Narrative First
Subtext
Getting to know your creative impulse
Rewriting the meaning of an ending
The effect an outcome plays in the loudness of failure.
The effect character arc plays in what it means to fail.
Giving up on Dramatica.
Understanding the path of much resistance.
The greatest danger facing any writer is structure for structure's sake.
Encoding meaning into the order of events.
What it means to write with purpose.
How to cure oneself from a tragic virus of the mind.
Tying the climactic moment to a premise.
The model of our mind that is a story.
The effects of linearity & holism on structure
The unpredictability of values.
Exposing the narrative elements of a story.
Structure is order, and order is meaning.
A modern understanding of conflict resolution.
Presuming conflict to be a problem.
Moonshots require something more than synthetic solutions.
When a problem isn't a problem.
The rational alone is unreal.
The theory that defines the structure of a narrative argument.
The difference between thinking holistically and holistically thinking.
Order is everything.
Justifying as a means of solving problems.
The first casuality of separation is an isolated self.
The meaning behind vibrations.
Free your Storymind
Balancing the objective with subjectivity.
Understanding the purpose of a character.
You and I are not We.
Measuring the dynamics of growth by the space in-between characters.
Digging deep to find intention.
Appreciating a different way to solve conflict in our lives.
Coding the machine within the machine.
Supporting premise through experience.
Propaganda masquerading as a story.
The very words we use hold us back.
The purpose of growth is to support the premise, not the character.
Gender politics factor little when it comes to writing a complete story.
Characters are not real people.
Breaking down the personality of a story.
Fascination involves moving away from Archetypal concepts of characterization.
Moving away from the familiar and into the unexpected.
Moving beyond morality to determine drive.
Something more than simply the good guy or the bad guy of a story.
A discovery out of left field ignites the development of new story theory.
Moving beyond the general to make a difference in your storytelling.
Your Audience knows you're not telling them a complete story.
The problems of the generalist stand out upon closer examination.
Tying Act Turns to the source of conflict ensures integrity in the narrative.
A film that stays with you does so through a substantial and meaningful story structure.
Understanding the scope of a story leads to a strengthening of that narrative's central argument.
Support now exists for writers looking to strengthen their story's thematic argument.
With an objective theory as your guide, a path to greater clarity exists.
An innovative tool that helps you write a complete story in under an hour.
Thoughtful children’s programming delights old and young with purpose and meaning.
Stories that argue the same approach to resolving an inequity share the same narrative structure.
A single story point does not a story make; the totality of all story points relate in a great schematic of meaning.
The Dramatica theory of story: extra effort not included.
Make it harder to learn in order to make it easier to understand.
Accuracy and consistency in our understanding of the mechanism behind story paves the way for a brighter tomorrow.
Quantum theory and its application in the telling of great stories.
Returning to original terminology clears up misrepresentations of conflict found in narrative.
Determining the progression of events is easy once you identify the family of Thematic issues present in your story.
Figure out what it is you want to say and the rest is easy.
The Influence Character is not a character, it is a perspective.
A balance of all four Throughline perspectives guarantees the integrity of a narrative.
Narratives develop integrity by ignoring commonly accepted value judgments of good and bad.
A look towards the initial inequity sets the stage for a meaningful narrative.
The middle of a story requires greater definition than the beginning or the end.
Story structure may not be everything, but every story needs structure.
The right to write rests within anyone possessing the inclination to say something meaningful and true.
The path through narrative begins on one side of the internal/external fence and ends on the other.
When it comes to increasing pressure on the characters in a story, look to the negative influences available within the structure.
For Two-Act structures, tension exists with the juxtaposition of two key plot points.
Understanding how your characters feel requires stepping out of their shoes and looking at them from a dispassionate objective view.
Acts within Acts within Acts within Acts; the structure of a story cascades into an unending pattern.
An accurate account of the tension within a story requires writers to take an objective view of their story.
The number of Acts in your story depends on the underlying thematic material you wish to explore.
Apply oneself to the study of the differences in the types of conflict found within a complete narrative.
By reflecting ourselves, a great narrative challenges us to grow beyond our own preconceptions.
As understanding grows, so too does the appreciation of a well-crafted and thoughtful narrative.
The most important part of any story exists at the intersection of the objective and subjective points-of-view within the narrative.
Learn how to connect your heart's deepest desires with the structure of your story to create a compelling and meaningful narrative.
