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Dramatica
Dictionary
I
Impact Character
-- [Main
vs. Impact Throughline Character] -- The character that forces
the Main Character to face his personal problem -- Every Main Character
has a single Impact Character that forces him to face his personal problems.
From the Main Character's point of view, the Impact Character may seem
to be blocking the road to the solution of the Main Character's personal
problem, or he may seem to be trying to knock the Main Character off the
road to the solution. In a more objective view, the Impact Character functions
to block the Main Character from sweeping his personal problem under the
carpet, forcing the Main Character to address it directly. In every act,
a story problem is introduced that requires the Main Character to expose
his personal problem in order to solve the story problem. It is the Impact
Character that creates the most personal tension for the Main Character.
Frequently, the Main Character is chosen by the author to be the Protagonist
as well, and often the Impact Character function is combined with the
Guardian or the Contagonist. In this way, they each do double duty as
prime movers of both the Overall (Objective) and Main vs. Impact concerns
of the story. This arrangement is not essential, however, and in many
cases it is prudent to assign the Main and Impact Character roles to characters
other than the Protagonist and Guardian/Contagonist in order to clearly
explore the relationship between the Overall and Main vs. Impact problems
of the story.
Impact Character
Approach -- [Character Dynamic] -- By temperament, Impact
Characters (like each of us) have a preferential method of approaching
problems. Some would rather work things out externally, others would rather
work things out internally. There is nothing intrinsically right or wrong
with either approach, yet it does affect how one will respond to problems.
Choosing "Do-er" or "Be-er" does not prevent a Impact
Character from using either approach, but merely defines the way he is
likely to first approach a problem, using the other method only if the
first one fails.
Impact Character's
Benchmark -- [Type] -- The standard against which the Impact
Character's concern is measured -- The way of telling how much the Impact
Character is dealing with the issues at stake for him in the story is
by choosing an item in the story and using it as a measuring stick. This
can be subtle or obvious, illustrated perhaps by the number of empty beer
cans next to an alcoholic's bed, the severity of a facial tick, or the
amount of perfume a character puts on. How ever it is illustrated, it
needs to be there to give both the audience and the Impact Character some
way of judging how deep his concern is and how far along in the story
he is.
Impact Character's
Concern -- [Type] -- The area of the Impact Character's cares,
interests, or goals -- The Impact Character will be interested in achieving
some degree of growth or control over things described by this appreciation.
This could be in terms of concrete or abstract things, depending partly
on the Impact Character's Domain and partly on the twist the author wants
to put on that Domain.
Impact Character's
Critical Flaw -- [Variation] -- The item that undermines the
Impact Character's efforts -- The Impact Character's Critical Flaw undermines
his effectiveness against the Main Character in general, but especially
in regards to his Unique Ability. The Impact Character in any story has
a Unique Ability which makes him uniquely qualified to thwart the Main
Character. But in his character as well is a Critical Flaw which prevents
him from just totally overwhelming the Main Character. This is again a
trait which is unique to this particular character.
Impact Character's
Issue -- [Variation] -- the nature of The Impact Character's
efforts -- An Impact Character's Issue captures the essence of what that
character will represent in the story. The nature of the things he does,
intends to do, and effectively means to the passionate argument of the
story are all linked in this appreciation.
Impact Character's
Problem -- [Element] -- The source of the Impact Character's
drive -- In every Impact Character there exists some inequity that is
driving him. If the Impact Character Changes something in himself in response
to the Main Character's Steadfastness, it is this item, his Problem, which
he changes by exchanging it for his Solution. If the Impact Character
is Steadfast, though, then he holds onto his problem, deepening his resolve
to keep the same motivations at the end of the story as he had when he
began the story.
Impact Character
Problem Solving Style -- [Character Dynamic] -- Much of what
we are as individuals is learned behavior. Yet, the basic operating system
of the mind is cast biologically before birth. Talents, intellectual capacity,
instincts - all of these are not learned, but inherited. Among these traits
are those specific to females and others specific to males. To be sure,
we can go a long way toward balancing out those traits, yet that does
not eliminate them nor diminish their impact. In dealing with the psychology
of a Impact Character, it is essential to understand upon which foundation
his experience rests.
Impact Character's
Response -- [Element] -- The direction of the Impact Character's
efforts -- An Impact Character can never be sure if what he believes to
be the source of his problem really is the source of his problem.
