Screenplay.com Forums

That was sure discouraging to see that my reach is NONE! Especially given the extent to which I've worked on this novel. I happened to see that just the other day and realized I need to revamp some things. I quickly changed timelock to optionlock (which it ended up being what the novel Limit was after all, once I correctly assessed it).

I have several questions. Firstly, what elements cause a novel to have a BOTH reach? I suspect it is Male mental sex & optionlock. What else is involved? Seeing as I cannot change the problem-solving method of my main character on the program, it must be tied to some other factors.

I also wonder, when I made the LIMIT change, did the program change anything else in my plot planning that I should know about? I ask because I understand that selecting problem-solving style changes plot progression.

Another question: if the main character is NOT the protagonist, and the protagonist (also a POV character & the impact character) has the correct problem-solving method (for BOTH reach), doesn't the reach extend a bit further? Of course my novel is a story of the main character & her growth, but in my opinion the IC impact (as well as the impact of a very alphamale antagonist) makes the novel accessible to BOTH empathies.

In the examples/articles on storymind, for instance, X-Files is mentioned to show the interplay between the two methods of thinking. Is the main point of REACH to address those problem-solving styles or that it be the MC who has that mental sex?

REACH is determined by the combination of Story Limit and MC Problem Solving Style (Mental Sex: Male or Female).

BOTH = Optionlock + Male (Logical/Linear)
WOMEN = Optionlock + Female (Intuitive/Holistic)
MEN = Timelock + Male (Logical/Linear)
NONE = Timelock + Female (Intuitive/Holistic)

Since the audience does not stand in the protagonist's shoes, as it does the Main Character's, the problem solving style of the protagonist does not have a significant affect on the audience's empathy. The nature of the Overall Story throughline is that it is seen in objective terms, relatively speaking. Therefore it is necessarily emotionally distancing from a personal perspective.

The X-files TEAM of Mulder and Scully is unique and interesting because of their mental sex swap as FBI agents. However, one must look at individual episodes to see who the MC is and what his or her mental sex might be. My guess is that it will be predominantly Male Mental Sex, independent of the player acting as MC. BUT, that is only a general comment.

What other factors change in the Dramatica program when a problem-solving style is selected? I am not able to change the problem-solving style, apparently since I've made some other selections.

Problem Solving Style is attached to all sorts of seemingly unrelated items, but none of them directly except for Reach. It is usually a combination of choices that affects the MC Problem Solving Style (sometimes including Unique Ability and Critical Flaw and Signpost order).