Class

the process of developing a dramatic structure into specific symbols, events, and scenarios

There are four stages in the process of communication from author to audience. They are: Storyforming, Storytelling, Storyweaving, and Story Reception. Storyforming establishes the underlying dramatic structure of a story. Storytelling turns raw story points into specific scenarios, events, and dialog. Storyweaving determines how the illustrated story points will be revealed or unfolded to the audience. Story Reception refines the story to tailor it for a specific audience. In practice, most authors work creatively in more than one stage at a time. Dramatica separates the stages, allowing an author to seek specific help and information regarding any part of the process. In keeping with this approach, Storytelling has its own purpose, yet relates to the other three stages as well. As an example, one author might begin with Storyforming and then continue to Storytelling. Another might begin with Storytelling and then approach Forming. As an example, Author #1 makes a Storyform decision that the Goal of his story should be Obtaining. Then, in Storytelling, he illustrates or employs Obtaining as "The Goal is to Obtain a Buried Treasure." Author #2 might begin in Storytelling, writing, "The Goal is to win Jan's love." Then, developing the structure that supports that story point, the Author #2 approaches Storyforming, and out of all the structural choices, picks "Obtaining" as Storyforming item that best describes his story's Goal. Any given Storyforming item can be illustrated in any number of ways. And, any already illustrated story point might be interpreted as any one of the Storyforming items. Regardless of which order is taken, associating a Storyforming item with an illustrated story point clarifies the dramatic essence of the structure, as illustrated in a given form. This allows an author to more precisely develop the overall story in a consistent and complete manner.