What
Is Dramatica?
So, what exactly is
Dramatica? Dramatica is a whole new theory of Story. Because it wasn't
based on any pre-existing theories, much of what it has to say can sound
pretty unfamiliar. Still, the amazing part is that with each new concept
you learn, whole new worlds of understanding and skill will open up to
you.
There are really only
five central concepts that you'll need to know to understand all that
follows. Thankfully, they can be explained in less than one page each.
They are:
- The Story Mind
(click here)
- The Overall Story
Throughline (click here)
- The Main Character
Throughline (click here)
- The Impact Character
Throughline (click here)
- The Main Character
vs. Impact Character Throughline (click here)
The
Story Mind
The one unique concept
that sets Dramatica apart from all other theories is the concept that
every complete story is a model of the mind's problem solving process.
To fully explore any issue, an author has to examine all possible solutions
to that issue and make an argument to prove to an audience that the author's
way is best.
If you leave out a
part of that argument or diverge from the point, your story will have
plot holes or inconsistencies. Once you have covered every angle in your
argument, you've mapped all the ways an audience might look at that problem
and, therefore, all the ways anyone might look at that problem.
In short, you have created a map of the mind's problem solving process.
Characters, Plot,
and Theme are the thoughts of this Story Mind made tangible. An
audience can see them and learn. When a story fully develops this model
of the mind, we call it a Grand Argument Story because it addresses the
problem from all sides.
The
Overall Story Throughline
An audience is given
two principal views of this Story Mind. The first is the Overall Story
View, so called because it is a dispassionate look at the issues
of the story.
Imagine the argument
of a story as a battle between two armies. The Overall Story View is like
that of a General on a hill overlooking the battle. The General focuses
on the unfolding strategies and sees the soldiers not by name but by their
function on the field: foot soldier, grenadier, cavalryman, scout. The
General may care very much for the soldiers, but must concentrate on the
events as they unfold. The Overall Story Throughline is often thought
of as plot, but as we shall see later, plot is so much more!
The
Main Character Throughline
There is a second
view of the battle provided to the audience: that of the soldier in the
trenches. Instead of looking at the Story Mind from the outside,
what if that Story Mind were our own? That is what happens when we become
a soldier on the field: we identify with the Main Character of the story.
Through the Main Character
we experience the battle as if we were actually participating in it. We
are much more concerned with what is happening immediately around us than
we are for the larger strategies that are really too big to see. This
is the personal argument of the story as experienced through the
Main Character Throughline.
As we shall explore
shortly, the Main Character doesn't have to be the soldier leading the
charge in the battle as a whole. Our Main Character might be any of the
soldiers on the field: the cook, the medic, the bugler, or even the recruit
cowering in the bushes.
The
Impact Character Throughline
For a moment, keep
yourself in the shoes of the Main Character. You are right in the middle
of the story's battle. Smoke from dramatic explosions obscures the field.
You are not absolutely sure which way leads to safety. Still, before there
was so much turmoil, the way was clear and you are confident in your sense
of direction.
Then, from out of
the smoke a shadowy figure appears blocking your way. You can't see well
enough to tell if it is friend or foe. It might be a compatriot trying
to keep you from stepping into a mine field. Or, it might be the enemy
luring you into a trap. What to do! Do you keep on your path and run it
over or try another path instead?
The shadowy figure
is your Impact Character. Which way to go is the decision that faces a
Main Character as their "leap of faith." Note: An Impact Character frequently
is not the Antagonist of a story.
To make an argument,
both sides must be represented. To completely explore the issue at the
heart of a story, an Impact Character must present an alternative approach
to the Main Character. The Impact Character Throughline describes
the advocate of the alternative path and the manner in which its impact
on the Main Character grows.
The
Main Character vs. Impact Character Throughline
As soon as the Main
Character encounters their Impact Character, a skirmish ensues in the
midst of the battle as a whole. The two characters close in on one another
in a theatrical game of "chicken." Each hopes the other will give in,
eliminating the need for risk of bloodshed on both sides.
The Main Character
shouts at their Impact Characterto get out of the way. The Impact Character
stands fast, insisting that the Main Character change course, and even
pointing toward the fork in the road.
As they approach one
another, the interchange becomes more heated until the two are engaged
in heart to heart combat. Which one is right?
While the Overall
Story Throughline battle rages all around, the Main and Impact Characters
fight their private engagement. The Main Character vs. Impact Character
Throughline describes the course this passionate battle takes.
Summary
We have described
a story as a battle. The overview that takes in the full scope of the
battle is the Overall Story Throughline.
Within the fray is
one special soldier through whom we experience the battle first hand.
This is represented by the Main Character Throughline.
The Main Character
is confronted by another soldier, blocking the path. Is it friend or foe?
Either way, it is an obstacle, and the exploration of its impact on the
Main Character is the Impact Character Throughline.
The Main and Impact
Characters engage in a skirmish. Main says, "Get out of my way!", and
Impact says, "Change course!" In the end, the steadfast resolution of
one will force the other to change. This describes the Main Character
vs. Impact Character Throughline.
Taken together, the
four Throughlines send a message to the audience: when things look one
way to you, they might appear differently to others. What do things look
like in the "big picture?" Which perspective is the most appropriate for
the central problem of the story?
Now that you've added
Story Mind, Overall Story Throughline, Main Character Throughline, Impact
Character Throughline, and Main Character vs. Impact Character Throughline
to your writer's vocabulary, you have all the background you need to explore
a whole new world of understanding: the Dramatica Theory of Story.
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