the proper way to use Dramatica to write a story
August 4, 2006
For the longest time, I have always been the type of writer who likes everything spelled out in advance - mostly with the help of Dramatica. But lately I’ve been reconsidering this approach.
This is what I used to do: I would create a storyform in Dramatica, and then diligently work my way through the story guides, filling out every single box - making sure that I had a complete full story before I even began to type “FADE IN:” I think that is changing for me.
After a long time away from a story I’m just starting to work on again, I’m starting to think that that is not such a great idea. Why? Because there are so many different storyforms that seem “right” for my story. One second I’ll think, “Oh, he’s definitely a Situation Main Character - he’s stuck in his room and he can’t get out.” And then the very next thought will be, “Wait, no, now that I think about it, he must be a Fixed Attitude Main Character because it’s his attitude that’s keeping him from leaving his room.”
Of course, then when I step back, and think about the original idea I had for the story, there isn’t a thing in there about my Main Character stuck in his own room!
In an effort to fill out all of Dramatica’s boxes, I’d lost sight of that great first idea - that spark that made me want to write the story in the first place.
So I think the solution is to write first, then analyze with Dramatica. Now, this is nothing new, Chris has made reference to the two different ways of working with Dramatica before:
Some writers require structure to inspire creativity. Dramatica can help these writers develop a workable structure up front to spark their creativity. Other writers require total freedom to inspire creativity. These writers get to a point when the creativity tapers off and they have to make sense of what their creativity has produced. That’s the time for these writers to use Dramatica.
I thought for sure I was the first kind of writer, but I think after writing my recent reviews of Superman and Pirates, I’m starting to see what a better tool it is for analyzing.
Dramatica is all about context - and you can easily change the meaning of something just by looking at from a different point of view. An orange pen can just be a pen…or it could be orange…it all depends on your point of view.
You could write a story like the movies above and have it come out just the same way - parts of it work great, some characters are more fully developed than others, but there’s still something about it that just isn’t flowing.
That’s when you bring up Dramatica from your toolbar and get to work.
I used to think that was a waste of time, but now I’m thinking that it might actually be a quicker way of actually writing. And who knows - maybe that first draft will be great! Great writers intuitively write Dramatica-type stories (see Shakespeare) so there’s no reason why that kind of ability can’t be locked away inside of you.
“I sold five plays with Dramatica, and so can you!”
Why let Dramatica get in the way?
Use it after you’ve written from your heart - I think that’s the way.