Understanding as the Concern — All the objective characters are concerned with understanding something.
For example, the meaning of life, the social behavior of a wild species, the evolution of a disease, an ancient hieroglyphic language.
Exploring the process of finding meaning of something will illustrate Understanding as an Objective Story Concern.
Excerpted from
Dramatica Story Development Software
The Present as the Concern — All the objective characters are concerned with the The Present; with the way things stand as of now.
For example, a kingdom is ruled by a boy king with no experience; a group of people locked inside an elevator; army generals fighting a war with heavy casualties take honest account of how their troops are outnumbered; a team of reporters caught in a foreign country that has just turned hostile to the U.S., etc.
Exploring the characters’ present status will illustrate it as an Objective Story Concern.
Excerpted from
Dramatica Story Development Software
The Future as the Concern — All the objective characters are concerned with the future.
For example, a country that is about to dismantle its system of apartheid; a football team preparing for its first season without their star quarterback; a company that has just sunk all of its money into a risky investment; a police squad that has just had their hands tied by new laws protecting the rights of the accused; an employee’s pool deciding what to do if they win the lottery; bridesmaids are concerned with their own potential for companionship in their later years, etc.
Exploring the process of dealing with will happen or what will be will illustrate the The Future as an Objective Story Concern.
Excerpted from
Dramatica Story Development Software
Progress as the Concern — All of the objective characters are concerned with determining how things are evolving.
For example, whether or not the number of people purchasing new cars per year is increasing; if medical conditions for unwed teenage mothers are improving; if DUI related accidents are becoming less often fatal; passing milestones in a race, etc. Exploring how things are going will illustrate progress as an objective story concern.
Excerpted from
Dramatica Story Development Software
The Past as the Concern — All the objective characters are concerned with the past.
For example, an unsolved murder for which new evidence comes to light, a great-grandmother whose diary has just been discovered, a “skeleton in the closet” of a famous family, the story behind a buried treasure, etc. Exploring what has already happened will illustrate The Past as an Objective Story Concern.
Excerpted from
Dramatica Story Development Software
Mind as the Objective Story Domain — All of the objective characters are concerned with a fixed aspect of the mind. For example, a community’s firm belief in the occult; a family’s commitment to the memory of its ancestors (ancestor worship); TV addiction; a culture’s fixation on celebrities; a Martian’s prejudice against humans; unthinking responses to the conditions of war; essential desires and drives, etc.
Excerpted from
Dramatica Story Development Software
Psychology as the Objective Story Domain — All of the objective characters are concerned with a mental process or manner of thinking. For example, curing a mental illness; determining why someone’s relationships always fail; figuring out how to build a better software program for writers; becoming a new person; being more responsible to the environment; working through childhood trauma; mass manipulation through propaganda; a group of young people coming of age; a team’s creative effort to work out an idea; people pretending to be things they are not, etc.
Excerpted from
Dramatica Story Development Software
Physics as the Objective Story Domain — All of the objective characters are concerned with an activity or endeavor. For example, searching for lost treasure; engaging in a sport; exercising as a way of life; self-flagellation; taking part in a cattle drive; learning about DNA; obtaining secret plans; understanding messages from space, etc.
Excerpted from
Dramatica Story Development Software
Universe as the Domain — All of the Objective Characters are concerned with maintaining or demolishing a situation. For example, a country under the thumb of an authoritarian dictator; the condition of a dysfunctional family; a utopian society; a submarine trapped under the ice; progress in one-sided relationships; a murder that occurred 30 years ago; the future of gay rights; the forces that bring on an ice age.
Excerpted from
Dramatica Story Development Software
Bad as the Judgment — The Main Character does not resolve its personal problems. For example, a woman who has succeeded in earning the job of company president finds that it is an unfulfilling achievement and that she still wants more; a retired gunfighter finds that returning to his old profession wakes up all the old demons that he thought he’d overcome; a father sees that placing his career before his family has left him bitter and alone by the time his children grow up; etc.
Excerpted from
Dramatica Story Development Software