Regardless, based on his way of seeing things, he will determine a potential
solution or response by which he hopes to find the solution. The dramatic
unit that describes what a Impact Character believes is the path to a
solution is his Response.
Impact Character's
Solution -- [Element] -- what is needed to truly satisfy The
Impact Character's motivation -- The Solution Element is the "flip
side" of the Problem Element. For the Impact Character, it is the
element that would alleviate the Impact Character's drive which his Problem
Element supplies. It is not necessarily applied during a story, but it
exists in every story nevertheless.
Impact Character's
Symptom -- [Element] -- Where the Impact Character's attention
is most directed -- The Impact Character concentrates his attention where
he thinks his problem lies. Just as in the Main Character, an inequity
exists in the Impact Character between himself and his environment which
is driving him. The actual nature of this inequity is described by the
Impact Character Problem Element. The nature of what is required to restore
balance is described by the Impact Character Solution Element. From the
subjective view afforded to the Impact Character though, the inequity
does not appear to be between himself and the Environment but wholly
in one or the other. The Symptom Element describes the nature of how the
problem appears to the Impact Character from his subjective point of view.
Symptom really describes the effects of the Impact Character Problem element,
but because the Problem element is on the level of his own motivations,
Impact Characters can never see his actual problems without solving them.
Impact Character
Throughline -- [Domain] -- The dramatic progression which
builds the Impact Character's pressure on the Main Character to change
-- The Impact Character is defined by its relationship to the Main Character.
The Main Character represents the audience's position in the story which,
in a sense, represents our sense of self within our own minds. When we
consider changing our outlook in regard to a particular issue, we entertain
an alternative viewpoint which we examine thoroughly before either adopting
or rejecting. The Impact Character represents that alternative point of
view. In stories, as in our own minds, this alternative view is seen from
where we are positioned currently. After all, when it comes to changing
something about who we are, we don't just make that change without first
trying to understand what kind of person we would become and trying to
anticipate how it might affect our situation. Over the course of the story,
as the Main Character grows, the Impact Character must keep pace to provide
alternative perspectives on all the key experiences the Main Character
encounters. In this way, the best possible argument for adopting the new
viewpoint is made, and the current and alternative paradigms can be judged
fully against each other. This is how we arrive within ourselves to a
point of change, and how the Impact Character drives the Main Character
to the same point. For the author, the Impact Character Throughline is
the progression through all of the issues which come up while providing
alternative perspectives to the Main Character's currently held views.
For an audience, the Impact Character Throughline simply describes the
kinds of activities and concerns addressed by the Impact Character as
he moves through the plot. The broadest description of the Impact Character's
impact in a specific story -- Everything that emanates from what the Impact
Character does and represents which primarily relates to his impact alone,
as opposed to specific relationships he has with other characters, can
be said to be part of the Obstacle Character Domain. There are four different
Domains in the structure of any story, represented by the combination
of each of the four Classes with each of the four throughlines the Overall
Story Throughline, the Main vs. Impact Story Throughline, the Main Character
Throughline, and the Impact Character Throughline. The Impact Character
Throughline describes, in the broadest single term, what the Impact Character
represents and the area in which the Impact Character operates within
the story.
Impact Character's
Unique Ability -- [Variation] -- The item that makes the Impact
Character uniquely able to thwart the Main Character -- The reason the
Impact Character is able to carry half of the Main vs. Impact Story is
his unique suitability to take the opposite position to the Main Character
on the Crucial Element of the story. The Impact Character Unique Ability
gives the Impact Character a power which no one else in the story has
to be able to affect the Main Character. The nature of this power is what
is described by this appreciation.
Impulsive Responses
(a.k.a. Preconscious) -- [Type] -- dyn.pr. Innermost
Desires<-->Impulsive Responses -- immediate responses -- Built into
the mind is an instinctual base of reactions and attitudes that cannot
be altered but merely compensated for. When a story's problem revolves
around the unsuitability of someone's essential nature to a given situation
or environment, the central issue concerns Impulsive Responses . The solution
lies in the character conditioning himself to either hold his tendencies
in check or develop methods of enhancing areas in which he is naturally
weak in reason, ability, emotion, or intellect. -- syn. unthinking
responses, immediate responses, impulse, impulsive response, instinctive
response, innate response, reflex
Inaction -- [Element]
-- dyn.pr. Protection<-->Inaction -- taking no action
as a means of response -- Inaction does not mean simply sitting still.
