New to Dramatica? Try This...

First, take a walk through the online video tutorials for Dramatica Story Expert found at LearnDramaticaStoryExpert.com.

Then, one of the best tips for new Dramatica users is this:

Test drive creating a new story with Dramatica BEFORE you try to fix your story's problems. Do not try to introduce yourself to Dramatica's concepts while struggling with your story. Learn what Dramatica has to offer. Then run your story through Dramatica's paces.

Here's how to do this.

•Put whatever story you're working on to the side for a moment and do the following:

•Create a new document using the File>New Document From Template... menu command.  Choose one of the structure template files (screenplay, novel, or short story).

•Use the File>Save command and name  the document, "Test Story."

•Click on the StoryGuide icon in the tool bar (the third icon from the left).

•Select StoryGuide

•Select Level One

•Get yourself an egg timer or one of those three-minute "hour glass" timers that come with some board games.

•Pick a familiar fairy tale (such as Little Red Riding Hood and Cinderella) or decide to make up a story.

•Proceed through the Level One StoryGuide with the fairy tale or made-up story as your test story. The important thing is to get a sense of what Dramatica can do for you BEFORE you try fixing your own story's problems.  Consider this a throwaway story.

•Have fun. Don't take this "exercise" too seriously. This is only a test story, not a story in which you have personal investment.

•Spend no more than three minutes on ANY topic. Use the timer or hourglass if you need reminding.

•For fill-in-the-blank questions, enter one or two sentences, or leave it blank if you run out of time.

•For multiple choice questions, make your choice, or choose anything arbitrarily if you run out of time.

•Continue on through the StoryGuide until you reach the Storyweaving section.  (Storyweaving is the part where you begin creating and describing scenes or chapters.) At this point you can choose to stop this exercise or continue until the end of the scene building.

Once you have gone through the Level One StoryGuide once, you'll have a better understanding of the basics of what Dramatica can do for your writing. Take what you've learned and go through the process with your own story.

NOTE: StoryGuide Level I & II are designed to be followed from beginning to end in a linear fashion.  Most all  other topic paths and Dramatica Story Expert tools are non-linear.  In this context, non-linear means you can start anywhere in the process and go anywhere as you use Dramatica Story Expert to develop your story's characters, themes, plots, and genre elements.