Plot & Players

The Plot and Players section of the Conceptualizing section in Subtxt is responsible for handling the Objective side of the story, specifically the Objective Story Throughline. This section is divided into two parts: the plot itself (Your Basic Story) and the players involved in that plot.

Your Basic Story

In the Basic Story section, you'll find three key elements: the Initial Story Driver, the Story Goal, and the Concluding Story Driver. These three elements frame the narrative by defining where the story starts (the Initial Story Driver), what the players hope to achieve in order to resolve the conflict generated by that initial driver (the Story Goal), and whether or not they achieved that result (through the Concluding Story Driver).

By understanding and defining these three elements, writers can create a clear and structured plot for their story, and also identify the players involved in the story's action. And by doing so, it will allow them to create a more compelling story for the audience.

Building a Predictive Plot

As a writer, you have the ability to use Subtxt's capabilities to generate new and imaginative ideas for your story. However, if you want to have greater control over the outcome of your story, you can set the Brainstorming setting to 0. This tells Subtxt that you are not interested in random and unexpected ideas, but rather, you would like the app to follow the plot and ideas that you have already established.

By setting the Brainstorming setting to 0, Subtxt will focus on building a predictive plot based on the information and choices that you have already made, giving you more control over the direction and outcome of your story. It's important to note that this setting can be adjusted at any time, so you can switch back and forth between creative brainstorming and predictive plotting as you see fit, depending on your needs and preferences.

An Example of the Difference in Brainstorming

An example of how to use the Brainstorming setting in Subtxt is to take a high school comedy, such as "Booksmart," as an example. In this story, the Initial Story Driver is driven by Evaluation. The original "random" Illustration that came up was "rating something" which provided some good storytelling when brainstorming, but deviated slightly from the original idea of "Breaking the Rules and Partying On the Last Day of Classes".

While this deviation may not be a bad thing, as it can lead to a more imaginative and unique story, it may not be what the writer had in mind for their original plot synopsis. In this case, setting the Brainstorming to 0 allows Subtxt to intelligently pick the best Illustration for the story given what the writer has already established. This may result in less creativity, but it will be more in line with the writer's original idea.

For example, in the case of "Booksmart," Subtxt may decide that the most probable Initial Story Driver, given the original plot synopsis, is "getting a professional evaluation done on the last day of classes" - namely that the main characters are going to get failing grades, and they take matters into their own hands. This illustration is tailor-made for the story and offers the most likely "next event" given what is written before.

The same intelligence is applied to the Story Goal, which can also be switched between a "Story Specific" Illustration and a "General" illustration, depending on the writer's preference and the need of the story.

By using the Brainstorming setting in this way, writers can have more control over the direction and outcome of their story while still being able to benefit from Subtxt's capabilities to generate new and imaginative ideas.