Dramatica (software)
{{about|the software suite|the website|Encyclopedia Dramatica}}
{{Infobox software
| name = Dramatica
| title = Dramatica Pro (Windows), Dramatica Story Expert (OS X)
| author = Chris Huntley, Melanie Anne Phillips
| developer = Write Brothers
| latest release version = 4.1 (Windows), 5 (OS X)
| operating system = Windows, OS X
| language = English
| genre = Text editor, Screenwriting software
| license = Proprietary software (Shareware)
| website = {{URL|http://dramatica.com/}}
}}
Dramatica is the name of the theory and software suite created as part of a project by Chris Huntley and Melanie Anne Phillips.{{Cite book|title = Language, Culture, Computation: Computing for the Humanities, Law, and Narratives: Essays Dedicated to Yaacov Choueka on the Occasion of His 75 Birthday|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=x3i1BQAAQBAJ|publisher = Springer|date = 2014-12-04|isbn = 9783642453243|language = en|first1 = Nachum|last1 = Dershowitz|first2 = Ephraim|last2 = Nissan|page = 384}} The term is used in the context of narratology and refers to a theory of narration and literary presentation.{{Cite book|title = Entertainment and Society: Influences, Impacts, and Innovations|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=BwyRAgAAQBAJ|publisher = Routledge|date = 2010-04-05|isbn = 9781135839956|language = en|first1 = Shay|last1 = Sayre|first2 = Associate Professor Emeritus Cynthia|last2 = King|first3 = Cynthia|last3 = King|page = 82}} The software guides users through the writing process by giving them a step-by-step guide that focuses on plot and theme creation as well as story structure.
There are two different versions of the Dramatica software. The first, Dramatica Pro, was released in the 1990s and supports both Windows and OS X. The second, a more recent version, Dramatica Story Expert, is OS X-only.
Theory
The theory was originated in 1994 as a diagnostic modelling tool built around a concept called "The Story Mind", which describes each story as having a mind of its own with its psychology built by the story's structure and its personality is determined by the storytelling.{{Cite web |last=Johnson |first=R. Colin |date=22 July 1996 |title='Dramatica' links neuron dynamics to mind |url=http://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy2.library.drexel.edu/ps/i.do?id=GALE%257CA18534649&sid=summon&v=2.1&u=drexel_main&it=r&p=AONE&sw=w&asid=e2921dd93adaa36deb29e78d2323b6d2 |access-date=2016-02-24 |website=Electronic Engineering Times }}{{Cite web |last=Davis |first=John K. |title=The Mind as a Novel Metaphor |url=http://rapidintellect.com/AEQweb/cho24363l.htm |access-date=2016-02-24 |website=Academic Exchange Quarterly Summer 2003 Volume 7, Issue 2}}
Huntley and Phillips have taught the theory at the University of California at Los Angeles, where it was part of a twelve-week "for credit" course for several years.{{cite news|title=Screenwriting Seminar at UCLA Extension|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-04-26-ca-63136-story.html|date=April 26, 1996|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|access-date=May 23, 2017}} The two also released the book Dramatica – A New Theory of Story via Write Brothers Press, the publishing arm of Write Brothers founded by Stephen Greenfield and Chris Huntley.[http://dramatica.com/theory/book Dramatica – A New Theory of Story], online version.
The software is based upon Huntley and Phillips's quad theory, which is described as "[dividing] a story unit into four pieces and [creating] relationships between those parts". The four quads, which makes up the Dramatic Table of Story Elements, are the Universe (representing situations), Mind (attitudes), Physics (activities) and Psychology (manners of thinking).
In later years, the ongoing development of Dramatica was split into two branches. First is ongoing exploration into using the model to understand the workings of the human mind itself – an area of research called (by the theory creators) Mental Relativity. The second area of development is the implementation of the model as a patented computer program called "The Story Engine" which can be used to analyze story structures to find holes and inconsistencies and also used to interactively suggest how to fix and fill them.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://dramatica.com/ Dramatica.com] – theory and software
- [http://www.screenplay.com/ Screenplay.com] – Write Brothers, Inc.
- [http://storymind.com/dramatica Dramatica at Storymind.com] – Melanie Anne Phillips' website