Snyder Talks Screenplays, Dramatica Talks Stories

Screenplays have pages; stories, an equilibrium journey

On the discuss.dramatica site, Dramatica Story Expert Mike Wollaeger explains the difference between Blake Snyder's Save the Cat! paradigm and our personal favorite--the Dramatica theory of story:

It's important to remember that Snyder is talking about screenplays and Dramatica is talking about stories. Screenplays start on page one and go until they are finished, about 110 pages. Stories start when an inequity becomes problematic and ends when things are put back into balance. Stories are not confined to a physical form, they are a mental construct.

Which reminds me. Dramatica needs to pivot to different terminology when it comes to Scenes, Sequences, and Acts.

That's a fancy way of saying that Snyder (et al.) are talking about how a story is laid out.

Forget the Cat, and Save Yourself!. Start looking at story, and let the format sort itself out.