And every time I worked with it, I corroborated the Dramatica model is anything but arbitrary: it's a model where every story point (every plot event, every character trait, every thematic argument) is supported by all the other story points.

Here's how I discovered this:

There's an old writing principle that says, "If you're gonna shoot someone in the third act, bring out the gun in the first act."   This assures you that at least one point of the story (the shooting) is supported by another point (the gun presentation).

The Dramatica model applies that principle to the whole story: for it, a similar notion would be: "if you're gonna shoot someone in the third act, bring out the gun in the first act; and also make the guy who brings it an antique gun collector (so he has a reason to bring out a gun); and also give him a neglected childhood with only toy soldiers as companions (so he has a reason to be a gun collector); and also make him the guy who shot his only childhood friend (so there's an emotional consequence to the shooting); and also make this friend an activist on the right to keep arms (so there's a double side to the theme)."

(CONTINUED)