Category Archives: Zen of Story Structure

The Zen of Story Structure: The Mind Class

The Mind Class describes a fixed attitude. This can be a bias, prejudice or even a “positive” opinion about anything at all. The key is that the attitude is fixed, meaning it is accepted as a given and not reevaluated. Often the Mind Class is represented by a group of people who share a common bias for or against something.

Excerpted from
Dramatica Story Development Software

The Zen of Story Structure: The Universe Class

The Universe Class is where any fixed state of affairs is explored, such as an institution, system, or situation that remains stable and unchanging. The point may be to show that the system is good, bad, or neutral, but the focus must be on the system, not on how the system is changing.

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Dramatica Story Development Software

The Zen of Story Structure: A Judgment of Bad

Even though the effort to achieve the story’s goal may result in success, this is not necessarily a good thing for the Main Character. In fact, success might be obtained in the objective story even though the Main Character fails to resolve its personal problems. Similarly, the effort to achieve the story goal might end in failure, yet the Main Character ends up overcoming its personal problems. Regardless of whether the objective story ends in Success or Failure, if the Main Character fails to resolve its personal problems, the outcome is deemed Bad.

Excerpted from
Dramatica Story Development Software

The Zen of Story Structure: A Judgment of Good

Even though the effort to achieve the story’s goal may result in success, this is not necessarily a good thing for the Main Character. In fact, success might be obtained in the objective story even though the Main Character fails to resolve its personal problems. Similarly, the effort to achieve the story goal might end in failure, yet the Main Character ends up overcoming its personal problems. Regardless of whether the objective story ends in Success or Failure, if the Main Character succeeds in resolving its personal problems, the outcome is deemed Good.

Excerpted from
Dramatica Story Development Software

The Zen of Story Structure: The Meaning of Failure

Ultimately, the characters will either achieve their desired outcome or Fail to do so. The reasons for Failure (and in fact the Failure itself) may not be bad. For example, in the course of trying to arrive at an outcome, the characters may decide it was wrong to want it, or learn that achieving it would hurt people. Whatever the reason, be it nobility or no ability, if the outcome desired at the story’s beginning is not achieved, the story ends in Failure.

Excerpted from
Dramatica Story Development Software

The Zen of Story Structure: The Meaning of Success

Ultimately, the characters will either Succeed in achieving their desired outcome or fail to do so. However, Success is not always a good thing. For example, it may be that a character succeeds at something hurtful or evil. Even a good intentioned character might achieve something that it is unaware will cause harm. Whatever its quality, worth or ramifications, if the outcome desired at the story’s beginning is achieved, the story ends in Success.

Excerpted from
Dramatica Story Development Software

The Zen of Story Structure: Option Lock

If not for the story being forced to a climax, it might continue forever. When a story is brought to a conclusion because the characters run out of options, it is said to contain an Optionlock.

As an analogy, one might think of a story as the process of examining rooms in a mansion to find a solution to the story’s problem. Each room in the mansion will contain a clue to the actual location of the solution.

In an optionlock, a character might be told it could examine any five rooms it wanted, but only five. It must pick the five rooms ahead of time. It can take as long as it likes to search each one, and go thoroughly examine four of the rooms.

After the fourth it is given a choice: based on the clues it has found so far, does it wish to stick with its original fifth choice or pick another room instead out of all that remain.

Either choice may lead to success or failure, but because running out of options forced the choice it is an Optionlock story. The choice is the Optionlock leap of faith that determines Change or Steadfast.

Excerpted from
Dramatica Story Development Software

The Zen of Story Structure: Time Lock

If not for the story being forced to a climax, it might continue forever. When a story is brought to a conclusion because the characters run out of time, it is said to contain a Timelock.

As an analogy, a story might be thought of as the effort to find the solution to the story’s problem that is hidden in one of the rooms of a mansion. Each room contains a clue to the actual location of the solution. A character is told it may search as many rooms as it likes in five minutes.

At the end of five minutes it is given a choice: based on the clues it has already found, it must decide if the solution is in one of the rooms it has already searched or in one of the rooms it has not yet searched.

Either choice may lead to success or failure, but because running out of time forced the choice it is a Timelock story. The choice is the Timelock leap of faith that determines Change or Steadfast.

Excerpted from
Dramatica Story Development Software

The Zen of Story Structure: Decision

All stories have both Action and Decision. Typically, one defines a Decision story as having more Deliberation or more intense Deliberation than Action. This view is overly influenced by how the story is told, rather than what it represents. More accurately, either Actions force the need for Decisions or Decisions force the need for Actions in order to advance the plot. Over the course of the story as a whole (independent of the nature of the Main Character) if Decisions precipitate the progression of the plot, it is a Decision story.

Excerpted from
Dramatica Story Development Software