Question about MC Problem/Solution in context of Resolve

questions
#1

Sorry guys, another newbie question here! :smile:

If the MC Resolve is Change, does that mean I should show that the MC embraced the Solution?
Similarly, if the MC Resolve is Steadfast, does that mean the MC did not embrace the Solution?

I think the answer is yes to both, based on this comment from Chris Huntley (bolding mine):

Note: I recognize that Outcome and/or Judgement may be such that in some cases the Solution would more aptly be called “false solution” or “solution to a false problem”, but I don’t think that matters for this particular question. Also that it’s sometimes good to call the Problem “drive” (especially for a Steadfast character), but again, I don’t think that matters here.

#2

Can you give an example of what you are talking about here?

To your other questions, yes.

#3

Thanks Mike. That helps.

Regarding my footnote, I was getting that from the software usage text under MC Problem:

USAGE: A Main Character’s Problem may be the real source of a story’s difficulties or may actually be just the source of the Main Character’s drive to set things right.
As a result, its complementary Solution might be just what the doctor ordered or an Achilles’ heel that would satisfy the Main Character into letting the real Problem lie.
Do you see your Main Character as having the Problem or solving the Problem?
If she has the problem, then arriving at the Main Character’s Solution is what the story is all about.
But if she is solving the problem, the Main Character’s Solution is the one thing she must avoid at all costs.

So my term of “false solution” was what the software help calls Achilles’ heel, the “one thing she must avoid at all costs”. My understanding is that if the character remains Steadfast and the Outcome/Judgement was Success/Good, MC Solution was definitely the “one thing to avoid at all costs”. I’m not totally sure how to interpret it when you have a bittersweet ending like Success/Bad or Failure/Good – I guess it depends on your viewpoint from overall story or MC story?

However I note that the analyses of The Fugitive and Braveheart – both Steadfast / Success / Good stories – don’t quite seem to match my thinking. For The Fugitive it’s pretty obvious that Kimble should continuing Pursuing his wife’s killer, as that is what leads to success & goodness, and not Avoid doing so, so Problem makes sense. But the analysis text mentions some positive stuff under MC Solution: Avoid – “Dr. Kimble needs to avoid getting caught, killed, or stopped before he discovers his wife’s murderer(s).” Braveheart is also confusing – the Problem is fine (Considering only fighting is the drive that causes him trouble along the way but ultimately leads him to success), but Solution mentions stuff that seemed to help him out too. Maybe the Solution examples are just him wavering in his steadfastness along the way? That’s probably it.

I’m probably way overthinking this stuff (as it seems newbies tend to do), but it actually matters a lot to the storyform I’m building. Maybe I’m taking the USAGE text from the software too much as gospel?

#4

Overthinking is the hallmark of anyone who understands the value Dramatica provides and wants to learn more about it. Overthink away. We’ve all been there!

Couple of things: don’t take the example text so literally. Those analyses were done 20 years ago when Dramatica was fresh and so there are some inaccuracies. Better to understand the theory first and not rely on those examples.

Second, it doesn’t matter what a character should do in Dramatica, it matters what a character does and doesn’t do. You are the Author/God of your story and Dramatica gives you a view of your story from that point-of-view. Shoulda, coulda, woulda don’t factor in.

Lastly, you’re making interpretations of what the storyform is saying - you’re extrapolating from the information provided within the story points - which is OK, that’s what every Audience member does, just so know that those are in the Story Reception phase and while they are important to consider do not necessarily factor in during the StoryForming phase of writing a story (which is what you’re doing now - the work with Dramatica)

#5

Thanks Jim! That helps.

I think the reason I’m doing Audience / Reception stuff during story-forming is that I already had a lot of my outline done before discovering Dramatica, so I’m trying to make sure the stuff that feels like the “heart” of my story is represented well in the storyform, and probably approaching that a little too much from the Audience perspective.

I’ve actually had a couple “Aha!” moments since my last post, so things are going much better now. What really helped was reading some of the Story Assembly thread and your Narrative First “playground exercise” posts. Besides seeing how fun it could be to create stories from random (but complete) storyforms, seeing the Gists at work has transformed my understanding of Dramatica. (I’m on Windows so hadn’t seen gists before.) Now I understand the creative freedom that can come with each Dramatica term! Whereas before the terms felt limiting and made me obsess about selecting story points perfectly.

I have to say, creating a storyform for partially-outlined story has its challenges (though far fewer than if I’d had a complete draft!), but it’s also been exciting when Dramatica automatically chooses stuff that matches my pre-existing ideas – it’s like confirmation that my story instinct was sound!

I should really write a separate post on my “newbie experience” and the things that have helped push me in the right direction…

#6

I think the problem you’re running into here is that you are taking that paragraph at face value, and not balancing it against the rest of the theory. (Which is going to happen a lot at first.)

If a character is motivated by something, the worst thing the could do is get unmotivated. Kimball’s pursuit of his killer is what leads to the OS Solution, so if Kimball stops pursuing the guy, everything falls apart. The “false solution” in this equation would be something like, “get on a flight to Panama.” That’s not going to solve the overall problem, much less his own.

But you have to consider this in the context of “he’s steadfast and responsible for bringing about the OS Solution”.

#7

Thanks Mike. It all makes sense, no issues at all!

#8

Yes please do! The more people understand what Dramatica can do for them, the more we can have better stories!

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