Hi guys,
while working on stories using dramatica here is what i understood. MC is living his throughline with his own share of concerns issues etc, independent of the Overall story. Only if/ when he participates in the over all story throughline ( as archetypes or complex character etc) he would face the OS throughline story points/ conflicts.
Same goes for the IC, he will face his share of problems/ conflicts/ story points only when he participates in the OS story as archetypes/ complex character etc… Same with the relationship stories, when the characters from OS story participate in the SS story, they ( their relationship) would have the conflict of SS story, otherwise they are happy being objective characters.
Now here is what bothers me the most, suppose i create a detective character with manipulation as his throughline . That means the other throughlines would be locked. So i go again to series number 2 with the same MC may be interchange the objective subjective throughlines. so series 2 done. Series 3 again, MC is manipulation. And i have only two throughline options. That means i have to change the main character , hence losing his essence for future, Because MC throughline means who MC is and what is he battling personally and if i assign a different MC, the POV of my original character is lost. enlighten me please.
Also i feel i might be completely wrong in my understanding of dramatica.
Please excuse grammatical errors/ expressions. I am not a native speaker of the language.
Thank you so much.
You all stay Blessed!!
K
@knight Here is my understanding of this, but maybe others can clarify as well.
It’s best to think of the throughlines as perspectives rather than characters. These perspectives make sense within the context of the particular storyform. Thus, it’s totally possible to have a “player” (character) who takes on one throughline in one story and a different one in the next. In fact, it would probably feel like repetition to have the same character work through the same personal issues in the same way over and over again.
So in the pilot for the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Midge (the MC) is the Universe domain with a Concern of Progress. At the end of that episode, she changes. For the storyform that encompasses the rest of season 1, Midge is a Steadfast character with a throughline in Mind/Preconscious. The elegant thing about the way this is done here is 1) the Concern quad is the same for both storyforms (Progress, Doing, Being, Preconscious) and the 2) MC Problem/Solution of the first season becomes the Focus/Direction of the season as a whole.
Another example: Luke Skywalker in the first three Star Wars movies.
Star Wars:
Changed | Universe | Progress | Fantasy | Test | Trust
Empire Strikes Back:
Changed | Universe | Progress | Fact | Non-Accurate | Accurate
Return of the Jedi:
Steadfast | Universe | Present | Attempt | Inaction
It’s not ignorance - you’re just being forced to keep the context consistent which requires making CHOICES.
Choose the Storypoint most important to you first, and move on from there.
Dramatica is keeping you from being wishy-washy with your story.
Thanks a ton @Lakis. So what i understood is that Midge changes from being in universe domain to being in mind domain. That means she interchanged the domain with the IC in the pilot and IC became her in the entire season. But as you say, the OS concern quad remained the same. I might be wrong. BUt i think that’s what you are saying, right?
But could she have taken psychology or activity domain? If yes, then her basic identity would have changed. I mean IC forces MC to change that means, IC wants MC to consider his domain… right? Here she changes takes IC’s domain and continues on.
(Thus, it’s totally possible to have a “player” (character) who takes on one throughline in one story and a different one in the next)
you mean to say that there need no consistency in the player. If the story demands he could alter and change. so a mind domain player could become a physics player in the next series.
@jhull can you please elaborate on - keep the context consistent which requires making CHOICES. & chose the story-point most important to you first. Does this mean say i am writing a series, i can change season number 2 by making new choices and forgetting the old mounting of the first season.
Thank you.
Bless you all!
I’m not sure I would put that way exactly. I don’t think Dramatica technically requires consistency, because the storyform stands as its own unit. But from a storytelling perspective, I would think you would want some kind of consistency to make the character seem “real”.
What would make sense to me is to have the character start from where he/she ended in the last story (assuming you are doing it sequentially), as in the Mrs. Maisel example. She doesn’t feel inconsistent–she seems like her arc is continuing or going to the next phase.
I think it might be more useful to look at the whole story you’re trying to tell. Part of the difficult thing to wrap your mind around with Dramatica is that characters are not “individuals” – they only make sense in the context of the rest of the storyform. This, paradoxically, is what makes them seem real.
So yes, if you decide in book three that your OS Story must be in Universe (Situation), then in order for that story to feel complete, your MC will have to be either in Psychology or Physics.
It sounds like you’re thinking of changing your OS Domain for each book in the series? I think this would be the thing that might makes the series feel inconsistent.
Thank you so much for clearing my doubt.
Take care!
Blessings!
K