The only problem with this is that then people get stuck on the actual terms. Having done this countless times I can tell you that the real advance comes in ignoring the original Dramatica terms as best you can, then go back to them at the end if you want.
The gists work to remove any and all preconceptions you have about Dramatica and its terminology. You can certainly do whatever you want, but trust me when I say you’ll learn more by ignoring them all together.
As Jhull’s basic rules here are for each of to only do “one” of the following at this stage – 1) illustrate a storypoint; 2) assign a character to an Archetype (Protagonist, Antagonist, etc.); or 3) assign a character to Main or Influence – I’m going to take the big jump and assign our Protagonist, Marybeth Shmuel, to the all-important position of Main Character, up against the Impact Character of Sebastian Olivia (as already selected by jamjam1974)!
I choose Gervasio Flavio as the sidekick. I see him as a young intern wanting to learn all the ropes.
GOAL: To get the head of the studio to realize that women can be just as creative as men.
(real Disney rejection letter for reference)
looping back to @jassnip
MC Problem: Prognosticating - MB comes from a long line of gypsies. She starts everyday with a tea leaf reading to set the course for her day, and in moments of great stress will find some bit of mumbo-jumbo to guide her actions.
@jhull is it appropriate to put in that lil piece of backstory (the shmuel gypsy line), or should I take it out?
MC Concern: Memory
MC does not want the animated industry to fall into a greeting card vortex. She fights for animators to concentrate on story and characters. She can’t stand hearing co-workers humming and singing the Hallmark motto, “When you care enough to send the very best" and doodling card stuff. Many animators are more comfortable with a presentation approach, not story.
I got the slogan from this website: http://xroads.virginia.edu/~MA04/hess/Slang/ads.html
This is a good start – but how is it a problem for her? The tendency with Gists is to simply use them as storytelling without taking into consideration the Appreciation (Problem, Symptom, Concern, etc.). How does engaging in tea leaf readings cause problems for her personally?
This needs to be more about memorizing…is she having trouble personally memorizing this motto? This doesn’t even have to have anything to do with animation or work. It would be great too if you could take into consideration @jassnip idea about tea leaf readings (since it is in the same throughline). You don’t necessarily have to, but if you can find a way to keep it personal it will help broaden the story.
Problems arise because she follows the predictions in the tea leaves (and other methods). It makes it so she isn’t advancing as she might in life and that sometimes she does silly things because that’s what the leaves suggested. It’s a lack of power in her day to day life and she isn’t taking responsibility for herself and needs to start making her own choices rather than being guided externally.
Better?
Ok, I’ll delete it and bounce from jassnip’s problem. Give me a little time to mull over your words.
Getting closer…though you’re writing more about what she should do (the assumed Solution) rather than the specific problems created by the element. Elaborate more on the silly things. For example, Marybeth refuses to try something new because of prognostications of her own financial ruin.
So you can imagine a character who might have an aptitude for creative expression, but refuses to do anything about it because of prophesy or someone foretelling her that her own financial ruin was on the horizon. Maybe she’s rich and doesn’t want to lose it all – here, prognostication would be a huge personal problem for her (and something she will get over as a Change character) – oh wait!! Just checked the storyform, she’s a Steadfast character, sorry about that. See preconceptions creeping in…gear shift…
So this “problem” will be a source of Drive for her. So either when she sees other people Prognosticating she flips her lid, or when prophecies don’t work she gets heated up…hmm…try working with it from that perspective - Marybeth as a Steadfast character.
No please don’t delete it. This way people can learn. We should also probably hold off till each appreciation is figured out (in other words you can wait until we get the MC Problem figured out). Might make it easier to comprehend for future readers.
Hmmm. Let me chew on this a bit. I will try and post more specifics later this evening, but I’ve been called into the shop today so off I go to sew. Back this evening (west coast time).
No worries, it’ll give me time to think about it some more as well. The Problem in a Steadfast character helps define them. Like Hiccup in How To Train Your Dragon is all about Protection, Nader from A Separation only cares about who is to blame (Cause), and Dr. Kimble from The Fugitive can’t help but Help everyone he runs into. But you can see how in each of these Steadfast characters how their primary “trait” causes problems for them.
See you later!
MC struggles with memorizing the Romani language so she can think and speak what the leaves are saying. The co-workers keep humming and singing jingles at work, impeding her concentration.
How is this tweak? I can get rid of the Hallmark and animation thing if you wish.
Or should I not post my ideas from your replies, “…until each appreciation is figured out.”?
I’ve had several ideas over the day on the problem.
One idea was “Cassandra’s curse.” Using whatever methods–MB predicts things that no one believes, but then actually happen.
One idea was to have her be the non-believer (stepping out of the Gypsy trade on Coney Island) and trying to become an artist rather than follow in the family trade.
One idea was to have her continually misinterpret the “signs” either because she over or under works them, working with the “prophecies” are always right in hindsight idea.
One idea is to have her prognostication act more like “the sight” and less tea leaf/gypsy and have her blurt things out to friends and strangers a like.
Each of these scenarios would come with an entirely different set of problems that it could create.
I’d really like some input from the group. Do you have any additional ideas? which of these appeals? Do any of them seem too cliched to be considered? Do any of them seem more problematic than the others?
I’m looking forward to everyone’s feedback. I’m out until 7pm Pacific Time tomorrow. I’ll check back in then. Sorry…my weekends are busy (it’s when I work).
What is she going to be steadfast in? The misinterpretation one could make it like we do with astrology, at times, something to be put aside for individual life choices. That might lend itself to comedy.
@Prish your storytelling is really close, but let’s hold off until we get the Problem down (its like having two students in class talking and asking questions at the same time!)
@jassnip I really like your first two ideas. The 3rd sounds like it is in a different Throughline (Understanding). The 4th is good as well. Personally I really like the first one, with the 2nd a close 2nd.
But how does it create a problem for her? Like “MaryBeth’s amazingly accurate prognostications keep people from getting closer to her or listening to her ideas” OR "MaryBeth’s amazingly accurate prognostications and love of astrology lower her value in the eyes of her boss…in other words, he would think “only a woman would think the alignment of the planets and stars has something to do with business”…that kind of thing…