Dramatic Action Plotline

The Dramatic Action Plotline is the action that happens in a novel, screenplay, memoir, short story, or any other kind of writing that causes a character to react and thus be affected by and changed at depth over the duration of the story.

Antagonists usually pop up in full force in the Middle (1/2) of the story and act to interfer with the protagonist reaching her long and short term goals. The Five Standard Antagonist are:

  • Other people: lovers, family members, friends, enemies, co-workers...
  • Society at large: the law, rules, expectations, norms...
  • Nature: physical handicaps, hurricanes, tornadoes, tital waves, earthquakes...
  • God: religious law, expectations, demands, judgements...
  • Self: fears, prejudices, flaws, hatreds, expectations...

    • Broadly speaking, writers who prefer writing action-driven stories focus on logical thinking, rational analysis, and accuracy. Action-driven writers tend to approach writing as a linear function and see the story in its parts. Action-driven writers like structure. They usually pre-plot or create an outline before writing. Action-driven writers have little trouble expressing themselves in words.

    What is action?

    • Action in and of itself is NOT dramatic. Conflict, tension, suspense, mystery, and/or curiosity make action dramatic.
    • Random action is NOT dramatic. Action that unfolds through cause and effect IS dramatic.
    • Action that happens in a scence can be dramatic. After all, scene "shows" the action happening moment-by-moment on the page.
    • Action that happens in summary is NOT dramatic. After all, summary merely "tells" about action.

    What if I'm a Character Emotional Development Writer?

    So, you took The Test and found that your strength as a writer is in developing the Character Emotional Development plotline. Have no fear, here are some tips about developing your Dramatic Action plotline just for you.

    1. Use goals of your own and insert them into the context of the story.
    2. Writers who write about Character Emotional Development have a more random writing style and rebel at anything as structured as a "Scene Tracker" or "Plot Planner". Yes, because you like concrete things and benefit from seeing, feeling, or touching the real object, you keep coming back to the idea of developing a Plot Planner. You know intuitively that a plan will keep you on track and help you survive to the end of a completed project.
    3. Because the right side of the brain is color sensitive, use one color to plot out the Character Emotional Development scenes and use a different color to show the Dramatic Action, and yet another to show the Thematic Significance.
    4. Schedule a walk during your writing time and set the timer. Imagine yourself plotting out your scenes in sequence. The act of seeing yourself plotting will help you actually do it.
    5. Start with the Climax of your story, and work backwards. Using your intuition, pay attention to coherence and meaning. Link Dramatic Action to the changes in your Character Emotional Development.
    6. Since you like to back up everything visually, hang a Plot Planner and/or Scene Tracker on a wall near your computer. These will help you remember the sequence of your story as you rewrite and rewrite until you story shows the meaning you want it to convey.

    Need More?

    Check out the Plot Tools section for more resources or sign up for a Consultation for one-on-one help with your story.