The Inactive characteristic might choose to allow a course of action by
not interfering. Or it might refuse to move out of harm's way, thereby
forming a resistance to the progress that drives the harm. Both of these
are efficient tools for altering the course of an interaction. However,
the Inactive characteristic may also drag its feet in all areas and form
a resistance to both good and bad things so that its influence simply
hinders everything but changes nothing. -- syn. passive reaction,
inactive response, achieve through not doing
Induction -- [Element]
-- dyn.pr. Deduction<-->Induction -- a means of determining
possibility -- Induction is the process of thought that determines where
an unbroken line of causal relationships leads. The purpose is to see
if it is possible that something connects to something else. The character
containing the Inductive characteristic has an advantage in taking seemingly
unrelated facts and putting them in an order that establishes a potential
causal relationship. This allows him to arrive at conclusions that "limit
in" something as a possibility. The drawback is that the conclusion
only illustrates one possibility out of an unknown number of possibilities.
Unlike deduction, Induction does not rule out competing theories until
only one remains. Rather, Induction simply determines that a particular
theory is not ruled out. Problems occur when it is assumed that simply
because a causal relationship might exist that it does exist. This leads
to blaming and holding responsible both people and situations that were
not actually the real cause. Only if all possible Inductions are compared
can the likelihood of any single one be determined -- syn. postulate,
predicate, conjecture, infer, hypothesize, determine possibility
Inequity -- [Element]
-- dyn.pr. Equity<-->Inequity -- an unbalance, unfairness,
or lack or stability -- When a character focuses on Inequity he is evaluating
in terms of what is wrong or unfair with a situation. No matter how much
is working right or how much is good, it is the part that is out of balance
that occupies his attention. A character with this trait will spot trouble
before anyone else, but he will also never be satisfied unless absolutely
everything is worked out -- syn. imbalance, unfair, disparity,
unequal, uneven, disproportionate
Inertia -- [Element]
-- dyn.pr. Change<-->Inertia -- a continuation of a
state or process -- Inertia is a tendency to maintain the status quo.
That which is moving wants to keep moving. That which is at rest wants
to stay at rest. An Inertia-oriented character concerns himself with keeping
things on an even keel. He tries to avoid or prevent anything that rocks
the boat. He also does not adapt well to change. -- syn. tendency
to continue, a change resistant pattern, continuation, following an established
direction
Inhibitor -- [Variation] -- the kind of item that serves to impede the throughline's progress (either Overall Story or Main vs. Impact throughlines) -- The throughline Inhibitor is what prevents the throughline from just rushing full speed to the solution. It is like a brake mechanism which can be applied as the author pleases. The introduction of this item always slows the progress of the throughline. It works as the antidote to the throughline's Catalyst.
Innermost Desires
(a.k.a. Subconscious) --[Type] -- dyn.pr. Impulsive
Responses<-->Innermost Desires -- basic drives and desires -- Innermost
Desires describe the essential feelings that form the foundation of character.
These feelings are so basic that a character is often not aware of what
they truly are. When the Innermost Desires are involved, a character is
moved right to the fiber of his being. -- syn. libido, id, basic
motivations, basic drives, anima
Instinct -- [Variation]
-- dyn.pr. Conditioning<-->Instinct -- intrinsic unconditioned
responses -- Instinct describes those built- in responses to situations
and circumstances that are not learned, yet drive one to comply with their
urges. How much sway they have over an individual depends both upon the
nature of the instinct and the intensity of conditioning against the instinct
that he has experienced by accident, design, or choice. When one acts
or responds according to instinct, there is no conscious consideration
beforehand. Only after the fact does the consciousness become aware that
an instinct has been triggered. Nonetheless, one can learn to inhibit
instinctual commands until the consciousness has the opportunity to consider
the propriety of conforming to it. -- syn. involuntary drive,
innate impulse, unconditioned response, automatic response, unconditioned
motivation
Interdiction --
[Variation] -- dyn.pr. Prediction<-->Interdiction
-- an effort to change a pre-determined course -- Interdiction is the
effort to change the course of one's destiny. Once a character determines
that his destiny is pulling him toward an undesirable fate, he tries to
Interdict and thereby avoid the fate. But has he correctly identified
the course of his destiny or in actuality is what he sees as Interdiction
is just another pre-destined step toward his fate? -- syn. altering
the future, interfering with the predetermined, hindering the inevitable,
escaping the predestined
Interpretation
-- [Variation] -- dyn.pr. Senses<-->Interpretation
-- determination of possible meaning -- Once an observation is made, its
meaning must be Interpreted by the mind. Even if seen exactly as it happened,
the forces or intents behind what is seen are often misconstrued. Stories
revolving around eye witness accounts frequently employ Interpretation
(and its Dynamic Partner, Senses) to great dramatic advantage -- syn.
