OS Activity, PSR Themes within Fixed Attitude

#1

When the PSR Themes are within a different Domain, how do I “explore” them?

If the OS Signpost 1 is Understanding (Activity), should the PSR Themes be interpreted as Activities of Closure, Hope, Dream, Denial OR remain Fixed-Attitudes nested under an Activity of Understanding?

#2

I believe you can explore them however you want. As long as something fits the PSR Variation (gists are helpful here), it works.

So Dream might be any of:

  • having a dream that makes you realize you love someone (Attitude)
  • the dream you told your friend about has been published on the internet! (Situation)
  • taking your first flying lesson, which is something you’ve always dreamed about (Activity)
  • convincing someone that their plan is a pipe-dream; it’ll never work (Manner of Thinking)

etc.

The key is that it’s related to the signpost. The first might be “misinterpreting your own feelings (Understanding) in terms of dreaming of your true love (Dream)”, “realizing you’re meant to be a pilot in terms of fulfilling your lifelong dreams” for the third, etc.

7 Likes
#3

That’s a good way to explain it, Mike. I’ve stuck with the view that the storyform was an outside view of the story while PSR was a view from inside the story. So I was going to say that while the objective source of conflict is understanding, the characters will think they are dealing with problems of closure or hope or dream. From that view, if misunderstanding ones feelings is the objective problem, maybe a character thinks the problem looks like getting closure on a past relationship or something. I think it comes out to about the same as what you said.

2 Likes
#4

These are brilliant examples.

The Signpost, or Type, is context for the Variations underneath. So I would suggest encoding the sequence as suggested by @mlucas, and then adding the context after:

Having a dream that makes you realize you love someone while appreciating the meaning of life

The while is key.

You’ll find it works better than the traditional “in terms of” as it focuses you on the immediate and more significant appreciation first, while seeing it in context of the bigger picture.

10 Likes