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Introduction and OverviewStory Structure v. Storytelling
The Elements of StructureThe Four Aspects of Structure
The Art of Storytelling
1. The act of communicating; transmission. 2.a. The exchange of thoughts, messages, or information, as by speech, signals, writing, or behavior. b. Interpersonal rapport. c. communications. (used with a sing. or pl. verb). The art and technique of using words effectively and with grace in imparting one's ideas. 3. Something communicated; a message. 4. Shared meaning. For communication to occur, several items must exist: an idea to be communicated; someone to send the communication (an author, in writing terms); a medium in which to express the idea; a means of expression to convey the idea; and a recipient (audience) of the idea. In Dramatica, this loosely translates into the following four stages of communication: Storyforming: a story’s underlying skeleton of structure and dynamics; the idea or message. Storyencoding: the specific symbols chosen to represent a story’s argument as dictated by the medium in which it is expressed. Storyweaving: the order and emphasis used in presenting a story to an audience. Reception: how the audience interprets a finished story.
Dramatica Foundations There are a few fundamental concepts that should be introduced first. These are:
1. "Context Creates Meaning:" In order to attribute or ascertain meaning from any observation, some sort of benchmark must be established with which to compare the observation. Only after a benchmark has been established can "meaning" be gleaned from the observations. The downside is that establishing such "givens" opens one up to all the failings inherent within the benchmark. 2. The Story Mind: A story is an analogy to a single human mind trying to resolve an inequity. Characters enact the motivations of the story mind. Plot documents the problem-solving methods employed by the story mind. Theme examines by what standards values are determined in the story mind. Finally, genre establishes the story mind’s overall attitude that influences the characters, plot, and theme. 3. The Grand Argument Story: A grand argument story must consider all points of view of a problem and provide the most appropriate solution to solve it. 4. The Four Throughlines: Dramatica explores four perspectives to present all sides of the issues. They are the Objective Story throughline, Subjective Story throughline, Main Character throughline, and Obstacle Character throughline. a. Objective Story Throughline: The objective story throughline represents the dispassionate argument of the story, emphasizing events and relationships in a cause and effect way. Characters in the objective story are either archetypal or complex. b. Main Character Throughline: The main character is the conduit through whom the audience experiences the story subjectively. c. Obstacle Character Throughline: To completely explore the issue at the heart of a story, an obstacle character must present an alternative approach to that pursued by the main character. The obstacle character throughline is the advocate of this alternative path and the manner in which its impact on the main character develops. d. Subjective Story Throughline: The subjective story throughline is the passionate argument of a story carried out by the two subjective characters--the main and obstacle characters. The examination of their internal states and the articulation of the story’s passionate argument makes up the subjective story throughline. |
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