“The Four Throughlines, Part One” http://storymindguru.com/dramatica-unplugged/10%20The%20Four%20Throughlines%20-%20Part%20One.htm In this episode I explore the first two of four throughlines essential to every complete story. Throughlines are based on different perspectives on a story, much as you might have four cameras covering a football game. One is the objective view, which looks at the story from the outside […]
Here’s a note from a Dramatica user and my reply. (Careful, highly technical discussion follows that bears little connection to stories or writing) Dramatica user: Just as an experiement, I cleared the storyform, and opened the plot progression screen. I was struggling with whether my MC’s Signpost 1 was The Present or Contemplation — although […]
In the Dramatica Theory Book, we lay out a method of story development that results in 28 scenes, each with a component of Character, Plot and Theme. We also describe a 24 scene perspective of story structure. Recently, a Dramatica user was having trouble seeing how the two apparently contradictory approaches related to one another. […]
A Dramatica user recently asked a couple of questions about developing characters other than the Main and Impact (Obstacle) and also about Dramatica’s reference to “28 magic scenes” in one place and 24 scenes in another. Here’s my reply – you’ll find the original questions at the end: Hi, Heather. Here’s some […]
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. […]
A writer commented on my article, “Story Throughlines and How to Use Them.” He opens by quoting from my article: You won’t find the word, “throughline” in the dictionary. In fact, as I type this in my word processor, it lists the word as misspelled. Chris Huntley and I coined the word when we developed […]
Here’s an unusual situation where both Chris and myself independently answered the same question from a writer. Comparing our two replies is both interesting and also sheds light on two different ways of looking at the same central story structure concept. A writer asks: In your book, Dramatica, you have Obi Wan as the obstacle […]
by Chris Huntley I spent nearly sixteen years avoiding reading anything of substance by (Hollywood) story theorists such as Syd Field, John Truby, Christopher Vogler, Robert McKee and others. As co-creator of the Dramatica theory of story, I didn’t want to influence my development of Dramatica so I avoided direct interaction with competing theories. In […]
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. […]
A writer recently asked: I’ve read what you wrote about slicing and dicing the Dramatica chart on your web site and in Dramticapedia. It’s very interesting. Two questions if I may: * Limiting depth: “When you limit depth, you simple don’t explore one or more aspects of a story: Character, Plot, Theme, or Genre.” Q: […]