Dramatica Theory Book

Chapter 27: The Art of Storytelling--Stage Two: Encoding (Continued)

Once the concept of encoding is understood, another issue often comes up: "Storyforming and then Storyencoding doesn't seem like a very organic way to go about creating a story." Well, we can't argue with that. You see, most authors are attracted to a story not by the underlying structure, but by some element of storytelling. It could be a setting or a character or a bit of action -- anything that stimulates the imagination. In fact, most authors don't even think about a message at this stage. What gets them started is some intriguing concept, and the remainder of their effort in developing that concept is to try and build a story around it.

At first, things go very smoothly. But at some point along the way there is a hole and no inspiration to fill it. Or, there are some incompatibilities or inconsistencies and no idea how to fix them. It is at this point that authors beat their heads against the wall, run in circles screaming and shouting, and tell their story to every remaining friend they have in hope of getting some comment that will clear the creative skies.

It is a lot easier if you have a storyform.