Part 2 of this series examines the Main Character's "arc" and how best to define that development.

In this first of four articles, we take a look at the Main Character's Resolve and its importance towards forming a story's meaning.

The secret to great storytelling revealed.

Archetypal Characters are only the beginning.

Eight basic character archetypes that can actually help a writer.

An examination of the usefulness and accuracy of Archetypal Characters as proposed by the paradigm of the mono-myth.

The classic montage of screenwriting clichés is updated with this new video.

Great meaning can be found by digging one's heels in.

The gender of an audience member is essential towards the comprehension of a story structure's effect on audience appeal.

The often used, yet sadly misunderstood, concept of character arc finally gets its own video.

The mental sex of a Main Character is an integral part of the structure of story. Not only does it determine how the Main Character will go about solving problems, but it is also responsible for the order in which events happen in a story.

Dennis Lehane's novel Mystic River offers a rare insight into the complex dynamics that make up a Main Character's "arc." The less straight-forward that growth is, the closer to real life the portrayal will be and the more meaningful it will be for an audience.

Concluding essay on the power of meaningful endings in stories. The meaningful ending is the purpose of a story, it is the essence of what the author is trying to say.

The "bitter" part of the bittersweet ending is examined in this article on the Personal Tragedy, one of four endings a meaningful story can have.

Part 3 of a series of articles exploring the different kinds of meaningful endings a story can have. In this article, the "sweet" part of bittersweet is examined.

Having looked at the triumphant ending, the focus now shifts to the ultimate downer of all endings: the Tragedy. This article examines the structural elements that help to classify a story as a tragedy.

Stories that strive to be about something must come to a conclusion with one of four meaningful endings. No matter how subtle or obvious the storytelling may be every single complete story told will fall into one of these four categories.

A common complaint of many films is that while they are stunning visually, they somehow lack heart. This is due to the nature of what is missing, i.e. it's not so much one thing that is missing as it is two.

What do Sean Penn's Into the Wild and M. Night Shyamalan's The Sixth Sense have in common? Much more than you would probably think.

An analysis of the animated film Surf's Up and a look at what the term "character arc" really means.

Trust me, there is a difference between the two.

A look at what stories need to work through before they can be resolved.

The keys to serving up that dish best served cold.

Link to free instructional clips.

And the problem with leaving one of them out.

A Story Limit is one of the most important things you can put into your story.

A look at the mechanism that forces a story towards its inevitable climax.

Exploring the Inciting Incident of a story.

A story must explore all four throughlines if it is to be successful.

An explanation of why the Impact Character acts as the catalyst in the Main Character's growth.

It is not essential for the Main Character to drive the plot forward. What is essential is that we the audience share their emotional experiences. Their surprises become our surprises.

An interesting look at the character primarily responsible for influencing growth in the Main Character.

An exploration of the idea that all Character is fate.

Story goals are meaningless without their corresponding consequences.

Because in their language, nothing is; everything does.

An easy way to understand the throughlines.

Explaining the dissonance between how the main character solves problems and the kinds of problems that exist in the larger overall story.

There are elegant and not-so-elegant ways of introducing this most important relationship.

Some articles from the early days of this site.

Examining the specifics of the plot points within a story can help explain why certain plot progressions feel different than others.

In order for a story to be meaningful to an audience, the plot points must be of the same type.

The ultimate most important element of any story.

Another technique to determine the kinds of events that drive your story forward.

Main Character is a point-of-view and not necessarily always the protagonist.

A wonderful video montage of Impact Characters.

My first attempt at creating a diagram to help explain some of Dramatica's more complex concepts.

A different way of looking at what is at the heart of the Main Character's central problem.

And how to incorporate them into your story.

Is it possible that a Main Character could have a significant relationship with another character in a story?

Sometimes it can be difficult determining where the source of conflict is really coming from in a story. One solution can be found in the use of genre.

Clarifying change in characters other than the Main Character.

Quick thoughts on the relation between the resolves of the two principal characters.

Some other pieces that might be missing from your story, and how to fix that.

Why there are Eight Archetypal Characters, and why you should be concerned with them.

Determining the causality between the events in a story.

In a conversation I had with Dramatica theory creator Chris Huntley last November, I asked him, "After 10 years of writing story analysis, what are the top 10 re-occurring problems you see in story today?" He gave me two.

The difference between stories driven by actions, and those driven by decisions.

The character most stories forget to include.

Certain elements of your story occur once per act. Others live throughout all the acts. Dramatica has a term for the latter.

Quick tips on two important concepts.

Well, after a month of being away due to personal issues, it certainly is nice to come back and see all the new wonderful things there are to read about Dramatica.

If you're analyzing a film, or writing one of your own, and you're having trouble identifying that first Driver event (which most people refer to as the Inciting Incident), there is something you should consider.

Interesting thought on how the two principal characters relate.

Tips for writing a Steadfast Main Character.

Quick tips on the Main Character's Approach.

Tips on the Main Character's Growth.

Some thoughts on the development of the most important relationship in a story.

Differentiating the difference between the Objective Story and the Subjective Story.

An interesting thing happened this week as I began a rewrite on a screenplay.

Story theory works when it is based on things that actually happen in the "real" world.

Defining the difference between a character who "changes" and one who "grows."

Sometimes Dramatica can be so precise that an author can become confused trying to determine even the simplest of concepts. The concept of the Protagonist is one of them.

A quick thought on why Main Characters in most children's stories do not change.

Dramatica can seem a bit overwhelming when you first start out. I remember flipping through the dictionary at the back of the theory book and thinking, "This is insane!" But after eight years of working with it, I've got the model pretty much memorized (at least down to the Variation level) and have a pretty good understanding of each of the terms.

Clarifying the differences between the Dramatica terms "Enlightenment" and "Wisdom."

Can you have a Main Character who is not really involved in the Overall Story?

A neat way of clarifying the judgment on your Main Character.

How tension builds in a story.

The nature of act turns in relation to the growth of the Main Character.

Not all Steadfast characters are created equal.

Determining what kind of a Main Character you are writing.

Which one does the Main Character open?

Connecting the Main Character's Approach with their Resolve.