If we examine the second level of the Dramatica structural model, we see that each throughline has a quad of four items. Dramatica has labels for the quad components of both the three-act structure and the four-act structure.

•The components of the four-act structure are called Signposts.

•The components of the three-act structure are called Journeys.

•There are four Signposts in a four-act structure.

•There are three Journeys in a three-act structure.

MERGING DRAMATICA SIGNPOSTS AND JOURNEYS

Even though signposts and journeys can be seen and understood independently from one another, there are several ways to use them together, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. Writers have a tendency to naturally gravitate toward one of the following methodologies:

Signpost Biased Four-act Structure

In this form, the structure emphasizes the signposts and de-emphasizes the journeys. The signposts take up the bulk of the timeline, breaking the timeline into four not-necessarily-but-usually equally explored acts. The three journeys take the form of transitions between the four signposts, like the joints connecting the bones of an appendage. Even if you do not explicitly explore the journeys, they will be implied by the inherent differences between the explorations of the signposts. This form caters to linearity over holism, emphasizing a writer's use of logistics over a writer's feel for the overall meaning of the story.

Journey Biased Three-act Structure

In this form, the structure emphasizes the journeys and de-emphasizes the signposts. The journeys take up the bulk of the timeline, breaking the timeline into three not-necessarily-but-usually equally explored acts. The four signposts take the form of markers that identify the vague boundaries of the three journeys, like signposts identifying state lines in a cross-country drive. Even if you do not explicitly identify the signposts, they will be implied by the natural changes in "direction" that the journeys make. This form caters to holism over linearity, emphasizing a writer's use of intuition over an attempt to predict the order of events.

Blended Signpost/Journey Seven-act Structure

In this form, the structure gives even weight to the signposts and journeys. The timeline is broken into seven not-necessarily-but-usually equally explored acts. This string-of-pearls approach provides a catchall format that blends the two different approaches together. This form offers the best and worst of the three and four-act structures. On the one hand, it ensures that all aspects of the story are explored. On the other hand, it potentially obscures the meaning in the story by providing two, equally balanced contexts. Fortunately, most writers have a natural bias toward the three-act structure or the four-act structure and that bias is usually made evident by an unthinking emphasis of signposts or journeys.

NOTE: The Dramatica software presents the Blended Signpost/Journey structure as a "one-size-fits-all" format, but mitigates it by calling it a four-act structure and emphasizing the signposts.