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Dramatica Tip of the Month
September 2006

Storyforming a TV Series

Q: I'm going to write a series for TV (6x52 minutes and maybe 3 seasons if the first works). The narrative structure is close to 'Lost' with plenty of characters - different points of view - and a lot of flashbacks. It's a very complex structure. How should I develop the storyform? One storyform for every episode (but it's the same story, so...)? One storyform for one season? The three seasons as one? How do I cut inside the storyform to write every episode (e.g. with the signposts). I don't know what it's better...

My other problem is the Impact Character. One Impact Character is poor for six hours of programming. Wouldn't I have to change him during the series? Doing several 'handoffs'? Isn't it what they did in 'Lost'?

A: My understanding of series such as Lost is that they are done in a number of ways.  One thing they do is create several (or many) different stories and SLOWLY explore them over the course of the series.  Generally speaking, the are not all begun in the first episode.  The main, BIG PICTURE, story of the series starts in episode 1 and goes on for as long as you can extend the series.  It is likely that each of your principal characters may have their own story that is explored sometime during the series.  Some are short (one episode), while others take place over multiple episodes.
 
The software can only handle one story at a time.  I'd suggest creating a "master Dramatica story document" that has all your characters in it.  Then, make copies of it for each of your substories and one for the main story.  This way you've got your "cast" and you can pick different Main Characters and Impact Characters and assign OS character elements (such as Archetypes) for each story.
 
It's going to be a big undertaking and is very complicated.
 
If you use a Windows machine, I would recommend getting our program StoryView.  It is a powerful outliner that lets you see your outline along a timeline.  This is very useful for building complex works such as a series with multiple simultaneous stories.  StoryView also lets you track ANYTHING in the document, such as characters, clues, locations--whatever you want.  Here's a link to a description of StoryView if you're interested:
 
http://www.screenplay.com/products/sv/index.htm