Events, scenes and sequences

The best thing I’ve personally heard on the topic of how much of Dramatica to try and pin down was from Jim Hull when I attended his workshop last spring. He said (paraphrasing) some people need to know everything, they want the theory down to a “T” and want to know all the interactions of each and every facet of a Storyform but those ones tend to not have as much material written when it comes the amount of stories completed albeit having absolutely pristine Grand Argument Stories of course! But they mainly become teachers of the craft, Jim included himself in that category. Stories are still generated but you can go 10+ years and still be learning the theory.

He also mentioned that some people can learn just enough about Dramatica (relative), to incite inspiration and they’ll take off and have pages upon pages of material, completing story after story, ultimately becoming a “writer” in the classical sense of the word (blemishes and all). Yes some of the fine details of Dramatica are left behind but these individuals don’t really care either, obviously risking accuracy, coherency and filled out arguments.

The choice comes down to the individual. I appreciated this choice. Not only did it unburden me from worrying that there was only one option, one way to complete this journey but It helped me position myself down the path I saw for me personally. A way to navigate both ends of the spectrum and land on coordinates that feel best for me.

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