Author Archives: Melanie Anne Phillips

From the Dramatica Pro Software Archives (1999)

Dramatica Pro 4 Software Companion – Introduction
From 1999 (gad, I was young!) – Introductory video from the Dramatica Software Companion.  Quality is poor, but the original video was lost, so all we have is this compressed copy which was the best available technology of the day!  Fortunately, the instructional videos of the actual Dramatica Software Companion program are in MUCH better quality.
Dramatica Pro 4 Software Companion – Freatures Introduction
From 1999 – Opening video in the 4 1/2 hour Dramatica Software Companion. Poor quality video, but included here as an archival side note.
Dramatica Pro 4 – Software Companion – Creativity Introduction
From 1999 – Opening video in the 4 1/2 hour Dramatica Software Companion. Poor quality video, but included here as an archival side note.

The Big Bang Theory – A “Penny” for Your Thoughts

This issue, I take issue with The Big Bang Theory – that wonderous, splenderous, eclectic, erudite series from Chuck Lorre – that wonderous, splenderous, eclectic, erudtie writer, producer, director & composer.  Did I miss anything?  Did he?

Well, he hasn’t missed much!  In fact, he also created Grace Under Fire, Cybill, Dharma & Greg and Two and a Half Men.  Clearly, this man knows how to crank out a story.  So, just as clearly, he has no need of me.  Or Dramatica.  But mostly me.

And yet, as a fan of the show, I cannot help but offer up a plea for a future storyline that might enhance what is already one of the most creatively and intelligently produced series in the history of the boob tube.

In the past, I have held back my opinion until the finished movie, book, or television show was completed, hoping for the best (like the rest of the fans) only to be disappointed when Lost, Twin Peaks, or the movie, Star Trek Generations, failed to grasp what every fan knew.

I would rant and utter, “They didn’t ask me – why didn’t they ask me?!”  Well this time, it’s going to be different (quote from Star Trek Generations that leads to the disappointment with that movie).  But that’s a different story – literally.

Once enraged by the cluelessness of the Great Creators, I would oft satiate myself with a Constructive Criticism, such as these – Jurassic Park – Building A Better Dinosaur, Fried Rice: The Tale of “The Vampire Chronicles”, A Constructive Criticism of “True Lies”, Natural Born Killers: A Constructive Criticism, and THE XX AND XY FILES in which I both celebrate the genius at work (in the work) and also the disappointment that a near flawless story was undermined by one small, but pivotal, step.

But I’ve grown tired of coming in after the fact.  I’m tired of being disappointed.  So this time I’m going to offer up my humble suggestion for a storyline for Big Bang Theory that will keep it from falling from grace, doomed to stagger to a lethargic end in the shadow of its former glory.

Hence, the “Penny” storyline:

Currently, the character of Penny (the across-the-hall-mate of Sheldon, Leonard, and their two practically live-in friends, Raj and Wolowitz) has reached something of a dead-end.  While initially an essential counterpoint to the four nerds as a foil for Sheldon, a real-world connection for Leonard, a disturbing presence for Raj and an impossible dream for Wolowitz, that ship, as they say, has sailed.

Every conceivable combination of scenarios has been played, from Penny becoming a surrogate mother-figure for Sheldon to a lover for Leonard.  Fine – well played!  What now?

Penny remains an aspiring actress working as a waitress at the Cheesecake Factory.  This far into the series, she must be an awful actress or (just like the thousands of other such perpetually hopeful ingénues in the real world) to have virtually no career and yet still see their day job as – their day job.

Mr. Lorre, you simply must do something about Penny.  Otherwise the tie that binds will either become overly restrictive, or she will fail to hold the group together and their characters will strain to drift apart.

So, with absolute starry-eyed respect from a fan, here’s my humble suggestion…

Sheldon runs an experiment to prove just how little the “common man” can understand of the rarified work he is developing.  He shows a white board of equations to Penny as a test.  He asks if she understands any of it and she replies “No” (pause) “But that part is wrong”, pointing to one section of the board.

Sheldon, in a huff, proclaims that while his work may be in development, it is never wrong.  And besides, how could Penny possibly know it was wrong if she doesn’t even understand it.  She replies that she just knows, smiles, and leaves to return to her apartment.

Sheldon pontificates again, how preposterous it was for her to suggest that area of his work was in error.  Stops, looks at it again, and says incredulously, “My God, it is wrong!”

Turns out, after further testing, that Penny is something of a savant.  While she doesn’t comprehend what any of the equations mean, she simply and unfailingly can instantly identify any error in them.

Sheldon snobbishly mentions the situation to one of his co-workers, who brings it to the attention of the department head who, after seeing a demonstration by Penny, hires her on the spot to double-check all their technical work.

She quits her waitress job and is given an office in the university, which she decorates in her usual feminine fashion and hangs out reading her magazines, doing her nails, going on acting auditions, and discovering the problem areas in everyone’s research.

