A story shouldn’t be “a bunch of things happen to or around our Protagonist, and then at the end, they change for some reason.” That potential for growth should be buried deep within every Main Character from the very beginning. Luckily for us, Dramatica provides some great insights into the most deepest recesses of your Main Character’s soul.

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At the point of crisis, your main character has a decision to make. Should he make that final choice based on his feelings, or based on his intellect? As an author, how can you tell which one is the right answer for your story?

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Inspiration and insight can come from anywhere. When it does, and when you can see something differently for the first time, you get so excited that you have to share it with someone. I had a breakthrough like this last weekend that had to do with the Main Character and the baggage he [...]

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If Characters are the Motivations of a story, and Plot the Methodologies of a story, and Theme the Means of Evaluating a story, then how is Genre the Purpose of a story?
I asked this question of Chris Huntley, one of the co-creators of the theory of Dramatica, yesterday. How can Action/Adventure or Romantic Comedy be [...]

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Just a quick little update on what I’m working on - I’m currently taking all the notes I posted over the summer about Problem Solving and Justification and turning them into a mindmap.
I’m using a program called MindManager to do this. It’s a terrific brainstorming/planning tool that I use each and every single day. [...]

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There. This blog is now officially cursed.
(insert official SPOILER warning here)
If you have no idea what I’m talking about, then you’re not a fan of the show “Lost.” If you are, then you know that those were the numbers that Jack entered into the computer at the conclusion of last night’s [...]

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Or, what if instead of winter turning to spring - what if sometime during the winter, the Caveman starts to turn crazy? He can’t handle being locked inside that small damp cave any longer.
Suddenly, his internal world has changed.
He thinks, “Sure, it may be winter outside, but I’m losing my mind in here! I don’t [...]

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Let’s continue with our story of the Caveman…
What if days from now, the snow has thawed, the sabre-tooth tigers have migrated to another land, and now all he hears are the sounds of birds chirping or other cave people cavorting outside and having a great time?
Suddenly, his external world has changed.
Internally, the Caveman is struggling with his preconceived [...]

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The initial change that happens to start your story will either be an external change or an internal change.
As mentioned before, previous to the story’s beginning there is balance. This doesn’t necessarily mean there is peace. Remember, a Justification is a form of balance - a balanced inequity. There is still an imbalance [...]

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An example of the constant cycle of inequities:
You tune out the street sounds outside, and the ticking clock, and the air conditioner hum because you are trying desperately to focus on something.
You’ve setup a justification. You’ve got your wall in place.
But then your wife walks in and wants to talk to you.
But you tune her out as well [...]

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