Can you apply the Motivation, Purpose, Methodology, and Evaluation Quads beyond the OS to the other three Throughlines, or must these Quads be reserved for OS Character purposes only?
My understanding is that the elements within the OS are divvied up among characters because the OS is about everyone. But the MC and IC are only about those characters, so all of the elements within those throughlines really relate to the MC and IC respectively. In the RS the elements would be about the relationship, I guess. Maybe they could appear to be split up between the MC and IC players within that role?
If you’re wanting to make sure that your MC and IC have Motivations, Purposes, Methodologies, and Evaluations, those are all built in to each level of each throughline. I think it’s something like Class = Purpose, Concern = Methodology, Variation/Issue = Evaluation, and Element = Motivation.
@jhull confirms this:
"What good can come from classifying stories as an analogy to the human mind? Well, for starters, the reason why Character, Plot, Theme, and Genre ever came into existence becomes clear.
Characters were developed as a means of expressing the motivations within the human mind. … Plot came about as a natural representation of the methodologies that the human mind explores in solving problems. … Theme, often seen as the measuring stick with which to judge the characters and the actions they take, was developed as a need to express the evaluations the human mind undergoes. … And finally, Genre was created as a way of expressing the purpose behind a mind’s attempt to solve a problem."
Source: https://narrativefirst.com/articles/the-structure-of-a-short-story
1 Like
This would then make the traits about the MC and the IC, and they are about the Relationship itself.
Got it. Not arguing at all.
I was thinking maybe the relationship could deal with, say, Evaluation, because within the story one character says “we need to appraise our situation” or something.
I want to warn you against using the theme chart as a topic chart, as hard as that is.
I think Evaluation would show up in the RS in this kind of a way: two people are in a relationship and it takes a potential turn – someone shows up drunk one too many times, or someone sees their friend in a new light. And after that, things are just different.
1 Like
REGARDING THE RELATIONSHIP THROUGHLINE:
Though it is not discussed in the theory book, the relationship throughline can be populated with other characters – think of the parents as MC and IC in a family/marriage context and how others can be used as proxies for the family/marriage relationship. Since each domain has a full set of elements (i.e. characteristics), these subjective players can represent parts of the subjective story argument.
It is difficult to be clear to your audience about the context in which these players appear, unless they are exclusively within the context of the relationship throughline, but that’s a matter of successful storytelling, not theory.
3 Likes
Thanks for the response @chuntley.
So, the proxy character, within the context of the RS Throughline, must direct those embodied elemental characteristics to the MC/IC Relationship? In essence, the proxy character must reference or contribute to the MC/IC Relationship, even if the MC or IC are not present?
Correct, because the MC/IC Relationship throughline is about the RELATIONSHIP (e.g. Family, Marriage, etc.), not about the MC or the IC.
For example, you can imagine a conversation between two characters discussing the marriage between MC and IC:
BOB: I hear their marriage is pretty rocky.
SARAH: They’re working on it.
BOB: Maybe . . . I saw them fighting at the restaurant last night.
SARAH: Over what?
BOB: I couldn’t hear, but she went storming out and he just sat down and ordered another drink
That brief discussion is ALL about the relationship and its problems, yet neither the MC nor IC are in the discussion – or named. Only the marriage is identified.
6 Likes
Wouldn’t an example like that apply with the IC throughline as well?
MC: Wonder what IC is up to these days?
Bob: He’s out traveling the world and having amazing adventures and things that will cause you, the MC, immediately upon hearing them, to wonder if maybe you shouldn’t try a different path through life.
You can have other characters speak about the IC’s perspective. All things are possible, though you generally do not have characters considered to be in the iC throughline unless they are part of a collective IC, such as the ghosts in “A Christmas Carol.”
2 Likes