Category Archives: Throughlines

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 Four Story Domains

Posted on July 20, 2012 by Melanie Anne Phillips

The subject matter of any story that describes the nature of the central problem falls into one of four domains – Universe (a fixed state), Mind (a mind set or attitude), Physics (an activity), or Psychology (a problematic chain of … Continue reading →

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Story Perspectives

Posted on July 19, 2012 by Melanie Anne Phillips

Genre, Theme, Plot and Character: each of them is a different level of appreciation of story structure.  But each one needs to be seen from four different points of view in order to fully explore them. As described in previous … Continue reading →

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The Four Story Throughlines

Posted on July 18, 2012 by Melanie Anne Phillips

A story “throughline” is a bit different than a story “point of view.”  A point of view is an angle from which you wish your readers or audience to see the topics of your story.  But a throughline is the … Continue reading →

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Four Points of View in Every Story

Posted on July 17, 2012 by Melanie Anne Phillips

There are four essential points of view in every fully developed story.  They are the Main Character, the Influence Character (AKA the Obstacle Character), the Subjective Story, and the Objective Story. The Objective story is the most familiar to audiences/readers … Continue reading →

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Story Structure Part 10 (video)

Posted on April 9, 2012 by Melanie Anne Phillips

“The Four Throughlines, Part One” http://storymindguru.com/dramatica-unplugged/10%20The%20Four%20Throughlines%20-%20Part%20One.htm In this episode I explore the first two of four throughlines essential to every complete story.  Throughlines are based on different perspectives on a story, much as you might have four cameras covering a … Continue reading →

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“Throughline” or “Through-Line” ?

Posted on July 28, 2011 by Melanie Anne Phillips

A writer commented on my article, “Story Throughlines and How to Use Them.” He opens by quoting from my article: You won’t find the word, “throughline” in the dictionary. In fact, as I type this in my word processor, it … Continue reading →

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The Four Throughlines

Posted on April 14, 2010 by Melanie Anne Phillips

The following  excerpt is taken from The Dramatica Class Transcripts Dramatica : Remember I talked about the Objective and Subjective views of story? Well, another way to look at that is the Objective view is what you are looking at, … Continue reading →

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Overall Story Problem?

Posted on April 13, 2010 by Melanie Anne Phillips

The 12 Essential Questions Every Writer Should Answer 12. Overall Story Problem As an author you will want to know what drives your Main Character. Selecting the Main Character problem determines the nature of this drive. Choose the item(s) that … Continue reading →

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Overall Story Issue?

Posted on April 13, 2010 by Melanie Anne Phillips

The 12 Essential QuestionsEvery Writer Should Answer 11. Overall Story Issue An author must not only choose the nature of the problem in his story, but also in what light he wishes to present it. The choice of Issue focuses … Continue reading →

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