A Bit Confused About Stucture

questions
#1

Hi All,

I’ve had Dramatica for quite some time but have only just got around to completing my first story form, so I’m a bit of a newbie. I thought that the program would take my answers to its questions and find a storyform and then present a framework into which I could illustrate my story.

I’ve got to the final storyweaving stage and all it’s given me is an option to create a sequential series of scenes but I thought it would suggest a framework for the scenes based on the final storyform. I’m confused as to what Dramatica is actually providing me. I get the throughlines thematic concept and that is quite useful but I’m not sure how or if this program helps to organise the events through each of the throughlines.

Could somebody please let me know what I’m missing?

Thanks!

#2

The program doesn’t want to limit how you work, so it’s very loose. There are many ways to proceed.

As a place to start, are you familiar with what Drivers and Signposts are?

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#3

It provides a framework for solving a single problem from every perspective. It prescribes an act order, but refrains from giving order below that so it doesn’t stifle author creativity.

What it does give you is character, theme, plot, and genre. The framework, then, is to explore each of those as fully as you’d like within context. If you’re dealing with an act of Doing and your theme is Self-interest vs Morality with a problem of Control, then you say everything you have to say about self-interest vs morality and control within a context of Doing. When you’re done, you move on to the next act. You can do that in one scene, or two, or whatever you need.

There’s also the plot sequence report that gives you a view from inside the story that can be useful for developing scenes.

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#4

Just re-read this–it sounds like you’ve worked your way through the query system (story guide) and are now at the point where Dramatica asks you to create scenes one-by-one. If you do this (hit create on your first scene), then hit “Describe Scene”, you’ll see at the bottom left corner a list of options that includes Main Character throughline, Objective Story throughline, etc. If you click on each of those, it’ll give you a check-box list of storypoints to choose from. Click on one or more of those, and it should bring up the illustrations and gists you previously entered. You can choose from these to create your scene.

So for example, if I decide to start a scene with my MC throughline, and I click Concern – The Past, I might see that I have a gist/illustration of “Addressing Someone’s Dark Past” there. So in the “what happens” box, I could type: “In this scene, Rebecca discovers a diary written by her long-dead serial killer grandfather. Realizing the truth about him causes her inner turmoil; she decides that she will confront her family at the upcoming reunion.”

That said, as @MWollaeger said, there are many pathways for using Dramatica, and I personally don’t think the Story Guides are the most intuitive or easiest.

I would instead suggest using the “Dramatica for Screenwriters” dropdown on the same menu (this can be used for anything–not just screenplays). It doesn’t require reading the book of the same name, but I do recommend it. Working through the Dramatica in 10 minutes and Instant Dramatica paths will give you a good synopsis you can write from. The “Plot Sequence Report” path is great for a more detailed outline, but it might be overkill at this point. (Overkill is very easy to do with Dramatica).

Another option if you’re interested is @jhull’s Subtext service. Subtext is grounded in Dramatica, but takes a more user-friendly approach. You can upload your storyform there (or choose from an existing one) to create an outline/treatment.

https://app.narrativefirst.com/

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#5

Thank you all for your helpful advice. I’m going to focus on learning what the Drivers and Signposts provide as I hadn’t heard of those before so I’m going to try to get the hang of Dramatica before trying Subtext, but I will definitely check it out later.

I think that, to quote, “When you’re done, you move on to the next act. You can do that in one scene, or two, or whatever you need.” Is really useful as I was expecting a more rigid structure but now I know that this isn’t provided, I’m pleased that I’ll be able to use as many/few scenes as I think I need.

Thanks a lot!

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