Struggling to get back to my own writing (after a very long bout of writer’s block), something struck me as being very beneficial about Dramatica.
After you’ve written a handful of stories using the theory, maybe 5, maybe 10, you’ll start to notice some patterns with the storyforms you are choosing to write. For instance, for me, I would love to know what it would be like to write a Main Character that wasn’t a Be-er!! Every single MC I ever write struggles with some internal problem.
Now what that says about me personally I’m sure could be reserved for a completely different blog, but for Dramatica it says that this theory is very good at helping you to break out of your own prejudices. See what appreciations keep coming up the same and simply change them. Shake things up a bit and you’ll find yourself writing something you never knew you had inside you.
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2 responses so far ↓
1 ds // Jul 14, 2008 at 5:51 pm
I think John Truby talks about something like this in his book. Something about actually collecting all your story ideas and analyzing for overlap and similarity. It may be that you can combine things into one bigger, better story. Or maybe you will hit upon what you “stand for as an artist.”
2 Jim // Jul 14, 2008 at 6:04 pm
Thanks for the comment.
You know, out of all the screenwriting gurus/theorists I’ve read, for some reason I always skip over John Truby. No real reason or preconception towards his work, just accidental I guess.
His book “Anatomy of Story” just came out last year, right? Would you recommend it?
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