Why do Story Cost & Dividend determine MC Approach?

theory
#1

For clarity, I’m working in Dramatica Pro (I don’t have a mac in order to use DSE).

I find it curious that when creating a storyform by choosing OS Cost or Dividend first, the software automatically chooses my MC’s approach.

For example, I’m working on a story where the OS characters are concerned with Obtaining (Goal), and their choices, whilst fulfilling their Innermost Desires (Dividend), are jeopardizing their Future (Cost). When I make these choices in the software, Dramatica tells me that my MC is a Be-er as his Approach. I’m just puzzled why I can’t have a Do-er MC in such a story. Why does a Cost of Future or a Dividend of Innermost Desires insist that for my story to be a GAS, my MC has to be a Be-er? I’m just not seeing the causal link or the reason such an MC would be “required” in order to make my story a Grand Argument. Dramatica isn’t telling me why I can’t have a Do-er MC.

Additionally, since my OS characters are concerned with Obtaining and the Dividend is Innermost Desires, I sometimes have trouble distinguishing the difference between Innermost Desires and Obtaining. Naturally, my characters want to Obtain (the objects of) their Innermost Desires, and they do as a Dividend, but the line between the two gets blurred in my mind under this current storyform. So it leaves me wondering whether my OS Goal should be Innermost Desires rather than Obtaining.

I can have a Do-er MC if I change my OS Goal to Innermost Desires and the Dividend to Obtaining, which feels almost right as well, but again, this just blurs the line even further for me between Obtaining and Innermost Desires. Do they want to fulfill their ID’s, or do they want to Obtain the objects of their ID’s?

#2

A couple of steps:

  1. The Type of Cost always comes from the Class opposite of the MC Throughline. So The Future is a Type within the Situation Class, which is dynamically paired with Fixed Attitude (I can’t answer why Cost works this way, but @chuntley would know).
  2. If your MC Throughline is either Fixed Attitude or Manipulation, then by default your MC is a Be-er. So basically your choice for Cost determines the MC Domain which determines the Approach.
#3

Hi Rod, regarding this particular question, you might want to check out this Narrative First article if you haven’t already: Achieving Story Goals that are Not Achievements. I definitely found it helpful.

1 Like
#4

There is no direct connection between the Story Dividend and the MC Approach. The fact that the Story Dividend is of the same Type as the MC Benchmark is a connection that can be seen in the forces that drive a narrative. In other words, it is something that was found after the creation of the model. It wasn’t as if Melanie or Chris said “Oh, the MC Benchmark should be the Story Dividends.”

Following the line of logic, selecting the MC Benchmark determines Do-er or Be-er in the Main Character as it must reside in the same Domain as the Main Character Throughline. This Throughline determines whether a Main Character is a Do-er (external Domains) or Be-er (internal Domains).

There is no greater meaning to be found as to the dividends incurred during the course of solving a problem.