First Go w/ Dramatica & I welcome advice

#1

Let me summarize where I am.

  • I’ve read the Dramatica Theory Book and got a handle of what was going on, but I KNOW I will understand more by repetition and application of the software.
  • I have started working on my FIRST story w/ Dramatica.
  • I have completed the story engine
  • I have completed the story guide

So Dramatica helped me immensely already in expanding my idea into a Story Argument and made many things clearer, but it also left a lot for me to consider.

  • I have to actually come up with the missing parts of my story’s sequence of events
  • The character elements are hard to figure out because I want complex characters, but sometimes the dynamic pairs are for characters that really don’t clash or even interact.
  • Also my MC Crucial Element is Unending and my IC Crucial is Ending… which doesn’t seem to fit, I think.

Well I am sort of wondering how did some of you more seasoned users sort of approach Dramatica the first couple of times. I have a couple of thoughts about what I could do

  • Go over the sections in the theory book that I am stumbling on in my story.
  • Save the file, put it on the backburner and let my mind mull it over.
  • Try another story in Dramatica and see if that at least begins to clarify some of the difficulties.

Any constructive advice is more than welcome.

Thank you.

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#2

I would recommend you read this article series by James Hull. narrativefirst.com in general is an amazing ressource for all things dramatica (and storytelling). Watching/Listening to the monthly dramatica analysis helps as well (especially the Story Embroidery ones (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014)). And take a look at the Writing category of this forum. A few months ago, people tried to put a story together. It fizzled out after a while, but maybe it’ll give you an idea.

Sorry for bombarding you with all these links, but I do think that all of them are very helpful.

To address your thoughts (Keep in mind that I’m not a Dramatica Expert):

  • How are you composing your sequences/events that you think you’re missing any parts?

  • While it seems to be somewhat of a guideline to keep elements to one character only, you don’t have to that. You can definitely have multiple characters with the same element… but if they’re in the same scene using the same element, it’s a bit redundant.

  • When it comes to the Crucial Elements… Despite the name, they don’t seem to be all that crucial to the storytelling.

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#3

Bob,

Wow. I am thrilled by your response. Not only was it quick, but also because its of immense value.

Thank you very much.

#4

Congratulations on getting started.

The first time I used Dramatica to storyform a screenplay I was writing, I misunderstood about 90% of everything I was doing. Repetition and throwing yourself headfirst into testing out your understanding (and dealing with the subsequent fallout) is about the best way to move forward.

If I could do it again, I would do the impossible, which is focus on fewer things in the theory until I had them down cold.

I would be sure to be able to cleave apart the MC and the Protagonist. Even if, especially if, they are played by the same person.
I would aim to distinguish Do-ers from Be-ers.
I would try to break stories down into their Four Throughlines.
I would learn how to identify Story Goals, so I could determine Success & Failure.

The tricky part here is that it’s hard to know if you’ve done it right if this is all you focus on. If you try to carry a story all the way to the bottom, then the model starts to fight back if you’ve got something wrong. At the high levels, there is no feedback yet.

Nevertheless, this is what I would do.

Also, bear in mind that Dramatica will help your story, but it will not help you write. So keep writing, daily, while you learn Dramatica.

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