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Category Archives: Story Structure
The Hero Breaks Down
Groucho Marx once said, “You’re headed for a nervous breakdown. Why don’t you pull yourself to pieces?” That, in fact, is what we’re going to do to our hero. Now many writers focus on a Hero and a Villain as … Continue reading
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Secrets of Story Structure | Episode 2 – The Story Mind
Click on the image below to hear episode 2 in this rare recording of a weekend seminar by Dramatica Theory of Story co-creators Melanie Anne Phillips and Chris Huntley in the mid-1990’s just after Dramatica was made public for the … Continue reading
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Secrets of Story Structure | Episode 1 – Introduction to Structure
Click on the image below to hear episode 1 in this rare recording of a weekend seminar by Dramatica Theory of Story co-creators Melanie Anne Phillips and Chris Huntley in the mid-1990’s just after Dramatica was made public for the … Continue reading
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Finding Your Story’s Core
By Melanie Anne Phillips Every story has a core – that concept at the center that pulls all of the story elements into a cohesive whole, establishes meaning and message, and provides the story with an overall identity. There are … Continue reading
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The Story Mind (Part 2) – A Tale is a Statement
Excerpted from the Book “Dramatica Unplugged“ By Melanie Anne Phillips, Co-creator of Dramatica The Story Mind concept is interesting, but how would such a thing have come to be? After all, there was certainly never a convention where authors from all over … Continue reading
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Origins of Story Structure
Imagine the very first storytellers. Actually, what they told would certainly not be considered a story by today’s standards. Rather, they probably began with simple communications with but a single meaning at a time. Even animals recognize a cry of … Continue reading
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Know Your Story Points: Overall Story Concern
Excerpted from our Dramatica Story Structuring Software: Overall Story Concern: the purposes or interests sought after by the characters overall. Within the scenario in which your story takes place, there is an area of shared importance to all the characters in … Continue reading
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Know Your Story Points: Overall Story Domain
Excerpted from our Dramatica Story Structuring Software: Overall Story Domain: The scenario against which a story takes place. Every story is set against the issues which arise from a single problem. The problem itself will fall into one of four … Continue reading
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Dramatica Theory Overview (video)
This is a video clip from the “classic” 1999 12 hour video program on narrative structure entitled, Dramatica Unplugged. In this segment, the key concepts and breadth and depth of the Dramatica Theory of Story are presented in concise form. … Continue reading
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Know Your Story Points – Main Character “Growth”
Over the course of your story, the Main Character will either grow out of something or grow into something. Authors show their audiences how to view this development of a Main Character by indicating the direction of Growth by the … Continue reading
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