If you have read Techniques of the Selling Writer by Dwight Swain, you might recall mention of a device called the Mephisto Supersonic Plot Computer (MSPC). Swain discounts the MSPC as being a waste of money and time. However, I see Dramatica as being a functioning version of the MSPC that even goes so far as to incorporate a large number of Swain’s concepts into its code. I see it almost like a child that says, “Dad, you were wrong about me. Look what I can do.”
After reading both books (Dramatica: A Theory of Story and Techniques of the Selling Writer), I realized that I saw a number of correlations between Swain’s observations and Dramatica’s equation. For me, it is as if both theories function as required reading for the other.
Even without going back and searching both texts (because they are both over 100,000 words), I can rattle off a list of complementary or similar concepts:
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Timelock; Optionlock vs. Chronometrical Time; Emotional Time
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Focal Character; Viewpoint Character; Hero vs. Protagonist; MC; Hero
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State of Mind; State of Affairs vs. Mind; Universe
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Internal Motivations; External Motivations vs. Psychology; Physics
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Internal Reactions; External Reactions vs. Mind; Universe
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Cause and Effect vs. Actions (Physics and Psychology) and Situations (Universe and Mind)
I am quite certain that I could go on and on. I’m pretty sure that everything that Swain says is applicable and identifiable within the world of Dramatica Theory. I’d be interested if someone could find something in Swain’s book that they feel contradicts Dramatica and then I’d like to see if I could fit it into the Dramatica concept.
I had recently read a post about PRCO. I still haven’t consumed PRCO completely nor has it percolated into a form that makes complete sense to me yet. There was some talk about the rule that a scene should end in disaster, but the general consensus of this rule was that it was folly. However, I’d point out that Swain – although he extolled the virtue of disaster – did talk about the potential for disaster as well. His general point seemed to be that disaster was easier for the novice writer to implement as compared to potential disaster.
For me, I feel the most confident with theories when I can see the connections and relationships with other concepts. For example, in Swain’s books, I was glad to see him apply components of Sergei Eisenstein’s Montage theory within the world of novels. He also directly compared POV and scope with various cinemaphotography concepts in filmmaking. My understanding of the world is often a question of relationship as much as it is about logic. I’d love to see a 3D model of a Dramatica Storyform. Is that even possible?