could someone please give me an example of how they would use the thematic variations? In the plot sequence report i have ‘the current situation and circumstances’ (the present) is explored in terms of work, attraction, repulsion and attempt. My ‘scene’ for this says ‘X finds the ring and the scribbled notes’. I’ve spent half the afternoon snacking as a means of procrastination already…!
Not sure if this will be helpful or not, but this is how I built out my scenes when writing my first script with Dramatica. On the left side, first column, you can see where I weaved the various throughlines, color-coding them in column “B” with the story beat laid out. As you can see, it follows the typical “does x, but y happens resulting in z” type of story flow. On the far right, you can see where the columns, when scrolled over, pop up and give far greater detail for the story beat. What I did essentially was look at each scene using the variations given, then try to construct them logically so that there was always a moment of conflict in the middle (I found using the “Z” pattern particularly useful, as that’s where an action was often taken then a “but y happens instead,” resulting in conflict.)
What you have written for your scene sounds too minimal. In other words, it’s merely one action, so there needs to be something from the other variations at play leading up to and resulting from finding the ring and scribbled notes (for me, that would merely be one beat - but it’s hard to really tell without a context to put it in involving the bits before and after.) I guess what I’m saying is that, as a scene, it’s too static, but using those other variations to set it up and pay it off and find a turning point within it would make it come alive. Hope this helps!
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wow! Thank you, really helpful. You’re right - scene too minimal (first effort), so i’ve got to get into the groove of idea generating to expand my original plot. Thanks for replying so quickly as well. Rereading now…!
Dear JBarker: Is your example above from StoryView/Outline 3D? I’m not familiar with the above interface appearing in Dramatica Pro or Dramatica Story Expert…
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@keypayton, I actually used Apple’s Numbers! The newer version looks a bit different, but it helped to just visually “see” the throughlines and build/weave them per the acts. Part of the process I went through while learning all the definitions was to write this all out in hand with just the definitions for the terms, then when I built this out, I molded those definitions into applicable events with regards to my story (keeping the variation in parenthesis so I could always see specifically where I was with regards to using the PSR.)
In some cases, I was able to weave the Z pattern of two different throughlines together to get a bigger “bang,” or sense of conflict which I thought worked really well. I documented the writing of this script all on G+ - I just wish there were a handy way to disseminate the information from those posts and some found it pretty useful.
Great explanation and resource, JBarker! I will check out my Mac’s Numbers software, and use your screenshot to figure out how to build the right kind of table for my Dramatica info.
And if I can’t still find your fuller explanation on Google+, should I let you know here so you can move your ideas to the discuss.Dramatica.com board?
I’d like them over here…I have no idea how to find stuff on G+ Just sayin’
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The date of the first post was July 14, 2012. I’ll probably start a thread in the next day or two and copy and paste what I had there here.
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i’ve found it - shall i put it here? Your psychology today posts are also very interesting. So probably a stupid question - do the z pattern variations have to be plotted in order? If i have attraction, work-attempt, repulsion, is there method in this order or just in the overall effect?
I’ve done them in reverse on a few occasions to fit the story’s needs; the important part is the diagonals need to be next to each other for conflict (hence the “z” pattern.)
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I am sorry to go on nagging at the mechanics, got to start somewhere, and your answers are marvellously explicit! When looking at the thematic variations for OS you referred to them as ‘the others’, so all the other characters went through the 4 thematic variations ‘as one’, as i understand it. However, if i have a separate situation or action for the protagonist, antagonist, contagonist etc, do i go through all 4 variations for each character individually? So i do situation, state of being-sense of self and circumstances for the protagonist, then for the antagonist, then for the contagonist?
I am a little puzzled why some of you guys are on this forum, you seem to know al you need to know already! Very pleased you are, though, invaluable guidance and very altruistic. Thanks
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No, you would end up with a big mess on your hands! 
The idea is that, in this particular case, all these characters exist in the OS and it’s the OS as a singularity that’s being explored via their collective actions, if that makes sense. Who does what isn’t as important as much as its relevancy to the exploration of the variation as it pertains to the signpost. That’s the beauty of it: they (signposts) exist to guide you along, so you can take a variation and make of it what you will and give it its own context, whether exploring it from a positive angle or a negative (such as its absence). If you’d like, I can send you the complete numbers file so you can look it over (you should be able to open it with excel).
Here’s a screenshot from the Plot Sequence Report that may help a little bit:
JBarker to the rescue! Thankyou!! I am as you say in a complete mess! I’ve got cut up strips of OS SP1 for 7 characters for 4 variations all over the house! I have a tendency to over complicate things, you might have guessed - it did cross my mind that nobody else was doing it…i am a slow learner though i get there in the end normally. Very kind of you to bother answering when you’ve been ‘in the boonies’ - being of UK origin living in Spain, i didn’t know what the hell they were until i happened to watch episode 5 season 5 of Breaking Bad last week!! Also in the boonies! Breaking bad is not a good moral booster for aspiring writers, such great plotting every bloody episode…anyway, sorry to digress, would love to see the complete numbers file (don’t have numbers but do have excel) - how to do it? Now am going to read your always helpful posts. Sorry i’ve not got anything to do swaps with…
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No to be all “Tony Robbins” on you, but you should see Breaking Bad as incredibly aspirational!
You state that you are a slow learner… that show, each year, took months to plot out. Don’t be fooled by the final product, which hides all the hard work. Plus, one of the writers got his first writing job when he was 37 – 15 years or so after entering entertainment.
Those two stories alone should fuel you to keep plugging along.
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