Universe • [Class] • dyn.pr. Mind<–>Universe • a situation or environment • The Universe Class is where any fixed state of affairs is explored, such as an institution, system, or situation that remains stable and unchanging. The point may be to show that the system is good, bad, or neutral, but the focus must be on the system not on how the system is changing. • syn. a situation, a set of circumstances, state of affairs, predicament, environment, milieu
From the Dramatica Dictionary
Unique Ability • [Variation] • The item that makes the Main Character uniquely able to determine the Objective Story’s outcome; the item that makes the Obstacle Character uniquely able to pressure the Main Character’s to Change • Just as a requirement defines the specific nature of things needed to achieve a particular goal, Unique Ability defines the specific quality needed to meet the requirement. Unique Ability is another way in which the Main Character is identified as the intersecting point between the Subjective and Objective stories as it is only he who ultimately has what it takes to meet the test of the requirement and thereby achieve the goal. The Unique Ability need not be anything extraordinary but must be the one crucial quality required that is shared by no one else. Frequently, the Unique Ability is in keeping with the Main Character’s position or profession, however it can be much more interesting to assign an incongruous Unique Ability. In either approach, it is essential to illustrate the existence of the Unique Ability in the Main Character several times throughout the story, even if it is not employed until the climax. In this way, it becomes integrated into the nature of the Main Character and does not seem conveniently tacked on when it is ultimately needed. Also, the Unique Ability can be extremely mundane. The key is that the ability does not have to be unique by nature, but just possessed uniquely in that specific story by the Main Character. Clever storytelling may arrange the climax of the story so that some completely ordinary and insignificant Unique ability makes the difference in the outcome of a cosmic struggle.
From the Dramatica Dictionary
Understanding • [Type] • dyn.pr. Learning<–>Understanding • appreciating the meaning of something • Understanding is different from knowledge. From knowledge one gets awareness, from Understanding one gets meaning. To obtain meaning requires not only knowing the substance of its nature but the context of its essence. In other words, one must not only define what something is but how it fits into the larger picture as well. To this end, Reason describes the function and Emotion defines the purpose. So Understanding is not just an intellectual pursuit but requires an empathy with the meaning as well. It is useful to note that many Eastern and ancient philosophies define Understanding as “becoming one with” that which is being considered. Until one joins his subject in unity, he cannot understand it. • syn. comprehending, grasping, appreciating, obtaining meaning, acquiring meaning
From the Dramatica Dictionary
Uncontrolled • [Element] • dyn.pr. Control<–>Uncontrolled • directionless, unconstrained • The character representing Uncontrolled spreads himself very thin by expending his energy and motivation in all directions at once. As a result, he is fully involved in his environment, which covers all the bases. Yet, because his attention is randomly distributed, there is not single direction to his thrust. Therefore, the Uncontrolled character frequently spends a lot of energy getting nowhere. • syn. unregulated, disorganized, unfocused, rampant, unguided, open, frenzy
From the Dramatica Dictionary
Unending • [Element] • dyn.pr. Ending<–>Unending • continuing without cessation • The Unending characteristic sees nothing as ever coming to completion. What others may see as an end, this characteristic sees as a change of direction. For example, obtaining a diploma is seen not as an end of college but as another step in one’s career (which is Unending). This has an advantage of “never saying ‘die’,” which helps the motivation stay alive to keep trying. On the other hand, seeing a bad thing as unending can rob one of motivation. Also, when something is really over, the character representing Unending can’t see it. This might be a former relationship or a current job that he takes for granted. • syn. continual, ongoing, perpetual, ceaseless, interminable, incessant, perennial
From the Dramatica Dictionary
Type • [Structural Term] • The 16 terms which are grouped directly beneath the Classes which most strongly affect Plot • There are 16 Types in the Dramatica structure, four to each Class. The Classes each represent a different point of view and the Types in that Class represent a more refined exploration of that point of view. In a sense, Types describe the basic categories of what can be seen from a given point of view. Just as Domain level appreciations create genre-like brush strokes in the story structure, Type level appreciations determine the nature of the plot.
From the Dramatica Dictionary
Truth • [Variation] • dyn.pr. Falsehood<–>Truth • that which is actually correct • Truth is more than facts and accuracy. Truth is meaning. Whenever someone is quoted out of context, what is reported may be factual and may be accurate but it is not Truthful. Meaning depends upon intent and purpose. That is the beauty of the legal system — that even if someone is caught red-handed, the jury can acquit because it feels there were mitigating circumstances. The problem with Truth is that it is an interpretation and therefore open to debate. One person’s Truth is another’s Falsehood. • syn. honesty, correct information, correct notion, verity
From the Dramatica Dictionary
Trust • [Element] • dyn.pr. Test<–>Trust • acceptance without proof • To Trust is to accept without trial. Whether a concept, relationship, person, or mechanism, it will be accepted by the character possessing the Trust characteristic without supportive evidence. This helps him to get on with the job at hand in the most efficient manner, but opens him up to disastrous surprises when an assumption is proven incorrect at a critical moment. • syn. untried acceptance, untested belief in, accept implicitly, assumed dependability, unquestioned reliance on
From the Dramatica Dictionary
Timelock • [Plot Dynamic] • the story climax is brought about by a time limit • If not for the story being forced to a climax, it might continue forever. When a story is brought to a conclusion because the characters run out of time, it is said to contain a Timelock. As an analogy, a story might be thought of as the effort to find the solution to the story’s problem which is hidden in one of the rooms of a mansion. Each room contains a clue to the actual location of the solution. The Main Character is told he may search as many rooms as he likes in five minutes. At the end of five minutes he is given a choice. Based on the clues he has already found, he must decide if the solution is in one of the rooms he already searched or in one of the rooms he has not yet searched. Either choice may lead to success or failure, but because running out of time forced the choice it is a Timelock story. The choice represents the Timelock which brings the story to a close and forces such appreciations as Main Character Resolve (Change or Steadfast), Outcome (Success or Failure), and Judgment (Good or Bad).
From the Dramatica Dictionary
Timelock versus Optionlock • The two kinds of limits that can force a story to its climax , running out of time or running out of options • Stories would go on forever unless they were limited in some way, forcing an end to action and/or decision. One way to bring a story to a conclusion is with a timelock which limits how long the characters have to solve the problem. The limit might be a bomb set to go off, the timing mechanism on a safe, or the poison that takes effect in 24 hours- anything that has a specific deadline and needs to be prevented or achieved. The other way to force a story to end is with a optionlock which limits how many things the characters can try to solve the problem — trapped aboard a spaceship with a vicious creature with no one coming to the rescue, trying to escape from Alcatraz, struggling to save a relationship — anything that has a specific scope and needs to be resolved. So in short, in a timelock the characters run out of time, in a optionlock the run out of options. As a side note, timelocks and optionlocks can co-exist but only one can be the real limit that forces the climax.
From the Dramatica Dictionary