A writer typically starts the program and answers the questions in the Query System. The questions are textual, or multiple choice. Some multiple-choice questions have only two choices, some have four, some 16, some 64.

When an author makes choices in their story, other choices are automatically selected that are consistent with the author's choices. So the writer doesn't need to answer all of Dramatica's nearly 100 potential questions. By answering 8-12 questions, you have arrived at a "storyform", which is the skeleton that forms the underlying structure of the story. Dramatica fills in the storyform with the remaining structural points that are compatible with the author's answers.

For each structural point, the author also explains in a full text answer why certain choices were made, and how a particular structural concept will be illustrated in the story.