Wow! I must have felt pretty smart and had a little extra bonus money because I bought this thing 'Dramatica Pro' on Ebay (came inside factory sealed box, excellent shape). Thing is I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing with it. Or really what it's supposed to do exactly. I just don't get it. Anyone know how to use this thing?
Dramatica Pro
- Thread starter Dead Corn
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I've used Dramatica Pro a number of times when exploring ideas for various projects. It's meant to help you think through and develop story ideas, and can be a very useful tool for either (a) finding a story where you have nothing but a snippet of an idea, or (b) finding new layers and/or directions in a story you've already been developing. It has limitations, of course, but, personally, I find it to be a good tool to help get the ol' noggin in gear when I'm otherwise idling.
That being said, let's see if I can't answer your main question a little more directly...
WHAT TO DO WITH IT? There are a number of things you can do with Dramatica, but the core of the program is the Story Guide. Now, I don't know which version of Dramatica you have (I have a trusty, rusty copy of Dramatica v4.0 that I picked up forever ago), but I imagine they're all roughly the same. Bravely holding firm to that presumption, I'll tell you that the Story Guide will take you through three major sections of story development. Each section consists of a number of questions about your story (60 for Level One, 75 for Level Two, and 250 for Level Three), and your answers to those questions -- whether you've thought about them a bit beforehand or make 'em up on the spot -- will help you figure out, shape, and layer your story and characters.
In Level One, you begin laying a foundation for your story. Dramatica will ask you for a title, a logline, a Plot Synopsis, and various questions about your characters. If you already have ideas for those things in mind, you can put them in and simply use the following levels to develop those ideas further. If you don't have any ideas already in mind, then Level One is a great place to start sketching in brand new ideas.
Note: Don't worry if your answers to the questions are super sketchy at this point; you'll quickly find that the answers you give to questions in later levels will add new ideas, layers, and directions to your Level One answers. Indeed, part of the idea of Dramatica is to continually re-visit and develop all of your answers as you go along, resulting (hopefully) in a deep and robust story treatment when you're finished.
In Level Two, the questions will take you a little deeper into things like character goals, concerns, motivations, throughlines, attitudes, problem solving techniques, limitations, issues, etc, as well as the types of outcomes you'd like those various arcs and actions to have. As I mentioned before, you'll find that many of the answers you give to the questions in Level Two will help you to further develop and layer your answers to the questions in Level One.
In Level Three, you'll begin fleshing out the answers you gave for Level Two. Based on your Level Two answers, Dramatica will create a dramatic skeleton, and will begin asking you to provide examples from your story that illustrate why you chose those particular answers. Did you decide in Level Two that your main character adapts to her environment (rather than acting to change her environment), is concerned with the future (as it relates to your story), and is limited by a shrinking pool of options (rather than a ticking clock)? This is the level where you'll give examples from your story that show these answers in action.
In Level Four, you'll take all the information you've written in answer to the questions above, and begin constructing and organizing your scenes into a fully developed story treatment.
Voila!
THE CONS: In addition to the things that Dramatica does well, there are a few places where it falls down.
For instance, sometimes the language it uses to ask questions is a little opaque or, at the very least, oddly phrased. Fortunately, there are buttons and fields that explain each question in greater detail, as well as discuss the theory behind the asking of the question, and give examples of possible answers that appear in various well-known movies.
Another issue is the fact that it can be tough to start a brand new story from scratch, and there are no creative tools to help goose you into that first spark of an idea. That may not be a problem for some writers, but I can occasionally find myself sitting there and staring at the first blank fields in Dramatica and having no idea what to type. When the ideas come, Dramatica helps them to quickly start rolling, but you're on your own until that point.
HOW DO YOU USE THIS THING? That, I'm afraid, is a very broad question that I can't really cover here. BUT one great thing about Dramatica is that it walks you through every step, explaining everything in (sometimes excessively) great detail. Honestly, the best way to learn the program is to open it up, click on the Story Guide button, and follow the yellow brick road.
Anyway, Dead Corn, I hope that helps. If you have any more questions about Dramatica, feel free to ask. I may not be an expert, but, if I know it, I'll share it. :>)
Congrats on your eBay find, and good luck!
That being said, let's see if I can't answer your main question a little more directly...
WHAT TO DO WITH IT? There are a number of things you can do with Dramatica, but the core of the program is the Story Guide. Now, I don't know which version of Dramatica you have (I have a trusty, rusty copy of Dramatica v4.0 that I picked up forever ago), but I imagine they're all roughly the same. Bravely holding firm to that presumption, I'll tell you that the Story Guide will take you through three major sections of story development. Each section consists of a number of questions about your story (60 for Level One, 75 for Level Two, and 250 for Level Three), and your answers to those questions -- whether you've thought about them a bit beforehand or make 'em up on the spot -- will help you figure out, shape, and layer your story and characters.
In Level One, you begin laying a foundation for your story. Dramatica will ask you for a title, a logline, a Plot Synopsis, and various questions about your characters. If you already have ideas for those things in mind, you can put them in and simply use the following levels to develop those ideas further. If you don't have any ideas already in mind, then Level One is a great place to start sketching in brand new ideas.
Note: Don't worry if your answers to the questions are super sketchy at this point; you'll quickly find that the answers you give to questions in later levels will add new ideas, layers, and directions to your Level One answers. Indeed, part of the idea of Dramatica is to continually re-visit and develop all of your answers as you go along, resulting (hopefully) in a deep and robust story treatment when you're finished.
In Level Two, the questions will take you a little deeper into things like character goals, concerns, motivations, throughlines, attitudes, problem solving techniques, limitations, issues, etc, as well as the types of outcomes you'd like those various arcs and actions to have. As I mentioned before, you'll find that many of the answers you give to the questions in Level Two will help you to further develop and layer your answers to the questions in Level One.
In Level Three, you'll begin fleshing out the answers you gave for Level Two. Based on your Level Two answers, Dramatica will create a dramatic skeleton, and will begin asking you to provide examples from your story that illustrate why you chose those particular answers. Did you decide in Level Two that your main character adapts to her environment (rather than acting to change her environment), is concerned with the future (as it relates to your story), and is limited by a shrinking pool of options (rather than a ticking clock)? This is the level where you'll give examples from your story that show these answers in action.
In Level Four, you'll take all the information you've written in answer to the questions above, and begin constructing and organizing your scenes into a fully developed story treatment.
Voila!
THE CONS: In addition to the things that Dramatica does well, there are a few places where it falls down.
For instance, sometimes the language it uses to ask questions is a little opaque or, at the very least, oddly phrased. Fortunately, there are buttons and fields that explain each question in greater detail, as well as discuss the theory behind the asking of the question, and give examples of possible answers that appear in various well-known movies.
Another issue is the fact that it can be tough to start a brand new story from scratch, and there are no creative tools to help goose you into that first spark of an idea. That may not be a problem for some writers, but I can occasionally find myself sitting there and staring at the first blank fields in Dramatica and having no idea what to type. When the ideas come, Dramatica helps them to quickly start rolling, but you're on your own until that point.
HOW DO YOU USE THIS THING? That, I'm afraid, is a very broad question that I can't really cover here. BUT one great thing about Dramatica is that it walks you through every step, explaining everything in (sometimes excessively) great detail. Honestly, the best way to learn the program is to open it up, click on the Story Guide button, and follow the yellow brick road.
Anyway, Dead Corn, I hope that helps. If you have any more questions about Dramatica, feel free to ask. I may not be an expert, but, if I know it, I'll share it. :>)
Congrats on your eBay find, and good luck!
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