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Dramatica Tip of the Month
October, 2001

Tying Theme to the Storyform

Question: I want my story to thematically be about consequences of actions, and how people deal with them. I am having a VERY hard time trying to set the Story Engine parameters in a way that makes sense to model these ideas.... Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Answer: If you're making the argument that everyone (in a "big picture" sense) should be aware the consequences of their actions, then you should tie that to the OS Issue (be it Self Interest or something else).

If you're making the argument that the audience should be personally aware of the consequences of their own individual actions, then tie that to the MC Issue.

These are not mutually exclusive choices, but only one throughlinne can be tied to storyform variation of Self Interest. It's your choice. It might be good for you to look at other elements in the story to help you choose if the choice isn't obvious for you.