If moved by a particular story, Authors can use the storyform at the heart of it to relay the same meaningful message to their own Audiences.
By combining our Gist Collections, writers can challenge their preconceptions of story to create something never seen before.
Enthusiasm and dedication can take you only so far--a strong foundation and meaningful story structure will give you purpose and direction.
Great writers need to be great analysts in order to fully understand the mechanism of their stories.
Great stories blend structure and experience in their attempt to reach out and connect with another.
In order to unlock the thematic message locked deep inside a story, both Author and analyst must maintain an objective point-of-view.
Advanced narrative theory now offers writers an opportunity to achieve the ultimate structure for their stories.
The combination lies in the application of a key Dramatica concept--the Main Character's Approach to solving personal problems.
Instead of relying on taste, Authors should look to what they have to work with in order to create the most delicious story.
Wrapping up our series on Audience Appreciations, we elevate our understanding of narrative and begin to see it as a complex web of relationships.
The Main Character's personal problems define the flow of energy through a story.
Understanding the science behind narrative opens up the channels of communication between Author and Audience.
Slight adjustments to the structure of your story can guarantee a larger audience.
By understanding the structural and dynamic appreciations of narrative, the storytellers of today can be masters of their own destinies.
Create a framework of narrative around the events in your life and transform the inconsequential into something truly meaningful.
Turning the events of our lives into meaningful narrative requires an understanding of how our minds operate.
If it worked the first time, why change it up?
If you remove what you think is the source of conflict from a story and there is still trouble, you haven't properly identified the source of conflict.
The Dramatica theory of story makes it easy for Authors to determine what is of utmost concern to their Main Characters--if you understand what Dramatica is asking.
Writers can determine what is necessary and what isn't by looking to the storyform of their narrative.
Writers gravitate to that emotional irritant deep within them and use a story to help work through solving their own personal problems.
In addition to actual concrete connections, there are forces of influence that bind the Main Character and Influence Character of a story together.
Look for meaning in Dramatica's story points and you will be hard pressed to find it; look for an answer as to where to go next in your story and you will find nirvana.
Writers get into trouble when they try to understand what their story means while they are creating it.
The key to really getting Dramatica is to understand that it is all about the narrative relationships the theory models.
Know what it is you want to say and learn to use a tool that keeps you on the straight & narrow as you write that first draft.
A strong and resilient system for looking at narrative makes it easier to play at writing.
Continuing last week's article on generating story ideas, we take a look at how to get up close and personal with your deepest intentions.
If you want to write something unique and original, identify your story's deep meaning and then write similar stories as a means to brainstorm a better, fresher approach.
Keep track of your story's rich thematics with the powerful Outliner4d.
Crafting a serialized narrative is easy once you know the storyform.
Unraveling the mysteries of story theory is another way of avoiding writing.
An effective analysis of a film requires an objective sounding board. Dramatica offers that opportunity.
Position one truth against another and you'll find the foundation for a great narrative.
Dramatica improves commonly understood concepts of narrative in an effort to improve our understanding of story.
Look closely and you will see more than a rebranding of ancient texts.
Human psychology dictates story structure.
Is the dilemma facing the Main Character real?
Dramatica keeps a room full of writers focused and productive.
Using story theory to fix broken stories.
No such thing as a two-hander, just a misunderstanding of story.
They're not as sinister as the professionals make them out to be.
Dramatica differentiates itself by making the optional essential.
By crafting purpose and meaning into every episode, the writer/producer guarantees an Audience for the entire season.
Early essays and accounts of a greater understanding of story.
Big or small, appreciations of story structure point to the same thing.
Complete stories do not share the same structure.
Look to the dynamics of a relationship: the ebb and flow, the growth and the dissolution.
An objective view of story helps an Author better understand the events that drive their narrative forward.
When theory moves beyond the theoretical and finds triumph in practical application.
A comprehensive understanding of story structure leads one to appreciate what is behind said, not what is seen.
Stories that argue the same basic message do so with a similar structure.
Broaden the depth of your storytelling by leaning heavily on story structure.
The very best way to get to know the most important character of your story is to write something else.
A new writing exercise for writers promises to unlock their creativity.
It can be misleading to suggest that Bond works against a successful resolution.
The connection point between subjective & objective throughlines highlights a key narrative element.
The theory feels like magic because it is based on psychological processes we don't usually consider.
