laughs Okay, I asked how to differentiate between OS and MC Throughlines, but I’m having a lot of trouble with SS as well. Is it those things which happen between the MC and IC or is it those things for which we can say “we do X” (so, the MC killing the IC is not “we kill the IC” cause the IC isn’t killing the IC, only the MC is killing the IC).
One thing that might help is to think about the throughlines as perspectives, which is what they really are. So individual “things” in the story (events, character motivations, etc. – I like to just call this the “story stuff”) aren’t so much “in” a throughline but “part of that throughline’s perspective”. (I think it’s okay to use the word “in” as a shortcut as long as you know what you really mean.)
So in light of all that, any particular “thing” in the story can actually be part of any number of throughlines (zero to four; zero would mean it’s just storytelling, not part of the structure).
So if you take the event of the MC stabbing the IC to death with a knife, it’s likely that event is part of multiple throughlines, including the Relationship Story (RS, newer and better term for SS). e.g. if it’s a mother stabbing her son, there’s got to be some impact on the mother-son relationship there.
The RS is about a relationship between two people that experiences conflict and grows and changes, so anything in the story that relates to those things is part of the RS. It helps to name the relationship by its type (mother-son, teacher-student, romantic, etc.) and then think of that relationship itself as a character.
I find it helps a lot to think of Relationship Space, too. The physical locations where their relationship is the temporary focus.
Wrote this during a Jim workshop
This brand new, unexpected café RELATIONSHIP, new and fresh and finding its feet, is clashing with easy expectations of history and class based on appearance, and it’s rocked every time there’s a revelation about some new aspect of their personal histories, as each partner is ready to reveal more about themselves. The RELATIONSHIP is fragile in its creation and after a brief honeymoon after it’s born, it isn’t even sure it wants to exist, or that other people want it to exist.
The RELATIONSHIP forgets that it is inappropriate and unlikely as a soap bubble to last. The RELATIONSHIP is entertaining the way a movie is entertaining on a hot summer afternoon in an air conditioned movie theater, before everyone had AC, when you needed to forget about the world. The RELATIONSHIP forgets about its own history, each time the partners meet, and forgets that all is not well with the partners, with the world. The RELATIONSHIP is about escape, until its not. Until they realize it’s become the sea they swim in now. Life is what happens to you when you’re busy making other plans.
The partners make an agreement that the RELATIONSHIP is light as intentionally disposible as an Elton John pop song but they FORGET that and plunge into something more intense as they share and evaluate each other’s lives.
The RELATIONSHIP forgets that it is supposed to be light blue, pale cloudless summer sky, nothing to wrinkle the brow, and it starts to become orange then red then white hot in intensity as it gets filled up and contains more secrets, desires and pain.
The RELATIONSHIP keeps clashing with the real state of things as the presumptions that started it change. The RELATIONSHIP has to change and become a different kind of RELATIONSHIP. It’s whole point was to have a friend, but then its point becomes to find answers about themselves, America, society, men and women, the world.
I think they have a self awareness about this: the RELATIONSHIP knows that it is capable of a great deal of insight—it is so promising, like they’ve made a vital connection that matters on the epic level — that somehow it’s elevated them both and it’s a chance to see things, understand things, some of the BIG things, that they couldn’t understand without the RELATIOSHIP. But this in itself is a narcotic, and takes them away from proper treatment of other people around them. This is The Man and The Woman, standing in for all of them, with one last chance to find dialogue and make peace.
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This is one of the thoughest spots for me, but the SS is about the relationship between two people. The way I take that is that it’s not about John or Marsha, but about the marriage between them. John and Marsha can say “we are hunting for treasure” but if this doesn’t affect their marriage, then it’s not SS. Maybe it’s OS or something else. If John says to Marsha “you coming on this treasure hunt has brought me closer to you than ever before” and the intent of the statement is to show that their marriage is stronger, it’s SS.
What I’d like to have more clarity on regarding SS is if it’s sufficient for the Dramatica element to show how the marriage is getting weaker or stronger (as in the above) or if the Dramatica element is still shown to be problematic within the relationship and it’s those problems that show the marriage getting weaker or stronger. Not sure if that’s clear, but an example might be that the treasure hunt that John and Marsha are on has caused lots of bickering between them and yet because of this shared experience, John still feels closer to Marsha than ever. I suspect this example would be the better one, but again, this is probably my weakest spot in a theory where I’m already not strong with any of it.
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So, what you’re saying is that I should think of the RS as a living, breathing, evolving creature in its own right?
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It’s a great exercise to take a pass at it that way. You get perspective on it you won’t get if you keep thinking of them as two people. Think about relationships: they have a life of their own, right? Describe THAT life. Think about a romantic couple: all the interactions they have with each other, how the rest of the world stops, how that interaction creates a unique voice, a unique space, a unique energy. Write that.
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Yes! That’s absolutely correct! (I say with possibly false confidence.)
Anyway, that’s how I’ve been looking at the friendship in my current novel. I also personally consider the relationship as existing within a particular kind of space, but that’s not strictly Dramatica. It’s just how I’ve always viewed relationships since learning of the RS.
P.S. I also like how @GetSchwifty describes it.
Hey Greg, I was wishing I could double-like your post. Good stuff!
Regarding the doubts you expressed here I suspect that anything that causes the relationship to truly grow or change actually WILL be a source of conflict, i.e. problematic from the relationship’s perspective. I don’t think those things always feel “bad” to the audience or even author, the way we normally think of conflict. They might be cases where the relationship is going “what the heck is happening to us? we’ve been platonic for years and now we just kissed?” (romance) or “we just met, are we really destined to be as good friends as it seems??!!” (new friends)
Your example of the treasure hunt causing bickering but also bringing them closer together is great, but I think it works if you flip it on its head too. The treasure hunt causes them to bicker less than normal and suddenly they’re getting along like they haven’t in years, bringing them closer together. I suspect this can still be RS conflict because the relationship is going “what the F#?!” and maybe “oh crap, this is nice but is it going to last? or are we setting ourselves up to get hurt even worse?”
Those are just my thoughts though, would be interested to see what others think.
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When you get these two people together, whether their friends or adversaries or lovers, it should FEEL different from when they get together apart with any other person in the book. These two KNOW each other. And that’s why they’re worth writing about. For each of these throughlines, you’re making a statement: this is so interesting, important and special, it’s worth ME writing about and it’s worth YOU reading it. You should know why before write it. It’s the relationship that is worth tellng a story about, for all time. Inkadu and Gilgamesh. Darmok and Jilad at Tenagra, when the walls fell 
I just watched a great Relationship story last night. “Duet” Season 1 of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, with Harris Yulin (FUCK YOU, TONY!, that guy), as a Cardassian War Criminal. Or is he? Created a big stir when first broadcast. It’s intense, and THAT’s a relationship story, as short as it is.
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One other thought. Kurt vonnegut writes about that were all a member of a family that’s not our blood family, the real family that we’re really related to, and he has some kind of fictional special name for it, writes that when you meet someone who is in that “family” you know immediately.