Will a mass and energy appreciation of plot ever be possible?

The static plots carry a space appreciation of plot. The progressive plot points carry a time appreciation to plot.
@chuntley do you think a mass and energy appreciation to plot could be developed one day to balance the progressive and static plot points?

This is just a random thought I’m considering.

It’s kind of a weird question, though I suppose any question where you’re bushwhacking into uncharted Dramatica territory will be. Thinking on it, though, I wonder if an energy-themed plot point would be exactly what I want to fix my problems with story structure.

I’ve always struggled with the Act Two problem–it goes by many names, like the Rising Action or the Drive. It’s the part of the story where the characters actually work to solve the problem. What actually, you know, happens in this part of the story? How do you decide? So many story models don’t have much to say about it–like Aristotle, who says, “A story begins, ends, and has a middle.” Gee, thanks, genius! What actually happens in the middle? I think Dramatica solves this problem… a little, in that it has the Acts to theme them. However, with the fogginess that comes as you get deeper into Sequences, Scenes, and Events, we start to lose the plot a little.

An energy model might answer the question. If X happens, it imbues the scene with Y energy. That energy can either be amplified, expended, or transformed into a different type of energy. (This sort of ties into another project I’ve been working on involving the emotions given scenes create in the audience, and how to jump from one to the other.)

…I have no idea what a mass model of plot would look like, though. :sweat_smile:

I’m not sure I would characterize the relationship between static plot points and progressive plot points as ‘space’ and ‘time’ is accurate.

Some static plot points are more ‘mass’-like, such as Domain, Concern, Issue, and Problem, because they are defined by what they are. Others are more ‘space’-like, such as Critical Flaw, Unique Ability, Symptom, and Response, because they define a relationship between other static story points.

There are parts of Dramatica that calculate all the ‘dimensions’ of mass, energy, space, and time, but some of them are not visible in its current incarnation. This includes the units of potential, resistance, current, and power (outcome) applied to the static and temporal story points.


IN THE WEEDS STUFF – BEWARE :wink:

In Mental Relativity, the theory behind the Dramatica ‘theory’ and the source of the equations that define the relationships between Knowledge, Thought, Ability, and Desire (“KTAD”) and which parallel the relationships between Mass, Energy, Space, and Time (“MEST”), KTAD has specific definitions and relationships.

These can be LOOSELY defined as:

  • Knowledge – the amount of data’s familiarity/existence, measured by position and density

  • Thought – the flow of data, measured by charge and direction

  • Ability – the change of data (delta Knowledge), measured by speed and flow

  • Desire – the change of the flow of data (delta Thought). measured by acceleration and vector of change

Keep these concepts in mind as you apply them to the static and temporal story points and their relationships to each other. They may give you some deeper insights into Dramatica’s model construction.

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I think a mass appreciation of plot would be “left field” and take us a different place. It would feel like the static, progressive or potentiality energy plot points.

@chuntley very true. Dramatica is fractal and therefore the prco happens or could eventually happen or be revealed at all levels in the model one day.