Just received this question from a writer through our Facebook page. Here’s my reply: No – each Class is associated with a single one of the four points of view (Main Character, Influence Character, Objective (overall) Story and Subjective (relationship) Story. When a point of view is attached to a Class of considerations, it creates […]
Excerpted from the book, Narrative Dynamics The Narrative Circuit If you are familiar with deep Dramatica theory, you know that all the output of the Story Engine is not made available in the Dramatica software. In fact, the Story Engine generates quite a bit more information about a story’s structure than it makes available to […]
A writer recently asked these questions about Dramatica Story Expert: 1) Will the Dramatica Unplugged video program work for Dramatica Story Expert, as well as for Dramatica Pro – or is there another course I should pursue for DSE? Dramatica unplugged works fine for any version of Dramatica, as it deals with the dramatic concepts […]
2012 External and Internal Dependencies Posted on December 31, 2012 by Melanie Anne Phillips As co-creator of the Dramatica theory, I often take some of the concepts so for granted that I forget to consider wider application of them. For example, in my classes I often speak of the three kinds of character relationships: … Continue reading → Conversational Inertia […]
As I approach my sixtieth birthday, I imagine the time is ripe to resolve some of the questions I’ve been getting in regard to the origin and development of the Dramatica Theory of Story and its principal concepts and implementations. So, here is how it happened (to the best of my recollection). The Beginning Chris […]
This is the first in a series of articles I’ll be writing about a whole different way of looking at the Dramatica theory of narrative structure – in terms of dynamics, rather than structure. In fact, the dynamic model is a counterpart, not an alternative, to the existing structural model with which you may be […]
A lot of books about writing describe the importance of a “Love Interest.” Other books see a Love Interest as unnecessary and cliché. What does Dramatica Say? As with most dramatic concepts, Dramatica pulls away the storytelling to take a clear look at the underlying structure. A Love Interest has both storytelling and structural components. […]
The point at which the Objective Story and the Main Character hinge is appropriately called the Crucial Element. In fact, the Crucial Element is one of the sixty-four Objective Character Elements we have already explored (in the Dramatica Theory Book). When we look at the Objective Character Elements as the soldiers on the field (from […]
It seems every author is aware of theme, but try to find one who can define it! Most will tell you theme has something to do with the mood or feel of a story. But how does that differ from genre? Others will say that theme is the message of the story. Some will put […]
“The Four Throughlines – Part 2” In this episode I describe the battle between the Main Character and the Obstacle Character over their opposing philosophies at the heart of a story’s message. Here’s the link t the video: http://storymindguru.com/dramatica-unplugged/11%20The%20Four%20Throughline%20-%20Part%20Two.htm