Author Archives: Sheldon

Dramatica Class: Mental Sex

Posted on October 8, 2012 by Sheldon

The following is a transcript from an online class in story structure presented by the co-creator of Dramatica, Melanie Anne Phillips signed on as Dramatica: Dramatica:  Okay, we move on to Mental Sex… This question is not about the gender … Continue reading →

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Stories with “Be-er” Main Characters

Posted on October 5, 2012 by Sheldon

STORIES that have Approach of Be-er: A Doll’s House: As a child in her father’s home, and as a wife in her husband’s home, Nora does everything in her power to adapt herself to her environment-even to the detriment of … Continue reading →

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Male vs. Female Problem Solving

Posted on October 4, 2012 by Sheldon

All too often in stories, relationships and interchanges between characters of different sexes come off stilted, unbelievable, or contrived. In fact, since the author is writing from the perspective of only one of the two sexes, characters of the opposite … Continue reading →

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Dramaticapedia – “Ability”

Posted on October 3, 2012 by Sheldon

What’s “Ability” have to do with story structure? If you look in Dramatica’s “Periodic Table of Story Elements” chart (you can download a free PDF of the chart at http://storymind.com/free-downloads/ddomain.pdf ) you’ll find the “ability” in one of the little … Continue reading →

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Dramatica – Where’d the Idea Come From?

Posted on October 1, 2012 by Sheldon

Chris Huntley and I began our exploration of story structure in 1980. He and I had met a few years earlier while we were both attending the University of Southern California and both making short films. I had left school … Continue reading →

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Players vs. Characters

Posted on September 28, 2012 by Sheldon

In an earlier discussion of what sets the Objective Characters apart from the Subjective Characters, we described how Objective Characters represent dramatic functions in a story whereas Subjective Characters represent points of view.  The Progagonist is an example of an … Continue reading →

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Throughlines (and how to use them!)

Posted on September 27, 2012 by Sheldon

Some time ago I described the difference between the two basic forms of story structure with the following phrase: You spin a tale, but you weave a story. The common expression “spinning a yarn” conjures up the image of a … Continue reading →

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The Reason and Emotion Archetypes

Posted on September 26, 2012 by Sheldon

The Reason Archetypal Character is calm, collected, and cool, perhaps even cold. It makes decisions and takes action wholly on the basis of logic. (Remember, we say wholly because we are describing an Archetypal Character. As we shall see later, … Continue reading →

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Work Stories vs. Dilemma Stories

Posted on September 25, 2012 by Sheldon

Problems Without a problem, a story is at rest or Neutral. All of the dramatic pieces are balanced and no potential exists. But when a problem is introduced, that equilibrium becomes unbalanced. We call that imbalance an Inequity. An inequity … Continue reading →

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Sidekick & Skeptic Archetypes

Posted on September 24, 2012 by Sheldon

The Sidekick and the Skeptic represent the conflict between confidence and doubt in the Story Mind. The Sidekick is the faithful supporter. Usually, a Sidekick is attached to the Protagonist. Sometimes, however, they may be supporters of the Antagonist such … Continue reading →

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