This puts her in daily conflict and confusion with the Gang of Four, leaves her charming oblivious attitude intact, and makes her, once again, the spaghetti that holds the four meatballs together.  In addition, it opens the opportunity for Penny to actually get an acting job from time to time, which would now add to, rather than draw away from, the central storyline.

So, take it for what it’s worth, Mr. Lorre, but at least this time I won’t have myself to blame if Penny’s character slowly withers away.  Perhaps you might even find this suggestion as inspiring as I have found your vanity cards, the style of which inspired the tone of this very article.

Well, that’s my take on how to make The Big Theory end with a Bang, not a whimper.

Oh, and Lost should have ended with it being discovered that not only are they dead but all the unanswered or unexplained items (like 4-8-15-16-23-42 )are all in the Lost world because they came in with those who had died.

Hurley brought those numbers with him because he actually won the lotto with them, so he subconsciously projected them into the Lost world.  After all, he’s almost always the one who sees them first.  Faraday brought the physical anomalies, due to his background, Miles brought the Dharma initiative due to his early memories of his dad. and Jacob contributed the ancient artifacts from his own memories (he has been there for a long, long time).

Anyone who dies contributes something, but everyone there must deal with all of it.  In this way, the world of the afterlife becomes an ever-evolving environment in which they are given the opportunity to grow and move on – a world both personal and familiar with what each person brings to it but also strange and inexplicable due to what all the other have brought. 

The last episode could have spelled out exactly what each character contributed to the world from their hopes, fears, past or nature.  And so, all the elements on the island would not have have to make sense as part of some Great Overall Mystery involving the Dharma initiative, but could make sense as part of an even bigger explanation as to how the afterlife works.

Why didn’t they ask me?

Relationship of Story Driver to Journeys

Recently, a writer asked about the relationship of the Story Driver to the three Journeys in every throughline.  Here’s my response:

The Story Driver is one of the eight dynamic questions (the eight “essential” questions) that Dramatica asks, including Main Character Resolve (change or steadfast) and Story Outcome (Success or Failure).

Story Driver is Action or Decision. That means that the story is kicked off by either an action taken (such as a murder) or experienced (such as an earthquake) or by a decision made (such as to quit smoking) or arrived at (such as “I’ve gotta stop being a workaholic”)

The four signposts in each act are just that – signposts along the road from the inciting incident to the conclusion of your story. Moreover, each signpost can be seen as a town along the road. Each town has a particular nature (like “Learning” or “Understanding”) and somewhere between the two towns, the influence of one gives way to the influence of the other.

So, when you Journey from town to town you are gradually moving from the heart of downtown (greatest influence) of one through the area where their influence is equal until you arrive at the downtown (greatest influence) of the next town.

Four towns are along the road for each of the four perspectives. So, there are four Signposts spanned by three journeys.

Each Journey is kicked off by another incident of the Story Driver. So, if an action started the quest from the first town (signpost) the leads it to the second signpost, then things would stop right there unless the Driver kicks it into gear again with another incident. Eventually, the fourth signpost (the destination) is reached and the momentum is brought to a complete stop by a final Driver incident that bring all the inertia to a halt. So, the Driver starts it all and the Driver brings it all to a conclusion, and the Driver is what kicks off each journey and brings the whole quest to a conclusion.

Write Your Novel Step By Step – Part 5

Write Your Novel Step by Step

by Melanie Anne Phillips
creator StoryWeaver, co-creator Dramatica

Step 5: Creating Characters from Plot

In Step 4, I outlined some great techniques for creating characters from scratch.  But If you already have a story idea, it is an even more simple matter to create a whole cast of characters that will grow out of your plot. In this step we’re going to lay out a method of developing characters from a thumbnail sketch of what your story is about.

Thumbnail Sketch

The most concise way to describe the key elements of a story is with a “Thumbnail Sketch.” This is simply a short line or two, less than a paragraph, that gets right to the heart of the matter. You see them all the time in TV Guide listings and in the short descriptions that show up on cable or satellite television program information.

A thumbnail sketch of The Matrix, for example, might read, “A computer hacker discovers that the world we know is really just a huge computer program. He is freed from the program by a group of rebels intent on destroying the system, and ultimately joins them as their most powerful cyber warrior.”

Clearly, there is a lot more to the finished movie than that, but the thumbnail sketch provides enough information to get a good feel for what the story is about. Generally, such a description contains information about the plot, since the audience will choose what they want to watch on the kind of things they expect to happen in a story. If it is an action story, there may be no mention of characters at all as in, “A giant meteor threatens to demolish the earth.” If it is a love story, there may be little plot but several characters, as in, “A young Amish girl falls in love with a traveling salesman. Her father and his chosen match for her oppose the romance, but her free-minded mother and exiled aunt encourage her.”

Whether or not characters are specifically mentioned in a thumbnail sketch, they are always at least inferred. For your own story, then, the first step is to come up with a short description like those used as illustrations above. For the purposes of this lesson, we’ll propose the following hypothetical story to use as an example:

Suppose our story is described as the tribulations of a town Marshall trying to fend off a gang of outlaws who bleed the town dry.

