like Americans when the other party is in power, or perhaps better put: we feel they are not Americans and we are foreigners in our own country (“Dude, Where’s my Country?”)
Often what helps focus a grow a group identity is a figure head – an avatar for the sense of self of the group mind, such as Steve Jobs with Apple or a religious or ethnic martyr like William Wallace (“Braveheart”) or Jesus Christ himself. In the case of Apple, the corporation chose to end the avatar of Jobs when he died and tried to have Apple itself become its own main character, with little success. In contrast, Kentucky Friend Chicken maintains the avatar of Colonel Sanders, just as Disney did for may years, and still to a small extent today.
We took on a narrative consulting job for a sports team once that had all the most expensive and best players in terms of stats, but couldn’t win in the clutch. We analyzed the narrative and discovered the problem was so simple it is hard to see: The players were asking “What can I do for my team?” rather than asking “What can WE do AS a team?” As long as they saw themselves as individuals contributing to the greater good, no team identity could form. So our narrative prescription was to instill a sense of all being contributors, rather than each contributing his best ability. This would lead individual members to accept being benched or put in a less important order of play for the good of the group, and they would then begin to click as a team and to win.
So, for a society – ANY society – to become cohesive and to stand strong, it must develop a group identity, and that “brand” must be personified by a personality, real or fictitious.
Learn more about Narrative Science
Know Your Story Points: Overall Story Concern
Excerpted from our Dramatica Story Structuring Software:
Overall Story Concern: the purposes or interests sought after by the characters overall.
Within the scenario in which your story takes place, there is an area of shared importance to all the characters in your story. Select the item(s) that best describes this Concern.
THEORY: Problems can manifest themselves in several ways. Therefore, simply defining the nature of a Problem does not necessarily predict its effect.
For example, if the Problem is that there is not enough money to pay the rent, it might motivate one person to take to drink but another to take a second job.
The effects of a Problem are not necessarily bad things, but simply things that would not have happened quite that way without the existence of the Problem. So it is with Concerns.
The choice of Concern determines the principal area affected by the story’s Problem and serves as a broad indicator of what the story is about.
USAGE: The Concern of a story tends to revolve around a definable area of activity or exploration. This central hub may be internal such as Memories or Conceiving an Idea (coming up with an idea). Or, it may be external such as Obtaining or How Things are Changing.
When choosing a Concern it is often useful to ask, “Which of these items do I want the characters in my story to examine?”
Keep in mind that the Concern only describes WHAT is being looked at. HOW to look at it is determined by choosing the 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.
What Good Is Dramatica?
Chris Huntley and I developed a theory of story structure back in the early 1990’s. Our theory was all about the relationships among structural story points – like a Rubik’s cube of story structure. We programmed those relationships – that cube of story – into a software program called Dramatica where they became something we call the “Story Engine,” and it is not like any other tool for story.
Basically, you answer questions about the kind of structure you want for your story, and behind the scenes, the Story Engine adjusts the relationships among all the story points of your potential structure accordingly.
As you answer each question, it tightens up your structure a little more until you reach a point where all the other questions are automatically answered because your previous questions have enough influence to lock the structure.
You can answer the questions in any order you like, starting with the ones most important to you on a given story, and in this way, your story structure always reflects your intent as an author, yet is always complete and consistent.
Simple concept, but it requires a bit of learning about the story points, the questions and their implications for your story.
If you are more of an intuitive writer, you may find it a little too specific, but if you are looking for some guidance or a framework for your story that provides form, not formula, then Dramatica is probably just what you are looking for.
Like all our products for writers, it comes with a risk-free 90 Day return policy, so if it doesn’t work with your writing style, you can get just ask for your money back.