• Character
• Deep Theory
• Getting Started
• History
• Plot
• Storyforming
• Storytelling
• Storyweaving
• Writing Format

Dramatica Frequently Asked Questions

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Storyweaving FAQs

Q: Hi, I'm a new user of the Dream Kit. I've done all up to the storyweaving and I can't seem to go any further. My problem is trying to blend all of the misc'l into the story. Another problem I'm not clear on is this: Once you've woven the story and numbered the scenes, do you write the story in that order? Ex: if the first scene is an objective signpost or journey, do you write that scene from the "objective" POV? And if the next is Main Character is that POV from the main character? I know you referred to them in the text as individual cameras. Am I to understand then that you cut the story in that manner: Objective, Main, Subjective, etc. (click here)

Q: Any suggestions for taking the four-act story and changing it into seven acts, e.g. TV movie? (click here)

Q: After the Storyweaving 28 worksheets B (Sheet 10) are completed, are the 28+ scenes supposed to fill up a two-hour movie? I know I must be missing something here. Is it that the 28 scenes are the core scenes, and from them additional scenes are created to fill out each act? (click here)

QUESTION:

Hi, I'm a new user of the Dream Kit. I've done all up to the storyweaving and I can't seem to go any further. My problem is trying to blend all of the misc'l into the story. Another problem I'm not clear on is this: Once you've woven the story and numbered the scenes, do you write the story in that order? Ex: if the first scene is an objective signpost or journey, do you write that scene from the "objective" POV? And if the next is Main Character is that POV from the main character? I know you referred to them in the text as individual cameras. Am I to understand then that you cut the story in that manner: Objective, Main, Subjective, etc.

ANSWER:

The order in which events REALLY happen in your story (1-2-3-4, etc.) is the Plot of your story. How you choose to illustrate each of the plot points is the storyencoding of the plot. This is different than REAL storyweaving. Since there are multiple things happening simultaneously in your story, and since you cannot tell them ALL AT ONCE, you must weave the pieces together. You can do a simple weave that attempts to present the information in chronological order by presenting all of the "1"s and then the "2"s, etc. (simple but less interesting to a sophisticated audience). OR, you can choose to mix things up a bit by withholding information, misleading the audience, or presenting information out of sequence. This forces the audience to reconstruct the linearity of the story and frequently makes the audience "experience" more interesting.

My suggestion at this point would be to put your Dramatica work away (or at least to the side) and write a "sketchy" version of the story in the fashion YOU would like to tell it. Consider what you want to emphasize, or de-emphasize, what is most important for the audience to know up front, and what you want to withhold for a while in order to tantalize or surprise them.

After you have done this little bit of freefall, go back over your Dramatica notes and determining what "pieces" you neglected to put in your story and pick where you want them to be introduced and/or explored. That should get you well into the writing process. From there, it's principally a matter of TELLING your story. Remember, you have LOTS of stuff with which to work -- Characters (Subjective AND Objective), Plot (4 throughlines PLUS static plot appreciations like Goal, etc.), Theme (four thematic conflicts, one for each throughline), and genre issues to flavor the entire mix (Entertainment, Comedy, Drama, and Information as different modes of expression).

QUESTION:

Any suggestions for taking the four-act story and changing it into seven acts, e.g. TV movie?

ANSWER

The simple answer is to break the piece up into its signposts (4) and journeys (3) so that it goes Signpost-Journey-Signpost-Journey-Signpost-Journey-Signpost. That's seven segments or "acts". TV acts, like chapters in a book or acts/scenes in a play, are arbitrary units of measure imposed on the "story". The one rule you can follow is to break for commercial at a natural break in the story. This can be a break in the Objective Story throughline, the Subjective Story throughline, the Main Character throughline, or even the Obstacle Character throughline. With 24 transitions between signposts and journeys (12 if you look just at signposts or 8 if you look at only journeys), that gives you plenty of opportunities to find a natural break for commercials.

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QUESTION

After the Storyweaving 28 worksheets B (Sheet 10) are completed, are the 28+ scenes supposed to fill up a two-hour movie? I know I must be missing something here. Is it that the 28 scenes are the core scenes, and from them additional scenes are created to fill out each act?

ANSWER

It was a judgment error to refer to the 28 storyweaving worksheets as "scenes". They are not scenes in the filmic/television sense, but are the basis from which you develop the scenes and sequences in your script. Don't forget that, in addition to the 28 storyweaving sheets, you also have all of the character and theme storyweaving worksheet information to drop into your story, as well as all your static plot appreciations like the story Goal, Consequence, etc.