Aware vs Self-Aware

questions
#1

Hi all.
I have an OS and an IC that both have the Symptom/Response of Aware vs Self-Aware.

I am really struggling with this encoding and I cannot work out if the cause of my troubles is either:

a) My Storyform is wrong and I need to finesse it,
or,
b) I just don’t have a deep enough understanding of the Aware and Self-Aware elements.

To point b. I have googled and searched this forum, and lurked on Jim’s site to no avail. I can’t find any deeper discussion on helping me parse / explore these elements more.

So, can anyone throw me their two-cents, or point me in the direction of any resources (aside from the Dramatica dictionary), that will help me get a more rounded appreciation of what these elements are / can be?

Thanks is advance!
Dan

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#2

Beside the dramatica dictionary check-out the GIST feature from dramatica. GISTs are a powerful way to replace the sometime very cryptic dramatica term with something more meaningful. This is especially helpful if you - like I am - not a native speaker.

Another way to get a better understanding of the terms is looking “only” at the short definition in the dramatica dictonary.

I personally use a list which looks like:
Aware – being conscious of things outside oneself – The Extrovert is keenly aware of everything and everyone around her
Self-ware – being conscious of one’s own existence – Introvert seeks to know his or herself

As an example for your story it always depends on the context. What is your problem and solution and which issue and concern do you have?

Here is an example for each context:
Past/Destiny … Lisa knows exactly what is best for her (self-aware), but is not aware of her own destiny (aware) dying in three month time
Understanding/Senses … Bob is a nice guy and makes no trouble for others (aware) but doesn’t know what makes him happy (self-ware)
Memory/Evidence … The inspector remembers exactly how the accident happened (self-ware) but cant find any evidence (aware)
Conceptualization/Circumstances … The people at work around Jim are nasty (aware) but the job gives him the money he needs

Hope this helps.

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#3

A few suggestions:

  1. If you have access to Gists, study them. They can really help you get a feel for the elements. Go through the whole list and try to understand how they all work and what the common thread is that makes them all fit together.

  2. Use the Dramatica Analysis Filter and watch some films that feature these elements, especially as Symptom/Response (but ok if Problem/Solution too). Ex Machina comes to mind. Ooh, and that one has a great YouTube video of the Users Group Analysis, very informative.

  3. You could post some stuff about your OS and IC so that others here could help with Symptom/Response.
    (If you don’t want to share story details publicly, you could create a private PM thread, inviting people who post on this thread that they want to join. Discuss allows multiple users in the same private thread.)

#5

Hey! I’m working on a story that has aware/self-aware as the symptom/response for my MC throughline, so I’m familiar with these how these terms apply to my own story, but it’s hard to discuss them in isolation. Remember, the symptom and response are in relation to the problem and solution.

In my story, the problem/solution pair in the MC throughline is Actuality/Perception. The main character is alive, wheras others think she is a ghost. Her problem stems from trying to force her actual self to align with what her friends and family perceive her to be. She does this because she sees her problem as being one of self-awareness. To insist on living as her actual self would be selfish. She tries to focus instead on what other people’s needs and perceptions of her are, manifesting a self that they will like.

So you can see how this symptom/response pairing takes a central inequity of a difference between perception of someone and the reality of who that person is and presents it as one of (I’ll just forgo my perceptions of myself in favor of others’ perceptions of me to CREATE the right self).

But all that’s very specific to MY story. It’s hard to point you in the right direction here without a little more information about YOUR story. What are your throughlines’ problem/solution pairings? Can you link the problem with the symptom in your mind?

~Audrey

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