Hello, I’m reading Dramatica for screenwriters; it’s a good read, the book is well developed and Armando’s voice is very entertaining.
As my title suggests, I’m a little disappointed about the lack of distintion between MC and protagonist, it seems that Armando never makes this distintion, perhaps because there’s no much time in screenplays for effectively portraits two characters of this calibre.
Is there anybody out there who has read the book and can show some examples?
Thank you!
Hi @holybuble, I think the book assumes you have some background in Dramatica theory, where the distinction between MC and Protagonist are spelled out, so it doesn’t try to explain that. I’d say it’s not so much that the book misses the distinction, more that it spends very little time on the archetypes (of which Protagonist is one), teaching you how to build complex characters instead.
I too have enjoyed Dramatica for Screenwriters. If you have a story idea bubbling in your head, I’d recommend to go through and do the exercises as you’re reading it, as I found them extremely valuable! (After all there’s no time like The Present – sorry Dramatica joke)
It makes sense, thank you.
Armando probably just didn’t find it necessary to cover as it is covered quite well in the theory book and elsewhere. If you have specific questions about the difference between the two please ask.
Thank you Jim. When Armando talk about the premise and its three components, character, theme, plot, is he referring to the main character or to the protagonist? Assuming, of course, that the two are not the same person.
Pretty sure he is talking about the Main Character, but I’m not 100% sure. Premise is so vague, it can really refer to anything.