I’ve got five consecutive holidays and I’m going through the Dramatica Q&A section. I’ve tumbled over some of these questions before but I didn’t realize they’re organized by concepts. Reading through them I’m coming across gem after gem of Dramatica lore that I’ve never have encountered before and that are clarified my understanding.
Main Character Resolve
The IC argument is FAITH, not any particular incarnation of faith. For example, Obi-wan tells Luke he needs to trust the Force, when really all Luke needs to do is to TRUST SOMETHING… ANYTHING – himself, the Force, R2D2…it doesn’t matter. So your MC has to have faith in something even if the IC is saying have faith in something else. The point is that the conversation is no longer about Disbelief, which was the source of his personal conflict. The ‘conversation’ has moved on and the MC Problem becomes a moot point – it is of no consequence any longer because that story (argument) is over. THAT IS THE MOST SIGNIFICANT PART OF THE CHANGE. It may turn out that Faith isn’t the answer either, but the fact that the MC has released himself from the black hole created by the blind spot associated with the MC Problem is what allows the MC to move on with his life.
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You know, the more I think about it, I think the nature of Change and Steadfast stories is very different. Steadfast stories are about being Steadfast in an environment of (great) Change. Change stories are about being Changed in an environment of (great) Steadfastness. Whether it’s about building up or tearing down probably has more to do with MC Growth. Building up would be START–the need to fill in the gap that is missing (Change) or shoring up a resolve that is being met with greater and greater challenges (Steadfast). Tearing down would be STOP–the need to get rid of the chip on the shoulder (Change) or the process of being worn down by greater and greater challenges (Steadfast).
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Dramatica Story Expert
One question lists the most important relationships between story points, for example how Start of Stop affect of story points. I would have to quote the answer in it’s entirety, instead you can find is here.
When not seen as the Story Goal, however, Concern (in the Objective story) is descriptive of the broad category in which all of the objective characters’ personal concerns can be found. For example, a Concern of Obtaining might have one character concerned with obtaining a diploma and another concerned with obtaining a raise at work. In each case, “obtaining” describes their concerns, but the specific illustration or “encoding” is unique to each.
In contrast, the Story Goal is the singly encoded concern SHARED by ALL of the objective characters. For example, all the character are concerned with obtaining a lost treasure. In this case, the specific treasure is of interest to every character in one way or another. It doesn’t have to be the prinicpal concern of each character as an individual, but the one common concern shared by them all. Some may be for it and some against, but all share an interest in that singular concern which is, by definition, the Story Goal.
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The encoding stage of story creation has nothing to do with the actual writing that will become a part of a screenplay, novel, or whatever. It has everything to do with conceptualizing the specific implementation of an aspect of your story’s deep dramatic structure by fleshing out the raw idea into a tangible manifestation.
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We ARE the Main Character, while we WATCH the Influence Character and feel their influence.
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Objective Characters
There will be one or two or more objective characters peppered in the story that can see what is going on, or at least partially so. They provide the voice drowned out by the crowd of other characters that gives insight into the story mechanisms that drive the Overall Story throughline. Sometimes it is the protagonist that does this (e.g. Atticus Finch in To Kill A Mockingbird), sometimes the Guardian character, the Antagonist, or a combination of characters (e.g. Obi-Wan and Princess Leia each have incomplete, privileged knowledge about what is really going on in Star Wars: A New Hope).
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That’s right. An absolutely, air tight, fully developed story will explore are four dimensions fully, but this is an exception rather than a rule in screenplays. Novels have the luxury of storytelling “real estate” in which to explore all of the character elements and their interactions in depth. Films are generally much more limited in the time (and “space”) with which they have to spend illustrating the character element interactions. Therefore, exploring one dimension fully acts as a short-hand for exploring all four (much as Archetypal Characters act as a short hand for complex characters). You need only touch the other dimensions that differ from the “norm” that should be explored explicitly. I should note that more than one interaction can be done at a time, particularly if you have many objective characters present. Try to get as much mileage out of your storyweaving as possible by doubling or tripling up on your interactions, etc.
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Keep in mind that looking at a character as a doctor, mother, bum, or husband does NOT say anyting about whether they are a Protagonist, Antagonist or any other Objective Character. Objective Characters determine who is for something, who is against it, who acts primarily according to Reason and who with Emotion, and so on. The Mother may be the Protagonist, the Reason character, or even the Sidekick. And choosing her as the Main or Influence would add another level of complexity.
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Plot Progression
Signposts and Journeys are a bit like apples and oranges. Signposts are more structurally oriented, while Journeys are more oriented on story dynamics. Signposts focus on content/subject matter; Journeys focus on experiences and transitions. From a COMPLETELY analytical point of view (God’s eye view or Author view), each of the four signposts appear to consume the entire “plot” of the story which leaves the journeys to be viewed as “turning points.” Conversely, from a COMPLETELY experiential point of view (Audience view), the three Journeys appear to consume the entire “plot” of the story which leaves the signposts to be viewed as, well, signposts that mark progress along the story journey.
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Signposts
Why? Because each signpost creates a different context within which to explore / expose the static plot points in an attempt to discover the source of the inequity at the heart of the story. They can also be seen as ways to test the imbalances created by the story inequity by discovering what works to re-balance the conflict and what works to further push the conflict into greater imbalance.
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One question deals with using the Hamlet storyform to support that Hamlet is going crazy. I would have to copy it verbatim, you can find it here.
Story Goal
There’s a fine line between being straightforward by saying what you mean and saying something inflammatory to provoke discussion, but the important aspect of it from an author’s point of view is to be consistent. Pick what the goal is and what you want to say about that goal and then place the overall story characters appropriately in relationship to it.
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Story Outcome
The MC Critical Flaw is the quality that undermines the MC’s Unique Ability. In Success stories, the MC Unique Ability is more effective than the MC Critical Flaw. In Failure stories, the MC Critical Flaw is more effective than the MC Unique Ability and therefore scuttles the MC’s ability to help achieve the Story Goal.
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Story Judgment
The Story Judgment sits half in the Main Character Throughline and half as part of the story’s plot dynamics.
The Story Judgment is about the resolution of the Main Character’s angst. If it is resolved, that is ‘good.’ If it is not resolved, that is ‘bad.’ This is what makes it seem like Story Judgment should be part of the Main Character dynamics.
Most people do not make a distinction between Outcome and Judgment when thinking about story endings. They generally think of the ending as either a happy ending, a tragedy, or a bittersweet ending. AND, they tend to associate the story ending with the part that Dramatica identifies as the Overall Story throughline.
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Relationship Throughline
There’s a great answer that illustrates how the relationship throughline is different from the three other throughlines.
one question came up while I was reading through all of this.