Two directors resulted in two stories masquerading as one.
A hidden report in Dramatica® bridges the gap between the two sides of a story.
The purpose of Acts is to set different contexts for the resolution of a story's central problem.
Understand what must be done for the relationship to succeed and you will find the source of conflict between them.
Many writers waste their time codifying what essentially boils down to opinion.
The personal issues of the Main Character reflect issues in the larger world.
A convincing Character Arc consists of two key appreciations of story structure.
Complete stories balance sources of conflict with instances of resolution.
Form does not determine structure; the same psychological process that fuels film also runs through the bloodstream of television.
A missing piece of narrative structure, key to establishing a complete story, left this film with little left to offer except one helluva' ride.
Narrative theorists managed to dilute their insights by making their work more palatable.
The Dramatica® theory of story is the most comprehensive understanding of our need to tell stories.
Does Woody really have a change of heart...or does he strengthen his resolve?
Look no further than this gem from Iran for a lesson in superior storytelling.
Flimflammers or people who have grown tired of incomplete and pointles stories?
Without a properly defined Main Character Throughline, Audiences quickly lose interest.
Do as I do, not as I say.
The central character of a narrative focuses their initial efforts on the source of their personal problems.
An effective character arc measures both the growth and resolve of the point-of-view.
Structure grants meaning and gives purpose to a complete story.
Comparing the phyiscal universe to our internal universe.
The love for this film stems from our shared psychology.
Focus determines narrative structure.
Seeking resolution by changing how others think, not what they think.
Story goals that find characters breaking free of being stuck within their own mind.
Story goals that find characters breaking free of being stuck in the external world.
Clearly defining the type of Goal needed to resolve a story.
Understand that the Goal of a story is more than something that is won or lost.
The identity of the real Protagonist in this narrative will shock you.
Considering their functional purpose within a story helps establish a sound and effective narrative.
Every complete story begins with the creation of an inequity, an inequity that requires resolution.
Nothing worse than winging it. If you have no purpose, you have no purpose telling stories.
Seeking internal conflict within a predominantly external medium.
The path towards empathy requires a clear Main Character personal Throughline.
Moving off the beaten path of narrative structure and into uncharted territory.
Forcing a narrative into a predetermined structure plasters a story with artificiality.
Shifting the conflict experienced by the Main Character into a different area creates a unique kind of story.
Exploring the same kind of conflict within a narrative results in a common structural conceit.
A complete story sources conflict from four different distinct areas.
The Protagonist: more than someone who wants something 'badly enough to drive a story.'
The first film may have provided a clue to the narrative structure of the entire series.
These two disparate films share common thematic elements—and it has nothing to do with the Hero's Journey.
One is a Protagonist. The other is not.
Stories begin with an inequity, one that isn't tied to the central character.
While this story lacked a significant change of perspective, the pieces were in place to accomplish this important task.
The central character of a story is a perspective, not a champion.
The difference between the two lies within the concept of justification.
Growth is one thing, significantly changing your point-of-view is another.
Understanding the importance of the Resolve of the Main Character.
Sometimes, the efforts to resolve a situation would only make matters worse.
Keeping the balance between internal and external pressures.
An appreciation of narrative that moves beyond the superficial.
The Antagonist of a story represents the forces of reticence in the narrative.
The idea of a Three Act structure dates itself as an incomplete understanding of the flow of narrative.
Understanding when the problem of the story starts sets an author straight.
Fixing a story requires a proper understanding of narrative structure.
Deus Ex Machina and the end of meaning.
While some contend these two share a similar heroic journey, an understanding of conflict personal to them proves otherwise.
Time for this nonsense to finally come to a resounding end.
The structural difference between triumph and tragedy.
An unclear Resolve breaks empathy and trust with the Audience.
The Archetypal Characters found in both blockbusters serve an important function.
Moving beyond Aristotle and remedial explanations of story structure.
The idea of the MacGuffin was never intended to be, nor should it ever be, taken seriously.
Effective story structure supports the Author's message.
Connecting the Main Character's personal problem with the story's larger problem creates a meaningful and lasting narrative.
Tying the personal problem to the bigger conflict facing everyone in a story.
The drive to resolve inequity fuels the engine of story.
Understanding the difference between the two opens up whole new worlds of storytelling possibilities.
The secret to success lies in a consistent use of the Four Throughlines of narrative.
