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COMPUTER ASSISTED AUTHORING: Can it work for you? by Gwenneth Barnes No computer program can write your stories for you, or turn tired prose into the next blockbuster. Nevertheless, there are some interesting software products aimed at serious writers that can make you more productive. The capabilities of these programs go far beyond the standard word processor with spelling and grammar checker. A growing selection of software products actually claim to help authors with the "creative" part of the writing process. Do they follow through on their claims? Keep reading to find out. In the coming weeks I'll be reviewing a selection of these products. We'll start the ball rolling with the "big-ticket" entry in the Computer Assisted Authoring arena: Screenplay Systems' Dramatica Pro 3.0.
Dramatica theory There are really two "Dramaticas". One is the Dramatica theory of story, developed by Melanie Anne Phillips and Chris Huntley. The other is the Dramatica software, which implements a portion of that theory in a series of multiple-choice questions, text entry fields and analysis tools. First, the theory. Phillips and Huntley base Dramatica theory on the idea that a story that "works" is one that poses a problem, then solves it in a logical, organized way. That part of the theory isn't exactly new — read Aristotle's "Poetics" for an early discussion on this theme, or any modern "how-to" book on writing novels or screenplays for a more up-to-date take on the matter. What makes Dramatica different from all the others is a concept called the "Story Mind". According to Dramatica theory, "every complete story is a model of the mind's problem solving process." (from the Dramatica Theory book, http://heartcorps.com/dramatica/dramatica_theory_book/table.html). A properly crafted story, by Dramatica standards, solves its problems completely and consistently. Furthermore, a successful story (even one with a sad ending), must contain four complete narrative perspectives: Subjective, Objective, Main Character (or Protagonist), and Obstacle Character, which illustrate the audience's involvement in the story — remember, without an audience there simply is no story. One of the first things you'll notice in any discussion of Dramatica theory is the terminology. Take "Obstacle Character" as an example. Briefly, the "Obstacle Character" is someone who stands in the way of the main character's goals and actions, thus creating the necessary element of tension that allows the story to develop. Why not use the more familiar term, "Antagonist"? Because, according to Phillips and Huntley, the obstacle character does not necessarily oppose the protagonist--it merely offers an "alternative belief system or world view" to the main character, forcing the main character to address the problem and solve it, rather than taking the easy way out. As you explore the theory, with the help of extensive (and essential) web-based resources, you'll come upon many other examples of words and phrases redefined. I would gladly debate with the authors whether or not such extensive renovation of the language was truly necessary--part of that which distinguishes writers from the rest of the word is a preoccupation with words and their meanings. However, I will concede that the sometimes contorted semantics do sometimes lead to a fresh outlook and the occasional epiphany. Is Dramatica theory a workable way to analyze and construct a story? Yes, although the authors acknowledge that their "Grand Argument" story model, around which the theory is based, is not the only one that works. Does it help a writer build a more thoughtfully crafted story? Yes, provided you are willing to invest the time and effort into studying and applying Dramatica theory. From theory to implementation The Dramatica Pro software uses a subset of the Dramatica theory, and works more or less as an intelligent outliner for a story. Through a series of multiple-choice questions, the writer defines, then illustrates essential elements of theme, plot and character development. Each decision the writer makes -- for instance, is the story driven by actions or by decisions, and does the climax occur when the characters have run out of time, or out of options — helps to narrow down and clarify the elements that must, according to Dramatica theory, be resent in the "Grand Argument" story model if it is to be successful. There are 32,768 possible storyforms, and by the time most of the questions have been answered, only one storyform remains. So what is a storyform? According to the Dramatica dictionary contained in the online help for the program, a storyform is the "underlying dramatic skeleton of a story," or its central argument. Note that this does not mean, in any sense, a canned plot outline from which the author then improvises a story. Online help, as well as examples and discussions, are available throughout the program. The information is useful, and that's a good thing — because Dramatica Pro does not write your story for you. Once Dramatica has arrived at a storyform, it's then up to the writer to review all the thematic appreciations (another Dramatica word, defined in its online dictionary as "items of dramatic meaning that are common to all stories"), and their relationships to the objective and subjective storylines and the characters. With that information in hand, plus the synopsis and log line Dramatica asks for during the initial questionnaire, you're ready to begin illustrating your outline and turning it into a real story, one without plot holes, loose threads, or confused motivations. It can take several hours or several days to outline a story completely in Dramatica, depending on the level of detail you choose in the "Query System"--the question and answer system that prompts you for general, then detailed information about your story. At any point you can generate and print a report, or export your work into a text file that you can then import into your favorite word processor. The software itself is fairly easy to use, especially if you're already accustomed to using index cards and flow charts to outline your stories. Even disorganized (or, if you prefer, spontaneous) writers will find the character creation tools useful--the "Create a character" form includes the character's name, the role he or she plays in the story, brief and detailed descriptions, archetypes, even a "Typecast" button through which you can select non-archetypal characteristics such as "bully," "charmer," "hero," or, "introvert." Dramatica will even provide names and pictures for your characters, if you like, and you are free to add your own list of names or pictures to the program. You do not actually need to understand every nuance of Dramatica theory to use this program effectively. At its lowest level, it functions as a very thorough idea organizer, allowing you to sketch interesting characters or plot lines. Whether or not you buy into the theory, you will end up answering questions that force you to clarify just what it is you're writing about, and few writers would argue that that's a bad thing to do. As software goes, this is a thoroughly professional product, with very few obvious bugs or design flaws that I could find. Technical support is available by phone or email, and the technicians are clearly well trained on the products, and on customer service concepts in general—my call to tech support to recover a botched installation was handled exceptionally well, and affirmed my initial impression that this is, from a software industry insider's point of view, a quality product. The authors have put a tremendous effort into supporting the program and the underlying theory, and have evangelized successfully enough to have made Dramatica theory part of the curriculum in many college-level creative writing programs. Screenplay Systems regularly offers evening and weekend classes in Dramatica theory at their offices in Burbank, CA. Online courses are also available, as well as transcripts and audio recordings of past seminars. An Internet mailing list is also available for enthusiasts, accessible from http://www.heartcorps.com, which is Melanie Anne Phillips' own web site. And now for the bad news. There are close to half a million words in the English language. With a selection like that, it's nearly a sure thing that the right word exists, somewhere, to describe a concept precisely. Nevertheless, Dramatica's authors have taken many perfectly good words and stretched and deformed them to accommodate meanings that don't always fit very well. The Dramatica Theory book could benefit from an overhaul by someone accustomed to organizing and presenting highly technical information to a general audience, in a way that does not require 445 pages of text plus a special dictionary just to make sense of it. Dramatica is copy protected, though as a software professional myself, I fully understand and sympathize with the necessity to protect valuable software from widespread copying. Provided you follow the printed instructions carefully before backing up or defragging your hard drive, the protection scheme should not cause any inconvenience while you use the program, and, if you do mess something up, technical support is ready and able to help. Writers: If you value your own intellectual property enough to copyright your stories, but you're currently using "borrowed" software, do the right thing and go buy your own tools. Software authors have as much right to their creative work as you do. No excuses. But even with those two quibbles, I find it easy to give Dramatica a "thumbs up". It will never take the place of talent and practice. However it can help writers organize their thoughts and their stories, and it provides the right amount of coaching and handholding for those writers who need help stepping back from their stories to see the big picture. Copyright (c) 1998 by Gwenneth Barnes (epigraph@concentric.net) Author bio: Gwen Barnes has some extremely minor fiction publications to her credit, plus several years experience as a reporter for a small weekly newspaper. For the past almost-seven years, she has worked full time in the software industry as a technical writer.
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