Question: Using the StoryGuide

Discuss the practical use of Dramatica. Have questions about how throughlines should be used, how to create Complex Characters or even the various combinations of the 12 Essential Questions and how they will affect your story go here.
User avatar
Geoff1975
Best-Selling Writer
Posts: 103
Joined: Aug 22, 2012 2:03 pm

Question: Using the StoryGuide

Postby Geoff1975 » Apr 17, 2013 7:23 am

Hi,

I'd appreciate any help with these two questions.

How do I put in bits for the movie which aren't necessarily full scenes? I have ideas for bits, which is usually how my stories flesh out. Armando's suggestion in Dramatica For Screenwriters makes sense. I could list these bits on paper, then categorize them by domain, issue, etc. Actually that would help me later. I could make parallel columns: one for domain, one for issue, etc. Using the PSR and signposts as guides, I could spot what the order of these bits should be. Okay, but where can I best put these bits in the StoryGuide so I don't have to rely on separate paper? True, the questions leave text space, but it seems like a maze.

How do I rearrange scene order? In Level 3 you can create numbered scenes. What if I discover a scene would make more sense earlier in the treatment, but it already has a lot of text? What's a non-awkward way of shifting the order around?

Thanks. I've come a long way in the year since discovering Dramatica. Coming back to this StoryGuide tool is a full circle.

User avatar
Chris Huntley
Site Admin
Posts: 724
Joined: Jan 25, 2008 5:19 pm
Location: Glendale, CA USA
Contact:

Re: Question: Using the StoryGuide

Postby Chris Huntley » Apr 17, 2013 9:01 am

Answer to Q1:
If you want to do what you're looking for in the current version of Dramatica Story Expert or Dramatica Pro, I recommend changing the "scenes" to beats or segments or whatever label makes the most sense to you. That way the beats/segments can be anything you want them to be. Then when you have a scene, put "SCENE:" in the title for the segment. The upside is that it accommodates your ability to work the way you wanted. The downside is that it makes working with scenes a bit more difficult. Also, you might find it better if you put all the non-scene segments toward the end of the scene list.

Personally, I'd just keep a separate file in Word or Pages or Movie Magic Screenwriter or some other word processor and keep track of the extraneous bits and pieces there. Then when I know if and where they fit into the story I'd copy and paste the material into the appropriate place in Dramatica.

Answer to Q2:
Rearranging scene orders is done by going to the scene list topic in the StoryGuide and then dragging and dropping the scenes in the list up or down and dropping them in place.
Chris Huntley
Write Brothers Inc.
http://dramatica.com/
http://screenplay.com/

User avatar
Geoff1975
Best-Selling Writer
Posts: 103
Joined: Aug 22, 2012 2:03 pm

Re: Question: Using the StoryGuide

Postby Geoff1975 » Apr 17, 2013 1:43 pm

I'd be using Movie Magic Screenwriter anyway. I could just that for the notes, too. Great!


Return to “Practical Dramatica”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 3 guests