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Dramatica Tip of the Month
August, 2002

CHANGING YOUR IMPACT CHARACTER'S RESOLVE

QUESTION:

We are trying to change the impact character from "steadfast" to "change". It seems that this screen is shown on page 27 of the users manual. BUT, we cannot find the right place in the program to return to and make this change.

ANSWER:

There are many ways to change the Impact Character (which I'll enumerate in a moment), but one thing to keep in mind is the relationship between the Main Character and the Impact Character. If one is Steadfast, the other is Change, and vice versa. Therefore, the effect of making the IC a Change character is the same as making the MC a Steadfast character.

The other item I'll point out is that it may be easier to clear your storyform and remake your choices than trying to change the Impact character from steadfast to change. The choices you make have many interconnections and sometimes it's not as simple as changing a single option from one to the other (though, admittedly, sometimes it is that easy).

So, here are a couple of ways to make the change:

1. Go to the "Setup Main and Impact..." window from the Character menu and make the change there.
2. Go to the Story Engine and make your Main Character a Steadfast character -- this will indirectly make your Impact Character a change character.
3. Go to the StoryGuide and re-choose your MC Resolve making your MC a steadfast character.

If the software won't let you make these changes it means that you have made other choices that require the MC to be a Change character. In that case:

1. Print out a copy of the Story Engine Settings report located in the Advanced reports of the Report window.
2. Open the Story Engine window and press the CLEAR button. This will clear all your storyforming choices.
3. Choose "Steadfast" for your MC Resolve.
4. Using the Story Engine Settings report as a reference, answer the remaining MC Character Dynamics questions, the Plot Dynamics questions, and the OS Themes questions. This will bring you back to "1" storyform.
5. Reprint the Story Engine Settings report and see the effects your change has made.