Building a Story Skeleton from Scratch

writing
#1

Hi there!

I am a new Dramatica User and i am trying to write my first SciFi-Novel with it.

Applying the Characteristics Feature from Dramatica helped me a lot to
get a deeper understanding of the relations my Characters have with
each other, as well as their overall meaning for the story Structure.

At the moment i am finishing and fleshing out my 8 complex characters, using
Mind Maps and writing Example Scenes with Backstories to deepen them.

But my story idea, topic and possible plot is very thin to be honest -
i think it could be original, but it is not enough fleshed out yet. I vaguely have
an idea how to shape the beginning, the middle and the end - and
i have some ideas about which themes the novel could be centered.
But it is not very thick yet and especially not well structured at the moment.

My question is - how is the best way to proceed now regarding my
story ideas, course of the plot, etc. and Dramatica?

Is it better to write the whole thing down as it comes to my mind
to get something like a “rough 400 page first draft” and then put
the whole mess into Dramatica to cut it down to something that
fits a good and well thought story forming structure?

Or ist it better to use the material i have up till now and tell that
Dramatica and work from there inside the software?
From then on i would use the 3 Levels of
the Story Guide to form creatively a Story Skeleton and think
about Signposts and Journeys in Advance. My feeling
says that this method would fit better to me - because
i like structuring in advance instead of letting it flow - despite
the sole act of writing is really joyful for me!

In essence - can Dramatica be used to form a Story Structure
from a very vaguely starting point regarding the shape
of the Story or is it better to wildly jot down everything i have
into a text editor and then work with this draft in Dramatica?

Any hints and tips will be very welcome.

By the way - i am impressed how helpful, and inspirational
this community is - thx in advance!!

Greetings,
Manuel

#2

Hi, Manuel.

Like writing, people have different processes. Experiment, and do what works for you.

I think the only habit we all seem to share here is that we have a solid storyform before we start writing. Whether or not you fill out all of the details before or after you write is up to you.

My personal method of using Dramatica (I think I mentioned this before in another topic) is to use it for conceiving the concept and rewriting. I make a storyform. I add gists, and export two versions – one with gists and one without, so I can see how they work. I then ignore Dramatica for the first draft and just write (if I have the right storyform, it will come through in my writing). When I rewrite, I can see if they sync up with the storyforms, and if they don’t, I can make the necessary changes through the story or Dramatica.

But, again, this is just how I do things. Everyone has a different method, and it’s really whatever works best for you. Though I should add that I hate outlining with a passion and it kills my excitement which is why I don’t use Dramatica too much before I have a draft. If you like outlining and structuring your story, you should definitely try the story guide.

Hope this helped, and good luck with your novel.

#3

If you can make a handful of storyforms using what you already know about the story, you could look at the Plot Sequence Report to help you generate ideas about each act. It presents a subjective view from within the story and pairs the signposts for each act of each throughline with variations from a type in a different domain. So you get things like “Overall Storyline first act of Doing is explored in terms of Fact, Security, Threat, and Fantasy” or “Main Character storyline third act of The Past is explored in terms of Knowledge, Ability, Desire, and Thought.”

#4

Dramatica is like anything in that you can use it at any stage. You can use it to make a storyform from just a few vague ideas (though it will force you to make some decisions).

The same way that I suggested using Dramatica in the other post to generate ideas, I would use your first draft to generate ideas. I would rather have too many ideas than one storyform – unless you know your story a storyform can be limiting.

After you have your 400 pages, you will be grateful for Dramatica, because it will provide a framework to think through your story in a new way. It will feel fresh again.

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