Category Archives: Dramatica

Using Dramatica Software

 

The Dramatica Pro 4 Desktop – Part 1 – The Story Guide
Learn how the Story Guide feature takes you from concept to completed structure, step by step.
The Dramatica Pro 4 Desktop – Part 2 – The Help System
Here you’ll learn all about how to structure stories and how to use all of Dramatica Pro’s story development features.
The Dramatica Pro 4 Desktop – Part 3 – Story Examples
Dramatica Pro ships with over 60 extensive pre-built story structures based on successful popular and classic books, movies, stage plays and television programs.

Beyond Dramatica

Behind the Quad (1 of 3)
The “Quad” is the basic unit or module from which the Dramatica Story Structure is built. It represents relationships among four items, such as Mass, Energy, Space and Time or Knowledge, Thought, Ability and Desire. The Quad is functional for both direct interactions of the four items, but also for relativistic interdependencies, such as “Space/Time” or “DesirAbility”. The Quad form is such a useful way of organizing data in a balanced system that it can enhance our abilities to understand patterns in such other diverse fields as psychology and physics.
Behind the Quad (2 of 3)
The “quad” is the basic building block of Dramatica story structure. In this installment, we attempt to “get a feel” for how the quad works and what it really means as a foundation to explaining the “nuts and bolts” of quad theory.

 
Behind the Quad (3 of 3)
How Dramatica’s quad structure represent mental processes, treated as objects. And how the quad indicates the helical (spiral) patterns of thought in the fractal mind.
Theory Isn’t Pretty
Ever wonder how the Dramatica theory was created?  Find out what is it like to be on the bleeding edge of theory development with this recent entry from my personal theory development journal.  In it, you’ll see the hazy edges of the outward advance of the Dramatica theory.  Very rough, almost fragmented, but a glimpse at the Next Big Thing.

From the Dramatica Pro Software Archives (1999)

Dramatica Pro 4 Software Companion – Introduction
From 1999 (gad, I was young!) – Introductory video from the Dramatica Software Companion.  Quality is poor, but the original video was lost, so all we have is this compressed copy which was the best available technology of the day!  Fortunately, the instructional videos of the actual Dramatica Software Companion program are in MUCH better quality.
Dramatica Pro 4 Software Companion – Freatures Introduction
From 1999 – Opening video in the 4 1/2 hour Dramatica Software Companion. Poor quality video, but included here as an archival side note.
Dramatica Pro 4 – Software Companion – Creativity Introduction
From 1999 – Opening video in the 4 1/2 hour Dramatica Software Companion. Poor quality video, but included here as an archival side note.

Relationship of Story Driver to Journeys

Recently, a writer asked about the relationship of the Story Driver to the three Journeys in every throughline.  Here’s my response:

The Story Driver is one of the eight dynamic questions (the eight “essential” questions) that Dramatica asks, including Main Character Resolve (change or steadfast) and Story Outcome (Success or Failure).

Story Driver is Action or Decision. That means that the story is kicked off by either an action taken (such as a murder) or experienced (such as an earthquake) or by a decision made (such as to quit smoking) or arrived at (such as “I’ve gotta stop being a workaholic”)

The four signposts in each act are just that – signposts along the road from the inciting incident to the conclusion of your story. Moreover, each signpost can be seen as a town along the road. Each town has a particular nature (like “Learning” or “Understanding”) and somewhere between the two towns, the influence of one gives way to the influence of the other.

So, when you Journey from town to town you are gradually moving from the heart of downtown (greatest influence) of one through the area where their influence is equal until you arrive at the downtown (greatest influence) of the next town.

Four towns are along the road for each of the four perspectives. So, there are four Signposts spanned by three journeys.

Each Journey is kicked off by another incident of the Story Driver. So, if an action started the quest from the first town (signpost) the leads it to the second signpost, then things would stop right there unless the Driver kicks it into gear again with another incident. Eventually, the fourth signpost (the destination) is reached and the momentum is brought to a complete stop by a final Driver incident that bring all the inertia to a halt. So, the Driver starts it all and the Driver brings it all to a conclusion, and the Driver is what kicks off each journey and brings the whole quest to a conclusion.