When I first got the software I was intimidated by the Build Characters screen and wasn’t sure if i would use it. Then I got the Dramatica for Screenwriters book and the stuff in there around Build Characters seemed pretty cool, so I gave it a go.
I’m glad I did – the exercises in that book (4 sets of questions and sample scene building around character wants, needs, how they do things and how they think) are very helpful. For some reason I’m not very good at building up characters purposely / consciously, and “character questionnaires” tend to block me. But those exercises work for me, and have really helped me get a deeper understanding of my characters.
However, one question I have is about the archetype elements, especially the Protagonist ones. My characters are mostly tending to be complex rather than archetypes, but I was wondering if I should still try to make sure that the Protagonist elements (especially motivations Consider and Pursue) are represented by characters that non-Dramatica-versed readers would still think of as the protagonist(s)? i.e. the ones that are most obviously concerned with / pursuing the Story Goal?