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Dramatica says that every major Plot Point, those that turn Acts and start and stop a story, are either all Actions are all Decisions. I can see in the example files and discussions with others that this pattern does exist, but the question is Why? In addition, what does this structural aspect of story have to do with the Story Mind concept? How does this similarity between the Story Drivers relate to the psychology of the human mind trying to solve a problem? |
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All static story points, including the Story Driver, must remain the same over the course of a story because they form the basis of the story's argument. This is true for the Story Limit, Main Character Approach, Story Goal, etc. Consistency is important when making an argument, and Dramatica grand argument stories are no different. Having Actions or Decisions move the story forward at the five key turning points* of the Overall Story throughline shows one of those frames of reference for "how things work" in a particular story. Using inconsistent story drivers nullifies the meaning that story drivers bring to a storyform. The Story Driver establishes the nature of the story's causality: Actions drive Decisions, or Decisions drive Actions. All stories have both actions and decisions (including deliberations). The question is, which moves (forces) the story forward toward its resolution? Each story point provides a point of reference by which to measure the meaning in and of the story by the audience. The story dynamics indicate how the story moves -- how it flows and the directions it can and cannot turn. Consistency in the story points is essential because a storyform is like a snapshot of an entire argument, complete with perspectives, frames of reference, relationships, and even the flow of time from beginning to end of a story. Consistency provides the unchanging context that lets the audience make sense of the storyform. (* Five key turning points for Story Drivers. The following are the recommended MINIMUM number of instances of the Story Driver in a story. Each turning point should use the same type of driver within a single storyform, either all actions or all decisions. These drivers are best understood in the context of the Overall Story plot:
I find this answer unsatisfying. It seems like circular reasoning to me. I feel like Jim asked, "Why do Story Drivers have to be the same to be meaningful?" and this answer says, "Because if they're not the same, they're not meaningful." But that doesn't address why they have to be the same to be meaningful. Can you elucidate?
(19 Nov '11, 19:05)
MWollaeger
Does the new first paragraph address your question? -- Chris
(19 Nov '11, 22:50)
Chris Huntley
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I hope it doesn't bother you if I venture an opinion on this one. Chris will probably come along with a more authoritative answer. But my take on it is this - a story world has a personality, much like a character. Just as each character needs to consistently be a be-er or a do-er, intuitive or logical, the story world needs to be consistently driven by action or decision. The world's personality expresses theme in the same way the other characters' personalities do; whether the story is action-driven or decision-driven conveys a subtle message about whether the writer thinks people in general need to think more carefully or to act more assertively. |
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Dramatica states that stories about about problems, and that a given story is about one problem, or inequity. Then, that problem is divided up and approached from various perspectives: I, you, us, them & Universe, Physics, Mind, Psychology. But it is still the same problem/inequity. And that problem is either external: the change in the world affecting people -- or internal: a change in a person affecting the world. The fact that it's parceled out into various acts doesn't change that aspect of the problem. |
