A Writer comments: So as I see it, Dynamic Diagonal characteristics conflict with one another, Companion Horizontal characteristics amplify one another, and Dependent Vertical characteristics contrast one another My Reply:Actually, those terms are not quite accurate. When I developed that part of the theory, we only had limited screen space in the software. So, […]
Quad • [Structural Term] • For every dramatic unit, three others can be found that possess a similar quality. A relationship exists in this group of four units that allows them to act as rheostat controlling dramatic direction and flow. These groups can be represented as a square divided into four quadrants — hence the […]
In each quad of Elements, we find not only Dynamic (diagonal) Pairs, but horizontal and vertical pairs as well. Horizontal Elements are called Companion Pairs, and vertical Elements are Dependent Pairs. Each kind of pair describes a different kind of relationship between the Elements, and therefore between the characters that represent them. In addition to […]
A good way to organize character elements is to separate the Action Elements from the Decision Elements. With 16 characteristics, we can create four quads of four characteristics each. This grows from having a Driver Character Quad and a Passenger Character Quad, then splitting each in two (Action Quad and Decision Quad), giving us four […]
Another installment in my ongoing series explaining why things are the way they are in Dramatica. The Four Classes: Universe, Physics, Mind, and Psychology As mentioned in the previous episode of this series, in our efforts to explore how story structure worked, we had early on determined that exploring the psychology of the main character […]
Our most popular articles on Dramatica focus on the key concepts of the theory, an explanation of the theory’s origins, and several of its practical applications. You can also explore our newest Dramatica articles or search the entire library. What Is Dramatica? Dramatica Graphic Novel The Dramatica Structural Model Definitive Scientific Article on Dramatica Theory Dramatica – Where’d the […]
Every once in a while I write an article about the Dramatica theory of narrative structure that zooms right down to the subatomic level. Such articles have absolutely no practical value to writers but, being a narrative scientist, it is a means demonstrating the depth and complexity of the Dramatica theory to my fellow self-proclaimed […]
What’s “Ability” have to do with story structure? In this article I’m going to talk about how the Dramatica Theory of Narrative Structure uses the term “ability” and how it applies not only to story structure and characters but to real people, real life and psychology as well. If you look in Dramatica’s “Periodic Table […]
Narrative structure has, at its core, a code not unlike that of DNA. We first documented a model of this DNA of story in our 1994 book, Dramatica: A New Theory of Story, concurrent with the release of our Dramatica software, which implemented the model as a patented interactive story engine that enabled writers to […]
Not to be cryptic, but perhaps the answer you seek cannot be found from the wisest man because the answer is just beyond what men can see. It is also just beyond what women can see, but then it is a different answer. What men seek is the special knowledge that women possess and women […]