Professional writers' story-analysis and troubleshooting tool.

Somerset Maugham once said there are three rules for writing a novel -- but unfortunately, no one knows what they are. Well, Dramatica Pro 2.0, from Screenplay Systems, doesn't know the rules either, but if you're a serious screenwriter, playwright, novelist, or short-story writer, the program can offer meaningful help for honing your craft.

Dramatica Pro differs radically from other writing programs, such as Collaborator, Storyline Pro, and Plots Unlimited, in that it's focused far less on the process of writing than on the planning and development of characters before you write. By helping you sort through character motivations and relationships, story theme, action, and plot, Dramatica Pro helps you define the essence of the story and avoid unnecessary rewrites. If you've got an existing story that's proving difficult, the program can also help you troubleshoot it and uncover weaknesses in its plot or character development.

A Compelling Argument

Key to Dramatica Pro is a theory that all the characters, scenes, and action that make a good story are elements in an argument -- the central message or experience you, the author, want to communicate. Dramatica's purpose is to help you clarify that message and then ensure that the elements of your story advance it. (This theory, as well as the specialized terminology that appears throughout the program's story-development process, are detailed in a highly readable, if weighty, 416-page textbook that ships with the program.)

For starters, Dramatica asks you a series of highly structured multiple-choice questions about the characters, themes, problems, scenes, and outcomes of your story. (Where appropriate, the program prompts you to type character names and other information in addition to answering questions.) Queries touch on technical matters, such as whether your narrator will be the main character or a detached observer, and thematic ones, such as whether you want your protagonist to change over the course of the story or to resist change.

Based on your answers, the program selects one of 32,000 possible "Storyforms" -- diagrammatic story representations -- for your story. The Storyform includes events Dramatica concludes should occur to build and resolve the story's essential conflicts, and the roles characters in the story must play (examples include the Goad, who pricks the protagonist to action, and the Foil, whose behavior contrasts and underscores the protagonist's). If, in the course of answering Dramatica's queries, you've described characters that play any of these roles, Dramatica places them in the Storyform for you.

Dramatica's next step is to help you fill in the gaps in the Storyform. By using the StoryGuide Pro textbook and a series of detailed worksheets, you add, delete, or change episodes and characters; enter notes on action; or begin drafting dialogue and narrative. When you've finished -- or at any time during the process -- you can view or print your notes or any of 35 reports that chart plot progress, character development, and so on. You can use the reports as a kind of superoutline when you get down to actual writing.

Dramatica Pro's developers have gone a long way to make things easier in version 2.0, notably with a completely rewritten manual and the StoryGuide Pro textbook, the new workbook, and greatly expanded online help. Still, the program demands significant effort and time. It's not for dabblers or hobbyists.

Click here for a screenshot of Dramatica Pro in action, and Click Here to review the actual article published on the ZDNet web site.

The Bottom Line

Dramatica Pro won't write your screenplay or novel for you (or improve your style), but it's invaluable for helping you think through all the elements of your story. / Michael Miley

Dramatica Pro 2.0, $399 (list).

Company: Screenplay Systems, Burbank, CA; 800-847-8679 or 818-843-6557.

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