Dynamics

Dynamics in Subtxt are the forces that drive and shape your narrative, influencing the story’s direction and character development. By understanding and applying these pressures, you can strengthen your story’s core argument and add depth to its emotional and thematic impact.

Key Dynamics in Subtxt

The Dynamics of a story can be divided into two main categories: Main Character Dynamics and Objective Story Dynamics. Each category highlights different aspects of how a story evolves and communicates its core meaning.

Main Character Dynamics

These Dynamics focus on the personal journey of your protagonist, exploring how they interact with the challenges they face:

1. Main Character Resolve: This Dynamic determines whether the Main Character ultimately changes their beliefs or holds firm. A change in resolve signals personal transformation, while steadfastness often highlights the enduring nature of their core values.
2. Main Character Growth: This describes the direction of the protagonist's internal change. Are they shedding negative traits or acquiring new strengths? Growth establishes whether they move from denial to acceptance or from fear to courage, among other shifts.
3. Main Character Approach: This Dynamic refers to how the Main Character confronts problems—either as a Do-er, who takes external action, or a Be-er, who adjusts internally to manage conflicts.
4. Main Character Mental Sex: Also known as the character’s cognitive approach, this indicates whether the Main Character primarily operates with a linear, cause-and-effect (typically masculine) approach or an intuitive, holistic (typically feminine) mindset.

Objective Story Dynamics

These Dynamics focus on the broader story and its narrative structure, defining the universal forces that impact all characters and shape the plot’s progression:

1. Story Driver: The type of events that propel the story forward, whether they are Action-driven (external events initiating decisions) or Decision-driven (choices that lead to subsequent actions).
2. Story Limit: The boundary that defines the story's progression—either a Timelock, where a specific timeframe restricts the resolution, or an Optionlock, where limited paths to a solution gradually narrow until one is chosen.
3. Story Outcome: The result of the story’s central conflict, defined as either Success or Failure. This Dynamic signals whether the characters’ efforts resolved the overarching problem.
4. Story Judgment: The emotional evaluation of the story’s outcome from the Main Character’s perspective, seen as either Good (where the character feels content and fulfilled) or Bad (where they are left dissatisfied or defeated).

How to Use Dynamics in Subtxt

In Subtxt, analyzing and adjusting Dynamics helps clarify the central argument of your story and ensures that the narrative develops logically. When setting up Dynamics:

• Select Dynamics During Story Creation: Choose these elements when defining the initial parameters of your story. This choice impacts how Throughlines interact and evolve.
• Adjust as Needed: Revisit your Dynamics as the story takes shape to ensure they align with new developments or thematic insights.

By incorporating Dynamics thoughtfully, you provide your story with a compelling structure that showcases not just what happens, but why it matters and how it impacts the characters and their world.

How to Use Dynamics in Subtxt

You can find Dynamics in Subtxt under the Storyform section of Forming in the Develop Workspace, as well as listed above Storyforms in the Muse Workspace. Whether chosen by you when shaping your narrative into a Storyform or set automatically behind the scenes, these elements can be accessed individually. You can also add or adjust them within an existing Storyform to delve deeper into your story’s thematic and structural nuances.

Using Dynamics effectively clarifies the central argument of your story, ensuring that the narrative unfolds in a meaningful and coherent way.