construe, rendition, rendering meaning, elucidate, translating meaning
Intuitive Problem
Solving Style (a.k.a. Female Mental Sex) -- [Character Dynamic]
-- The Main Character uses intuitive problem solving techniques --
A choice of intuitive creates a Main Character whose psychology is based
on assessing balance. An intuitive Main Character resolves inequities
by comparing surpluses to deficiencies. The manner employed in resolving
the inequity will involve creating a surplus where a surplus is desired,
creating a deficiency where a deficiency is desired, creating a surplus
so a deficiency is felt elsewhere, creating a deficiency so a surplus
will be felt elsewhere. Through the application of one's own force, hills
and valleys can be created and filled either to directly address the inequity
or to create a change in the flow of energies that will ultimately come
together in a new hill or disperse creating a new valley. These are the
four primary inequity resolving techniques of an intuitive character.
It is important to note that these techniques are applied both to others
and to oneself. Either way, manipulating surplus and deficiency describes
the approach. When selecting intuitive or logical, typically the choice
is as simple as deciding if you want to tell a story about a man or a
woman. But there is another consideration that is being employed with
growing frequency in modern stories -- putting the psyche of one sex into
the skin of another. This does not refer only to the "sex change"
comedies but also to many action stories with female Main Characters (e.g.
Aliens) and many decision stories with male Main Characters (Prince of
Tides). When an author writes a part for a woman, he/she would intuitively
create a female psyche for that character. Yet by simply changing the
name of the character from Mary to Joe and shifting the appropriate gender
terms, the character would ostensibly become a man. But that man would
not seem like a man. Even if all the specific feminine dialogue were changed,
even if all the culturally dictated manifestations were altered, the underlying
psyche of the character would have a female bias rather than a male bias.
Sometimes stereotypes are propagated by what an audience expects to see
which filters the message and dilutes the truth. By placing a female psyche
in a male character, preconceptions no longer prevent the message from
being heard. The word of warning is that this technique can make a Main
Character seem "odd" in some hard to define way to your audience.
So although the message may fare better, empathy between your audience
and your Main Character may not.
Inverse -- [Structural
Term] -- Anytime a pair of items is being considered, each item in
the pair is referred to as the INVERSE of the other
Investigation --
[Variation] -- dyn.pr. Doubt<-->Investigation
-- gathering evidence to resolve questions of validity -- Investigation
is a pro-active word for it describes a character who makes an effort
to seek out evidence. Obviously this usually tends to bring one closer
to a conclusion sooner than without the effort. But Investigation can
cause trouble since the character must pre-determine where to look. This
leads to a meandering path through the evidence that may miss whole pockets
of essential information. Sometimes a single missed piece can flip the
entire conclusion 180 degrees. So Investigating to one's satisfaction
depends on random success and the limits of one's tenacity, not necessarily
on learning what the whole picture is. -- syn. inquiry, research,
probe, sleuthing, delving, query
Issue -- [Variation]
-- The thematic focus or topic of the Throughline being explored --
Each of the four Throughlines: Overall Story, Main vs. Impact Story, Main
Character, and Impact Character, have a thematic topic which is described
by its Issue. The Overall Story Issue, for example, provides a value standard
for judging the Overall Story Characters' efforts in a story. Whatever
kinds of things are done by the Overall Story Characters in relation to
the Story Goal can be said to be linked thematically by this particular
item.
Item -- [Structural
Term] -- Sometimes it becomes convenient to group a number of units
of similar nature together and treat the group as if it were a single
unit itself. When units are grouped together in this manner the larger
entity is referred to as an item.
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