Overview Appreciation

the Main Character willingly participates in the effort to find a solution to the story problem

Willing describes a Main Character who is self-motivated to find a solution to the story's problem. Even if the going is tough, he requires no outside encouragement or compulsion to keep up the effort.

Variation dyn.pr. Experience ↔ Wisdom

understanding how to apply knowledge

Wisdom is the meaning of what is known. A Character may be aware of facts but unless he sees the pattern that organizes those facts, the knowledge alone may be useless. Wisdom, therefore, does not describe just being aware of something but understanding how many bits of knowledge fit together.

syn. mental mastery, integrated understanding, seasoned understanding, comprehension, astute cogency

Plot Dynamic

the kind of activity focused upon in the effort to solve the story's problem

Action or Decision describes how the problem of the Story will primarily be explored. The primary concern is the kind of storytelling you want to do. If you want action to be the focus of your storytelling, choose action. If you want deliberation to be the focus of your storytelling, choose decision. It's that simple.

Variation dyn.pr. Attempt ↔ Work

applying oneself to something known to be within one's ability

When a task lies within one's known abilities, effort applied to the task is Work. There are no surprises; no short-comings. But has one accurately judged both one's abilities and the demands of the task? If not, perhaps the task is not achievable or of a size that one must increase one's abilities before undertaking it.

Variation dyn.pr. Confidence ↔ Worry

concern for the future

Like confidence, Worry looks toward the future but is based on a projection of negative experience. When in the past seemingly innocuous situations have developed into disasters, one learns to Worry at the slightest evidence of instability. Worry has the positive quality of motivating one to prepare for the worst. If the worst happens, the character representing Worry is truly prepared. But how often does the worst actually happen? The downside is that resources one might use to make advances are wasted just trying to protect the status quo. And those who worry tend to avoid unknown situations that might hold substantial rewards.

syn. anxiety, concern, apprehension, misgivings

Variation dyn.pr. Value ↔ Worth

a rating of usefulness or desirability to oneself

Worth describes the subjective value of an item or action to an individual. Of course, this varies greatly from individual to individual. This is the nature of garage sales -- one woman's trash is another woman's treasure. Making choices on the basis of Worth is an efficient way to get the most with one's resources. But there may be all kinds of potential locked in something a character considers worthless because objectively it has great Value. For example, Native Americans used gold simply as a decoration. To them it had little other Worth. Of course to Europeans it had significant Value. A character who ignores potential value because of low Worth can live to regret the deals he makes in a story, both physically and emotionally.

syn. subjective value, individual appraisal, personal importance