The Storyform

There are 75 Storypoints found in a complete Storyform (found at the top of your narrative tabs in Subtxt) and over 32,000 possible unique Storyforms within the current model. 🤯

The Storyform is a holistic blueprint of your story's thematic intent. It contains the message, or argument, of your story and communicates it by virtue of the relationships between Storypoints and the evolution of Storybeats from beginning to end.

A Storyform in Subtxt

Once you build a Storyform, you CANNOT change it. Everything within a Storyform is related to everything else: if you were to change one Storypoint, you would have to adjust them all. If you find yourself halfway through developing a particular narrative and come to the conclusion that you need a different Storyform, you have to build a brand new one and start over. This ensures thematic integrity amongst all the narratives you create in Subtxt.

The Storyform page in Sutxt is divided into three major sections: the Premise, the Storyform, and the Dramatic Argument.

The Premise is the foundation of the story and provides a quick summary of the overall narrative. The Storyform is the heart of the story and outlines the structure and key elements of the narrative.

The Dramatic Argument takes the two Pivotal Elements, which are the intersection of Character and Plot, and separates them into the Main Character and the Obstacle Character. These two characters drive the conflict and tension in the story and their interactions shape the narrative.

By clearly outlining the Premise, Storyform, and Dramatic Argument on the Storyform page, Subtxt helps writers understand and analyze the structure and key elements of their narratives.

The Female Mental Sex Static Plot Points

While the original incarnation of Dramatica theory into an application (Dramatica Story Pro/Dramatica Story Expert) leaned heavily into a Male Mental Sex understanding of story structure, Subtxt offers both Male Mental Sex and Female Mental Sex interpretations of a Storyform.

In short, a Male Mental Sex narrative (Storyform) looks to cause and effect to solve Problems through achieving Goals. A Female Mental Sex narrative looks to relationships to balance motivating inequities in service of Intentions.

At the bottom of every Storyform, you'll find a list of Static Plot Points. These eight Storypoints apply to the Objective Story Throughline of a story and consist of plot-related concepts like the Story Goal, Story Consequence, and Story Forewarnings.

Male Mental Sex Static Plot Points

A Holistic Storyform alters the appreciation of these Storypoints with an emphasis on relationships and self.

Female Mental Sex Static Plot Points

These eight Storypoints appear in the same order as found in the Male Mental Sex Storyforms (Story Intention is equivalent to the Story Goal, Story Overwhelm is equivalent to Story Consequences). When writing a Female Mental Sex story, a focus on relationship-oriented equivalents will do wonders for understanding of how to organize your narrative.

  • Intention: (Story Goal) the mission or vision-board of the Storymind
  • Habituation: (Story Requirements) the habits or systems of the Storymind
  • Internalization: (Story Prerequisites) self-awareness and thought (over-thinking) of the Storymind
  • Socialization: (Story Preconditions) developing relationships, social/emotional aspects of the Storymind
  • Excitement: (Story Dividends) an indication of a higher vibration within the Storymind
  • Boredom: (Story Costs) indifference, disruption, disappointment, or let down within the Storymind
  • Ennui: (Story Forewarnings) discontent, directionless, and aimless aspects of the Storymind
  • Overwhelm: (Story Consequences) dormancy, stagnation, lack of growth, and rumination over-powering the Storymind
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