The Expected Characters

The only explicitly called for characters are the Marshall and the gang. So, we’ll list them as required characters of the story. Certainly you could tell a story with just those characters, but it might seem a little under-populated. Realistically, you’d expect the gang to have a leader and the town to have a mayor. The Marshall might have a deputy. And, if the town is being bled dry, then some businessmen and shopkeepers would be in order as well. So the second stage of the process is to step a bit beyond what is actually written and to slightly enlarge the dramatic world described to include secondary and support characters too.

The Usual Characters

Range a little wider now, and list some characters that aren’t necessarily expected, but wouldn’t seem particularly out of place in such a story.

Example:

A saloon girl, a bartender, blacksmith, rancher, preacher, school teacher, etc.

Unusual Characters

Now, let yourself go a bit and list a number of characters that would seem somewhat out of place, but still explainable, in such a story.

Example:

A troupe of traveling acrobats, Ulysses S. Grant, a Prussian Duke, a bird watcher.

Adding one or two somewhat unexpected characters to a story can liven up the cast and make it seem original, rather than predictable.

Outlandish Characters

Finally, pull out all the stops and list some completely inappropriate characters that would take a heap of explaining to your reader/audience if they showed up in your story.

Example:

Richard Nixon, Martians, the Ghost of Julius Caesar

Although you’ll likely discard most of these characters, just the process of coming up with them can lead to new ideas and directions for your story.

For example, the town Marshall might become more interesting if he was a history buff, specifically reading about the Roman Empire. In his first run-in with the gang, he is knocked out cold with a concussion. For the rest of the story, he keeps imagining the Ghost of Julius Caesar, giving him unwanted advice.

Casting Call

Now, you assemble all the characters you have proposed for your story so far, be they Expected, Usual, Unusual, or Outlandish.  In our example we have:

Expected Usual Unusual Outlandish
The Marshall Saloon Girl Traveling Acrobats Richard Nixon
The Gang Bartender Ulysses S. Grant Martians
The Gang Leader Blacksmith Prussian Duke Caesar’s Ghost
The Town Mayor Rancher Birdwatcher  
A Deputy Preacher    
Businessmen
& Shopkeepers		 School Teacher    

The task at hand is to weed out of this list of prospective characters all the ones we are sure we don’t want in our story.  At first blush, this might seem easy, but before you make hasty decisions, keep in mind the use we came up with for Caesar’s Ghost.  Consider: How might traveling acrobats be employed dramatically?  As a place for the marshal to hide in greasepaint when the gang temporarily takes over the town?  Or how about if the school teacher befriends them, and then employs their aid in busting the deputy out of jail when he falls under the gang’s control?

How about Ulysses S. Grant showing up on his way to a meeting with the governor, and the gang members must impersonate honest town’s folk until he and his armed cavalry escort have departed?  Could make for a very tense or a very funny scene, depending on how you play it.

Try to put each of these characters in juxtaposition with each of the others, at least as a mental exercise, to see if any kind of chemistry boils up between them.  In this way,  you may find that some of the least likely characters on your initial consideration turn out to be almost indispensable to the development of your story!

A Word About Plot…

You may not have noticed, but a lot of what we have just done with characters has had the added benefit of developing whole sequences of events, series of interactions, and additional plot lines.  In fact, working with characters in this way often does as much for your story’s plot as it does in the creation of characters themselves.

Hence, it is never too early to work with characters.  As soon as you have an initial story idea, no matter how lacking in detail or thinly developed it may be, it can pay to work with your characters as a means of adding to your plot!

Study Exercises:  Squeezing Characters out of the Thumbnail Sketch

1.  Open a TV Listing Guide or view some descriptions on your cable or satellite guide.

2.  Pick 3 descriptions from movies you know and list the explicitly called for characters.

3.  Base on your knowledge of each story, list the usual characters, unusual characters, and outlandish characters (if any).

4.  Pick 3 descriptions from movies you don’t know and list the explicitly called for characters.

5.  Use your imagination to devise usual characters, unusual characters, and outlandish characters for each story.

6.  Watch each of the three movies you hadn’t seen and see how your proposed characters compare to what was actually done.

7. Consider that you might write your own story based on the description with the characters you created and have it be so different from the actual movie that it has become your own story!  (This is also a handy trick for coming up with your own original story ideas based on the hundreds of descriptions available each week.  More than likely, your creative concepts will be nothing like the movie the description was portraying!)

Writing Exercises: Creating Characters

1.   Write a thumbnail sketch for a story you wish to develop.

2.   List the explicitly described characters.

3.  Come up with some additional supporting “usual” characters.

4.  Be a bit creative and propose some unusual characters.

5.  Let yourself loose and devise some outlandish characters.

6.  Imagine each of the characters interacting with each of the others and determine which characters to employ in your story.

7. Use the scenarios created by your character interactions to expand your story’s plot.

The “Write Your Novel Step by Step” series is based on the method used in our StoryWeaver Step by Step Story Development Software.  Click here to learn more, download a demo, or order StoryWeaver for just $29.95