Screenplay.com Forums

I'm working on a series of videos that explain the 12 Essential Questions.

The first draft of one slide in the presentation is attached. In this slide, I've used the term "structural aspects" to classify Character, Plot, Theme, and Genre, but I am wondering if other terms may apply... and also want to confirm that my closing sentence in the slide is correct.

May I also say "Three Dimensions of Your Story. A fourth dimension of your story, Genre, is partially created by your 12 answers"?

I understand that Genre is mainly created through the storytelling process. I feel that even though Genre is not directly related to the 12 questions, I understand that it is indirectly or "fractally" related and believe it should be mentioned in this slide.

Thanks

OK, here's how I see the 12 essential questions break down:

CHARACTER: The four questions about character are about their character dynamics. Dynamics are about the relationships between things, not the things themselves. Most people do not make that distinction when thinking about structure, but it is one I think worth making. Think of dynamics as the story points that affect the flow of a story.

PLOT: The same is true with the four plot dynamics questions.

THEME: The four thematic OS story points are, in fact, structural questions. Of the four, the OS Issue is the most "theme"-related topic.

GENRE: The OS Domain (throughline) story point is the most genre-related question of the twelve essential questions. While we do not ask about the genre aspect of the OS Domain, it is directly connected to the type of Dramatica genre the story will have, e.g. Situation Comedy (Situation), Physical Comedy (Activity), Comedy of Manners (Fixed Attitude), or Comedy of Errors (Manipulation).

I realize this may be TOO "Dramatica-esque" for your intro to the 12 Essential Questions, but at least it is a baseline from which to work.