Any tips for separating the IC Throughline from others?

writing
#1

For my story that I’m working on, I began with a fairly detailed story idea, and created a storyform from it. One problem I’m having is separating the IC Throughline from the OS Throughline. It’s tricky because my IC is important to the OS – an important figure in the world, and the most protagonistic character in terms of the Story Goal.

(This difficulty is compounded, I think, by the fact my OS “plot” ideas are pretty vague. I realize I have outlined a bunch of OS characters with conflicting goals, and a detailed setting, everything full of potential for conflict – but I don’t have a good grasp of what happens once that powder-keg meets its first spark, i.e. what happens in the story!)

I know there is general guidance about the MC Throughline where you can imagine the same character put into a completely different story – what stuff would they take with them and still have their own story? But someone told me once that technique doesn’t necessarily work for the IC because you’re supposed to focus on their impact/influence on the MC.

Are there any good tips for separating the “IC Throughline story” from the other “throughline stories” in your ideas?

I think for now I will try Jim’s (@jhull’s) Playground Exercises – for the IC or maybe even the OS! I don’t really intend on replacing IC or OS wholesale with random gist based exercises, but maybe doing the exercises will spark some ideas.

#2

I personally find it more of a challenge to separate it from the RS since the RS is dependent on the IC. One suggestion is to merely look at it as function rather than character; this is important because influence can come from a character that is totally absent in the story itself. If you can look at it with regards to function then ask yourself “how,” that’s where you’ll begin to find some distinctions between the other throughlines. This is ESPECIALLY important when dealing with the OS; use the archetype name or some other detail rather than “IC” or even the character’s name. The OS is its own perspective, and though it encompasses all the players in your story, it’s that “dispassionate” look at them so using IC/MC is naturally going to become confusing because we’re not looking at those perspectives here.

Another suggestion is if you already have your storyform, try working backwards from your climax. The answer to your powder-keg moment should be apparent by whatever is happening in the climax in the sense of the yin of equity that resolves the yang of inequity started. If you know the IC changes, then their path should become a little clearer as to how they’re affecting the story.

1 Like
#3

Thanks Jim! The tip about the climax really helped. The funny thing is I had made a note to myself a few days ago (on my little notepad I take when running) that said “I think the answers (about the IC) like in the climax and my original chapter one”. ]

But the problem was when I tried it I was applying the climax ideas to my IC Throughline which I already knew pretty well. Your post made me realize I should take the OS stuff happening in the climax and work backwards from there. That seemed to get me “unstuck” and really helped. So thanks! Now if I only had more time in the day for writing (sigh :wink: ).

Oh, I should mention I did try one of Jim’s playground exercises for my OS. It was hilarious. My first time trying to use random gists to boost my creativity and I ended up with a story about Disney On Ice performers. How far from my “Harry Potter meets Dune” inspired fantasy can you get! It’s quite possible that did help in getting me unstuck too though.

#4

This is a trickier question than it might at first appear, because sometimes the answer is “it’s really hard to separate.”

The best recent example I can come up with from a podcast is the Edge of Tomorrow movie. The MC, Cage (Tom Cruise), is a cocky marketing type who doesn’t want to die. But who does? So it doesn’t really stand out as a problem. Then, once he’s in the mix of the movie – it only comes up as these very-end-of-a-few-scenes moments. Nevertheless, it’s crucial to understanding his character at the end of the movie. My point is, this would be a very hard movie to use to understand Dramatica since the IC traits come off as character traits that fit into the way the OS character functions, not as a stand-alone trait you could easily put meaningfully into a different story.