Stories come to an end for one of two reasons: the characters either run out of time or they run out of options. Being told that there are only two ways of bringing about the end of a story can seem very stifling to an author; how can you possibly reduce the entirety of narrative fiction down to an either/or choice?

As with all things, a slight change in perspective can make all the difference.

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While some parts of the Dramatica model seem to make sense, there are still portions of it that can make you wonder, “Why the heck was it set up this way?” It almost seems counter-productive towards the process of writing great fiction. In this article, Melanie Anne Phillips, one of the co-creators of the theory, goes on to explain why certain choices were made to bring this revolutionary story theory to light.

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Every author that seeks out Dramatica to help them write better stories eventually comes to a point where they resent it. “Why is this program forcing me to write my story this way?” they ask. “I never wanted my Main Character to have an issue with expediency…I don’t even know what that means!” Often this resentment leads to the long and winding rabbit hole that is the attempt to perfectly understand the theory.

There can be no greater waste of an author’s energy.

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This has little to nothing to do with story theory or structuring a screenplay, but it was too good a find to simply let slip by. Besides if you’re a fan of amazingly great writing then you’re familiar with Deadwood and will have no problem allowing me this quick yet fascinating digression.

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When you come to the end of a story and you look back on everything that happened, what event could you call the most important? Was it the one at the end that brought everything to a satisfying close? Was it that tragic downturn that brought the Main Character to their lowest point? Or was it in fact, that event that started everything off; that event that, if removed, would erase the need for anything that came after it?

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Some stories take forever to get started; others capture you from page one. What is it about some stories that just force you to stay attentive, eagerly anticipating some sort of resolution? The answer, I think, lies within the concept of the fully explored argument.

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