Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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231 of 237 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Excellent Tool for Creative Writers, June 26, 2000
I bought this program 2.5 years ago and have been using it to create plots for novels, short stories, etc. Versions 2 and 3 were tedious and full of technical jargon, which kept me looking at their dictionary of terms. I snatched up version 4 immediately because of one feature. They added a toggle switch which converts all the technicality into layman's terms. So, it's easier to understand, thus easier to use.For those of you who are not familiar with Dramatica, it is a creative writing tool which helps you decide where your story is going by asking you certain questions about plot, themes, character motivation, and story dynamics.It offers you two ways to do this: the short version (50 questions), which only takes you a day, or the long version (200+ questions), which could take you up to a week. This program doesn't write your story for you; it makes you think. And, it can give you ideas which you may have never considered before. To me, it's well worth the price.
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221 of 240 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Digitized 3X5 Cards, January 22, 2001
By A Customer
I bought this product in large measure due to the reviews of other users. These customers must be university students who have been given an assignment to write a story and identify its literary components. While this can be somewhat interesting from an academic perspective, it is really not very useful for writing a story. Dramatica Pro is basically an expensive pile of 3X5 cards with a little tutoring thrown in to explain who is the antagonist, the coantagonist, the impact character, the theme, the goal the throughline, etc. Its like baking a cake while someone explains the chemical components of the butter, the sugar, the milk, etc. Nice to know, but it doesn't make the cake any better.I would expect a software application of this price to be totally interactive. For example, it has a brainstorming feature to create new characters. Great! It should tell you how to complicate your plot by adding new characters, right? Maybe it will suggest that you change your love story between two people into a love triangle! But no. The "add a character" feature does nothing except ask you the sex of your new character and assign him/her a goofy name. (Banquo or Zues or Iccabod) It also has a feature where you can select a picture of your character from a big selection of mug shots. This would be sort of fun, except the pictures are so small and the resolution so bad that it is almost painful and not worth the effort. There is also a "spin the plot" feature which would presumably offer plot twists that you had not considered. However, all this does is reshuffle the elements of the story (Instead of a happy ending, make it a sad ending). Well, duh. And there is nothing about motivation, the most important part of any novel. At every level, the application should ask, "Why does So-and-So do that"? Dramatica Pro takes everything at face value. Perhaps the level of interaction I want is beyond the current technology available. Dramatic Pro is not useless, but for $250 I certainly was expecting a lot more.
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56 of 59 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Creative writing partner, January 22, 2005
Well, that's what this is, according to the box it comes in.
What it is not:
... a guaranteed magic wand that will grant you good literature.
... simple for everyone to use.
... a solution to the creatively challenged.
... inexpensive
... a complete waste of your money.
What it is:
... A partner, a tool, that supplements the writer's existing skills.
... not impossible to learn within a reasonable period.
... one solution to the problem of poor organizational skills.
... another way to get the juices flowing.
... arguably the best in its field.
... worth the cost if you are serious about improving as a writer.
Don't be swayed by those who say this software is difficult to use, and don't be swayed by those who say it's not. I feel that, for those who are able to use most softwares intuitively, it isn't particularly difficult. Although it isn't perfect, there are very few - if any - softwares that are. It all depends upon you. And in Dramatica's case, once you get past that hurdle it very quickly becomes a breeze to use.
No, I don't feel that it supplants my creativity. But that's more likely because I don't allow it to.
As for writer's block, there are established ways of getting over that, and - for me - they do not include the use of a computer.
The main problem I have is lack of persistence of focus. And, as a cure for that, it's excellent.
What has it done for me?
It's given me a much greater focus on and control over the mechanics of ordering my thoughts. Sure, I could use index cards, but they're very unwieldy. As a replacement for them, