THE ARCHITECTURE OF STORY:
A TECHNICAL GUIDE FOR THE DRAMATIC WRITER
THE ARCHITECTURE OF STORY: A TECHNICAL GUIDE FOR THE DRAMATIC WRITER
GUIDE DESCRIPTION
Through his workshops and book The Dramatic Writer’s Companion, Will Dunne has helped thousands of writers develop successful scripts. Now, in The Architecture of Story, he helps writers master the building blocks of dramatic storytelling by analyzing a trio of award-winning contemporary American plays: Doubt: A Parable by John Patrick Shanley, Topdog/Underdog by Suzan-Lori Parks, and The Clean House by Sarah Ruhl. Dismantling the stories and examining key components from a technical perspective enables writers to approach their own work with an informed understanding of dramatic architecture.
Each chapter focuses on one storytelling component, ranging from “Characters” and “Main Event” to “Emotional Environment” and “Back Story.” Dunne explores each component, demonstrating how it has been successfully handled in each play and comparing and contrasting techniques. The chapters conclude with self-evaluation questions to help writers improve their scripts. Each chapter is self-contained, so writers can read the entire guide for a comprehensive view of dramatic structure or use the book as a nonlinear writing reference. This flexible, interactive structure is designed to meet the needs of writers at all stages of writing and at all levels of experience.
KEY FEATURES
The Architecture of Story offers:
- A technical breakdown of dramatic story into about forty components
- An underlying focus on character as the root of scene and story
- Condensed dramatic theory related to each story component
- Detailed examples of how each component has been used or not used in three successful contemporary American plays
- Examples from other well-known plays and films, including classical masterworks
- Questions to help you analyze your own story during writing and revision
- A unique, nonlinear format that allows you to access chapters, or parts of chapters, in any order and as often as needed to plan or analyze scripts
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INDUSTRY REVIEWS
—Art Borreca
Head of Dramaturgy Program and co-head of Playwrights Workshop
University of Iowa
—Jeni Mahoney
Artistic Director of Seven Devils Playwrights Conference
—Megan Monaghan Rivas
School of Drama at Carnegie Mellon University
TABLE OF CONTENTS
The Plays and Playwrights
- Genre
Type of story
- Style
How characters and events are depicted
- Dramatic Focus
Main character and point of view
- Rules of the Game
How things work in this particular story
- Framework
Act and scene divisions, including French scenes
- Stage
Directions Instructions for staging the play
- Other Script Elements
What’s in the script besides the play
- Title
Meaning and function of title
- Characters
Who causes the story to happen
- Offstage Population
Who influences the story from offstage
- Plot
Synopsis and chain of events
- Character Arcs
Character entrances, exits, and transitions
- Story Arc and Main Event
Most important thing that happens
- Subject and Theme
What the story is about
- Dialogue
Language characteristics and indigenous terms
- Visual Imagery
How images reveal story
- Physical Realm
The setting and what’s in it
- Emotional Environment
General mood or atmosphere
- Social Context
Key circumstances, values, and beliefs
- Laws and Customs
Social rules that affect behavior
- Economics
How characters are influenced by money or lack of it
- Power Structure
Who is in charge and who isn’t
- Spiritual Realm
Presence or absence of the supernatural
- Backstory
The past that affects the present
- Point of Attack
How the play begins
- Inciting Event and Quest
What triggers the protagonist’s dramatic journey
- Central Conflict
Key obstacles to the protagonist’s success
- What’s at Stake
The protagonist’s reason to act
- Strategies and Tactics
How the protagonist tries to complete the quest
- Pointers and Plants
Preparation tools to engage the audience
- Reversals
Turning points in the story
- Crisis Decision
The protagonist’s most difficult decision
- Climax and Resolution
Showdown and final destination