Sometimes it’s nice to take the basic concepts behind Dramatica and bend them ever so slightly - just to get a different perspective on what is really going on in your story. You’re not changing how those concepts work, just the way you approach them. In doing so, you’ll find different questions to ask yourself about your story.
The Main Character’s Throughline is the one spot where you can get a broad overview of what is really bothering the main character. While the further down the chart you delve the more precise you can be about your writing, you also risk confusion as the differences between things gets smaller and smaller. Better to stay at the top until you really feel confident with the kind of issue your Main Character is dealing with.
Think of your Main Character’s most personal issue - that issue that they would take with them into any story, regardless of what happens around them. Got it? OK, now ask yourself these questions:
- If her situation improved, would she be happier?
- If her mindset improved, would she be happier?
- If the way she engaged in activities improved, would she be happier?
- If the way she thought about things improved, would she be happier?
All of these may pertain to your Main Character, but only one of them will feel really right.
Perhaps she’s an underpaid factory worker who thinks only the rich can get richer. If she was paid a decent rage would she be better off? Not really, because it wasn’t her situation that was holding her back, it was her defeatist attitude that class dictates providence.
Or maybe she’s a struggling pianist stricken with such an awful fingering technique that she spends most of her days trying to bury her love for classical music. Wouldn’t she be happier if she just realized things are what they are and instead embraced her passion for Bach? No, she’d continue to be miserable with every missed key. On the other hand, with a little extra time spent practicing her scales, she might find herself loving the classics even more.
Asking yourself these questions will help you nail down the source of your Main Character’s issue. With that information in hand, you can then spend time writing scenes that develop on that issue and either have your Main Character work through resolving it or leaving it to fester. Either way, you’ll have the confidence knowing where your Main Character is coming from to write effectively and consistently.
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8 responses so far ↓
1 George // Mar 29, 2007 at 12:37 am
I’m just studying the Dramatica theory so I’d like to clear some point up. You say:
“Think of your Main Character’s most personal issue - that issue that they would
take with them into any story, regardless of what happens around them.”
Since MC is one of the OS characters, should their personal issues stem from the OS problem?
2 J. Hull // Mar 29, 2007 at 8:54 am
Definitely not.
You really want to separate out your Main Character’s problem from the problem everyone is dealing with. The easiest way to do this is to think of your Main Character in some other story, some other situation. What personal baggage would they take with them?
If you’re worried then that the Main Character won’t fit into your overall story, don’t. Because of the way Dramatica is designed, the Main Character’s problem will naturally flow into the Overall Story.
A good exercise is to write out your four throughlines as if they were four different stories. You can have the same players, but try your hardest not to connect them.
After you’ve done that, then go back and weave the four together. You’ll be amazed at how well all four mesh together to form one great story.
Again, the parts of the storyform Dramatica assigned to each throughline are designed to work together into one holistic part.
When you’re looking at one throughline, you’re just looking at your story from one perspective.
3 Chris Huntley // Mar 29, 2007 at 10:32 am
I want to add that the “player” embodying the Main Character also has a role as an objective character in the Overall Story throughlne, but the Main Character (and his personal problems) are different from those of the Overall Story.
When you think of your Main Character, think of him or her by their first name. When you do you immediately identify with them which is essential to connecting to the personal perspective of the Main Character.
When you think of MC players in the Overall Story throughline, think of them by their roles in that throughline, e.g. shopkeeper, jet fighter, damsel in distress, or parent. Identifying them by their roles keeps you emotionally distant from them which is appropriate when looking at the Overall Story throughline.
4 George // Mar 29, 2007 at 11:27 am
Ok, but let’s take for example Commando. Obviously MC’s a steadfast character. Matrix’s personal issue is that his daughter is taken as a hostage. His personal problem stems from the OS one - bad guys want him to kill the President of Val Verde. How can these two throughlines be saparated?
5 George // Mar 29, 2007 at 11:34 am
And another one. Liar Liar starring Jim Carrey. His ability to lie stems from his profession which is a part of the OS throughline.
6 J. Hull // Mar 29, 2007 at 2:09 pm
Commando is a tought to comment on…I haven’t seen it in a loong time.
Liar Liar might be easier - Fletcher Reede (Jim Carrey) is a habitual liar. IIRC, he not only lies to those in profession but also to his wife and his son (thus inspiring the son to make the wish that his Dad stop lying). This is something he’d take with him to another country, to another profession (newspaper reporter, deli clerk) and even into outer-space.
The Objective Story on the other hand has more to do with his main client, Samantha Cole (Jennifer Tily) and her case - which is made problematic when her lawyer starts telling the truth. This part of the story includes everyone from the lying lawyer, to the kid who made the birthday wish, to the judge and jury.
While Fletcher’s issue has an impact on the Overall Story (which it naturally should), it can be pulled out and be seen as something that is very personal to him. It causes those around him angst, but he doesn’t even know it. If he’d stop lying, his life would be so much better.
7 George // Mar 30, 2007 at 7:41 am
I think I grasped the idea. Thank you for your explanation, Jim and Chris! The Dramatica theory is amazing though sometimes can be extremely difficult.
8 Alan // Apr 3, 2007 at 11:58 am
“If the way she engaged in activities improved, would she be happier?” is a little unclear to me.
The word “improved” seems to be biased toward assuming the character is flawed. What if she’s a steadfast MC with a judgement of good. This would mean that what she’s doing is fine — it’s what other people are doing — or what they want her to do — that is her problem.
Could we say
“If the way she engaged in activities change to meet other’s desires , would she be happier?” is still Activity domain?
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