Dramatica: A New Theory of Story

I have both the book and the software. The terminology in this theory is sometimes difficult, because it redefines certain words we use commonly to serve its own purposes. For example, Dramatica refers to "dynamic pairs" of story elements. Some of them are easy enough to grasp: Order/Chaos, Help/Hinder, etc. But many of the dymanic pairs are more difficult to get, e.g. Possibility/Certainty (one might have expected Possibility/Impossibility). But if you put the time into this, the payoff is enormous. I think the most useful part of the software is the HUGE number of questions it poses to you about your characters, situations, relationships. As I went through the questions regarding my main characters, I realized many times "Hm, I never thought about that..." So neither the theory nor the software are providing answers, just lots and lots of questions that you, as the author, are responsible for being able to answer. Even if those answers don't make it directly into your final draft, having those answers will definitely color your take on the way your characters interact with each other and their environment. The software itself is an obsessive-compulsive's dream, I have to say, and especially your first time using it you may find yourself playing with it endlessly (like me). But the characters in my story have nonetheless blossomed into "real people" for me in a way I have never experienced before.

Dramatica: A New Theory of Story is not a book you can skim through, it is a tough, no-nonsense, disciplined approach to creative writing; one that not only requires intense study, but also demands that you lay aside everything else you have ever read about story technique. The payoff is, Dramatica will force you to be the best you can be. Talent isn't enough in today's marketplace. No matter how great the writing, publishers want stories with no plot holes (if they find 'em, you gotta fix 'em and they don't tell you where to look). They want brief yet succint answers to questions like "who's the audience, what's the premise, the theme, the genre, the plot, etc." Dramatica will give you that information. Sometimes you'll hear, "it doesn't quite come together" which means the structure of your story is weak. That's where Dramatica shines like a lighthouse beacon in a storm. If you use Dramatica properly, underdeveloped structure will never be a problem. Once you have a firm grasp of all the story points you must cover in order to produce a complete and satisfying story, unchain the talent and watch it produce. Does Dramatica stifle creative imagination? Absolutely not! If anything, it throws you into overdrive as you work through the story encoding and story weaving sections. Try it. You'll love it! If you are serious about, and committed to, the stories you want to tell, Dramatica needs to be at your elbow. A word of advice though-once you get the book and/or software, study the Dramatica dictionary of word meanings before you get into the theory; make them automatic thought processes and you'll do just fine. Happy reading. Happy writing.

Sorry for any mistake I could do here, English is not my first language. Dramatica Theory is the most challenging writing book I never read. It is very interesting but difficult. The authors create new definitions for words, and I often had to pause and go back in the book, to be sure to understand. But I am happy I did this effort. Dramatica Theory offers deep insights about what should be in a story. I think it is useful when you have a story, and you want to explore how to take it at a deeper, more complete level. I think most of writers and screenwriters can really get benefit of this book.

I have used Dramatica for years, with my beta-version of this book - copied from the generous website - and I couldn't imagine writing without it. My first published short story has the elegant bare-bones version of the theory tucked into it, and everyone has mentioned how 'complete' it was. The first novel (unpublished) I wrote was BD (before Dramatica) - and readers noted that it took a good third of the book before they really got into it - and then they couldn't put it down. I'm aiming for far better than that with the current novel - grabbing the reader's attention by the first line, and then making sure that new stuff is developed at an attention-holding pace. Dramatica has made me think of so much to write that the story never flags. I can't wait to get it all in a nice clean book form.

I've been a hobbyist writer since 2000; but, having recently retired I decided to become serious about writing. A friend suggested I read this book, because as an engineer by training and vocation I am a person who needs to understand a subject before really "doing" it. To that end Dramatica is excellent. But, the theory section, some 163 pages, is quite tough slogging. I had to make many notes and turn what I read into my own words to gain full understanding. Was it worth the effort? Yes, absolutely, but if you are not a persistent type person you will never complete the task. The authors themselves on page 78 say, "This discussion can get theoretical at times, and we present it more for those interested in details, rather than as essential reading." They are absolutley right. Now, the second half of the book is on the subject of "The Art of Storytelling." However, from what I garnered, the art they present is a proprietary one aimed primarily as an adjunct to their writing software "Dramatica." I consider the writing process as put forth by the authors as too structured, too complex and too demanding of details. Since a writer's subconscious really does most of his writing and if he lets it loose (he really should) then all his carefully laid plans run the risk of being abandoned. To write an "honest" story, one that will grab readers, the writer must be truthful to himself otherwise his readers just stop reading. Will all this structured work as promulgated by the authors hinder or help truthful storytelling? That's for you to decide. Remember Shakespeare, Dickens and Hemmingway didn't take courses on writing, didn't read texts on writing and certainly didn't use writing related computer programs. What they did do was read a lot and write a lot. My conclusion on the Dramatica book is that it's worth the read, but it's not really necessary.