When we seek to
classify something, we try to narrow its definition, such as when we
ask if something is animal, vegetable, or mineral. When classifying
problems that might be of concern to the Story Mind, the first thing
we might want to know is if the problem is an external issue (such as
an intolerable situation) or an internal one (such as a bad attitude).
External problems occur in the Universe (or environment), Internal problems
occur in the Mind.
Further, some problems don't have to do with states of things (an external
situation or an internal attitude) but are processes that have gone
awry. An external process falls in the category of Physics, which simply
means physical activity of some kind. An internal process which results
in a problem has to do with Psychology, which simply means a manner
of thinking. Note that a manner of thinking (Psychology) is different
than a fixed attitude (Mind). Psychology describes problems like spending
too much time with details, whereas Mind problems would be more like
a prejudice.
Having identified four categories by which we might classify the nature
of the Story Mind's problem, we can arrange them in a quad pattern,
much as we did earlier with the Character Elements.
Since these four
categories classify the problem, Dramatica refers to them as CLASSES.
