Dramatica: A New Theory of Story

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Customer Reviews:

Talent is not enough--unless you're using Dramatica [Posted on 2006-03-31]
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.

It depends... [Posted on 2006-09-07]
This book, along with the software if you so choose (i have both just so you know), has a LOT of information. My personal feelings are that you should buy it only if you are interested in reading about the craft of writing in your down time. There is so much information, a lot of which is unnecessary in my opinion, that this 'theory' would have you do that it would take you years before you'd actually have the outline of your novel finished, let alone a first draft.
Look, every so often someone comes along trying to anaylize and explain the process of something, in this case writing. It sucks inexperienced writers into buying their product simply because they have a way of explaining it in such a tantalizing way but there is NOTHING NEW in what they have to say, only the way that they say it.
Yes this book can be helpful but buy it for reading enjoyment only, and then if you're bored and have taken a break from your daily scheduled writing session (something far more valuable that you should be doing which is NOT in this book yet is essential if you wish to be a writer) then maybe on your down time you can figure on trying to integrate some of the info in this book into your writing.
Let me put it to you this way: this book teaches you how to assemble a car piece by tiny piece when all you really might be looking for is an instruction book on how to drive. There is NO magical formula for writing and what erks me the most about this book is that is how it is presented. The thing is, one only learns that AFTER they read the book.
Borrow it, rent it at the library, buy unless you really want to take years (yes, years. that's how detailed this book is) to actually write your novel then do yourself a favor and do what the great writers have done for centuries; read as much as you can and then take those books that really triggered your imagination and heart and after you finish them just take out a notebook and write down exactly what it is that moved you about the characters, the story and so on. Compare the lists you make from other books and you will eventually see things that stick out. Then use them.
Yes, it really is that simple.

You can get as a podcast [Posted on 2006-11-19]
This is a good resourse, but if you are thinking about buying this book, do realize that you can download the lecture free as a podcast on iTunes.

Dramatica [Posted on 2007-02-14]
I like this book, in combination with the software it does give a solid foundation to build a book from. It is not a replacement for talent or flair, but it will help you orgainze ideas, keep timelines and PoVs in order

The Up, The Down, and the Good In-Between [Posted on 2008-01-21]
THE UP: It's comprehensive. It actually encouraged me to look at a story as a framework, a skeleton, and see how the different parts hinge on one another. For storycrafting, the Dramatica theory can literally help one see holes in plot or characterization, allowing a writer to make more sound creative decisions, if not induce more headaches, towards the creation of a full, robust story. The book even touches on how the theory applies to different genre.

THE DOWN. It's comprehensive. The theory puts a label on practically everything--and there are a lot of labels. Though the theory is cleanly presented as a chart, it is still a deep chart. If you don't have the software, appreciating the Dramatica theory can be tedious, if not frustrating. I wonder when the Idiot's Guide will come out?

THE GOOD IN-BETWEEN. If you want to look at storycrafting from a different perspective and don't mind a little rattling in your brain, this is a good book. It can enrich what you already know about constructing a full story. However, trying to go through the entire book AND putting it into practice can potentially threaten your writing time. It's not really a practical guide. The Dramatica website has a downloadable PDF version, so you might want to give this a go then decide if you want the hard copy.

I would like to see this book have a "What This Means In The Real World" section after every chapter, wherein a summary of the key points are presented along with practical tips. Again, the Dramatica theory is eye-opening, but I guess it's meant to be absorbed by a chosen few.

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