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Dramatica Tip of the Month
December 2003

Making Sense of the Plot Sequence Report

QUESTION:

In [Dramatica Pro] Version 4.0 Plot Sequence Report, Obtaining is said to explore plot in terms of the Variations: Instinct, Senses, Interpretation and Conditioning.

In the Table of Story Elements, Obtaining Shows the Variations to be Approach, Self-Interest, Morality and Attitude.

Which is correct?

Also, in Reading Mr. Armando Mora's Chapter 21, page 3, Obtaining is shown to be achieving or possessing something to be explored in terms of (Variations) Value, Confidence, Worry and Worth. I can find nothing in either Versions 3.0 or 4.0 even similar to these.

ANSWER:

The "proper" arrangement of the Type/Variations is that Approach, Self-Interest, Morality, and Attitude fall under the umbrella of Obtaining in their "natural" state. The thematic items in the Dramatica structure are as close to an "at rest" (meaning no conflict) position as possible.

A storyform shows a somewhat mixed-up version of the thematic elements, but is still fairly much together. The tension is explored/exposed by the relationships of the four throughlines to one another. This is still an "outside" view of the thematic items.

An "inside" view of the storyform—what the world would look like from INSIDE the story—would look much more like the Plot Sequence Report describes, where there's a whole lot of mixing up going on. That is a completely valid point of view, but seems to hold little bearing to the "outside" point of view represented by the Dramatica story engine settings and story points. The Plot Sequence report is the one report in the Dramatica Pro software that gives you an idea of what that world looks like from inside the story.

The reason we did not include more views/insights into the screwed up view of things from inside the story is because it is very difficult to analyze your story from that perspective, largely due to the completely subjective nature of the perspective. Also, most writers have more difficulty getting some objectivity on their material than they do getting inside their material—particularly during the analytical phase of writing. Armando, however, gives some very practical tips on using the "messed up view" provided by the Plot Sequence Report to create scenes.

The reason the variations listed under Obtaining in your story are different than Armando's example is because they are based on different storyforms. Every storyform has all the same parts. It's their arrangement (and therefore their relationships) that differ.