Confused about the Crucial Element & Theory

theory
#1

From the theory book:
“Characters represent the different ways the Story Mind can go about solving the story’s problem. The Main Character sits on the Crucial Element, and must either stick with it, if it is the solution, or abandon it if it turns out to be the problem itself.”

So however I may assign the other elements, I must give the crucial element to the MC, correct?

What I don’t understand is this. I have the following:

MC Issue: Worth
MC Problem: Ending
MC Solution: Unending
MC Symptom: Expectation
MC Response: Determination

MC is Steadfast-Stop

But the crucial element is an Evaluation of Expectation, which is a symptom. The above quoted part of the book implies that the crucial element must be a problem or a solution. So is the theory book wrong, or is Dramatica Pro wrong in telling me that the CE is a symptom, when it should be a problem or solution for the MC??

#2

This is because your character is Steadfast. In Changed characters it’s Problem or Solution (depending on if the character is Stop or Start).

If you search you’ll find a number of discussions on the boards about the Crucial Element that will hopefully be useful.

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#3

They forgot to mention that in the book, or I missed it. Thanks.

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#4

I would encourage you to use the search feature here on these boards. While the theory book is great, it’s not comprehensive and there will be times when you get confused.

Trust that you’re not the first, and search to learn of other writers working through the same problem. By learning from their experience, you can usually work through these problems and gain a better understanding of the theory.

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#5

Thanks, I have tried it but so far haven’t found my answers searching, but I will keep looking.

#6

A lot of the material regarding this is also somewhere in the depths of Narrative First, as well.

#7

I have found discussions there and elsewhere along the lines of what I am asking, but there is usually some bias towards certain kinds of stories (which is usually acknowledged by the authors/bloggers), reflecting the Western penchant for Heroes Journeys, MC protagonists, MC Change characters, etc. But the analytic power of the theory is not limited to such usual stories, is it?

#8

lol only time I’ve ever seen Jim mention the Hero’s Journey is in the context of how silly it is compared to Dramatica. :slight_smile:

Seriously though if you search Narrative First “Crucial Element” this is the first article that comes up:

which is a fantastic explanation that I think includes the answer to your initial question.

All that said I’m sympathetic to the problem of the sheer volume of information that’s out there. It can be hard to sort through discussion on the boards to find the specific answer you’re looking for, and Jim’s been writing posts for many years.

To use a tired metaphor, learning Dramatica is like drinking from a firehose. At some point though it does start to click, though (at least in part).

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