Positive versus Negative • Positive and Negative are not evaluations of the ultimate outcome of a story, but evaluations of how the story feels during its course toward the outcome. Does the story feel like it is drawing closer to a satisfying and fulfilling conclusion or farther away from an unsatisfying, unfulfilling conclusion? Then it is positive. Does the story feel like it is drawing closer to an unsatisfying and unfulfilling conclusion or farther away from a satisfying, fulfilling conclusion? Then it is negative. Any given story will have either a positive or negative feel to it. This is caused by a combination of two kinds of dynamics, one of which describes the Main Character, the other describes the Author. Every Main Character’s personal problem is either caused because he is doing something he needs to stop or because he is not doing something he ought to be. In other words, his problem exists because he needs to remove or add a trait. In a sense, the Main Character must either move toward something new or move away from something old. That alone does not give a positive or negative feel to a story, as what he is moving toward or away from could be good or bad. Every Author has feelings about which traits are good ones to have and which are bad. Just because a Main Character successfully solves his problem by removing or adding a trait does not mean he has become a better person for it. The Author’s message may be that failure in problem-solving is preferable to diminishing one’s overall character. So the Author’s identity is exposed to the audience by passing a value judgment on whether removing or adding a trait (Start or Stop) was good or bad. Taken together, Start and Stop, and a value judgment on what the Main Character is growing in relation to of good or bad create four combinations. Two of these are positive and two of them are negative. Start and good means the Main Character is moving toward something good and that feels positive. Stop and bad means the Main Character is moving away from something bad and that also feels positive. Start and bad means the Main Character is moving toward something bad and that feels negative. And Stop and good means the Main Character is moving away from something good and that feels negative as well.

From the Dramatica Dictionary

From the Dramatica Dictionary:

Positive Feel • [Overview Appreciation] • the Objective Characters in the story are closing in on the solution • Character can push and be pushed. They can also pull something or be pulled by something. When the characters push for what they are trying to achieve or pull something closer, the feeling is Positive. When the characters are pushed away or pulled toward something against their will, the feeling is Negative.

From the Dramatica Dictionary:

Plot Dynamics • [Dramatica Definition] • dramatic potentials which determine the plot’s Driver, Limit, Outcome, and Judgment. • When trying to describe a plot, many authors simply relate the order in which events occur. In fact, the order in which the events are presented to an audience and the order in which they actually occurred for the characters in the story are often quite different. Dramatica defines plot as the internal logic or sequence of events in a story. The order in which events are presented is referred to as Storyweaving. Putting Storyweaving aside, the actual order of events is greatly influenced by four principal forces. These Plot Dynamics determine something about what is pushing the plot forward (Driver), how far it can go (Limit), where it ends up (Outcome) and what it all meant (Judgment). By making choices about the kind of Driver (Action or Decision), the kind of Limit (Timelock or Optionlock), the kind of Outcome (Success or Failure), and the kind of Judgment (Good or Bad), and author can shape the course of a plot and the events that will occur within it.

Physics • [Class] • dyn.pr. Psychology<–>Physics • an activity or endeavor • The Physics Class is one of action. Whereas the Universe Class describes a fixed situation, Physics is a Class of dynamics. Situations evolve, develop, and change. Activities are engaged in and endeavors undertaken. • syn. an activity, an enterprise, an initiative, an endeavor, an operation

From the Dramatica Dictionary

Perspective • [Domain] [Class] • The combination of one of the four viewpoints with one of the four Classes • To complete the creation of one of the four perspectives (or Domains) for any particular story, a viewpoint must be matched to a Class so that the place which the perspective is looking from is defined and the nature of the perspective is defined. The four viewpoints include the Objective Story, the Subjective Story, the Main Character. Universe, Physics, Psychology, and Mind are the four Classes which represent the four broadest classifications of story issues. In every complete story, each viewpoints is assigned one Class, creating four Perspectives. Only by fully exploring all four Perspectives can a Grand Argument Story be fully developed.

From the Dramatica Dictionary

Permission • [Variation] • dyn.pr. Deficiency<–>Permission • what is allowed • Permission means Ability limited by restrictions. These constraints may be self imposed or imposed by others. When a Character considers what he can or cannot do, he is not assessing his ability but the limitations to his ability. When one worries about the consequences born of disapproval or self-loathing, one halts for the lack of Permission. The frustration of a character suffering a vice-grip on his ability may eventually erupt in an explosive reaction if the noose gets too tight. • syn. constrained ability, limited capability, restricted capacity, hindered performance, allowed limitations, restrained utility

From the Dramatica Dictionary

Perception • [Element] • dyn.pr. Actuality<–>Perception • the way things seem to be • Perception is a point of view on reality. In truth, we cannot get beyond perception in our understanding of our world. A character that represents Perception is more concerned with the way things seem than what it is. Therefore he can be caught off-guard by anything that is not what it seems. • syn. appearance, how things seem to be, discernment, a particular reading of things, a point of view on reality, a way of seeing

From the Dramatica Dictionary

Past (The Past) • [Type] • dyn.pr. Present<–>Past • what has already happened • The past is not unchanging. Often we learn new things which change our understanding of what past events truly meant and create new appreciations of how things really fit together. A Story that focuses on the Past may be much more than a documentation of what happened. Frequently it is a re-evaluation of the meaning of what has occurred that can lead to changing one’s understanding of what is happening in the present or will eventually happen in the future. • syn. history, what has happened, former times, retrospective

From the Dramatica Dictionary

Overview Appreciations • Story points relating to the widest dramatic interpretations of your entire story, including the Character and Plot Dynamics which describe its dramatic mechanism and basic feel are called Overview Appreciations. For example, Essence, Nature, Reach, Apparent or Actual Dilemma stories, etc.

From the Dramatica Dictionary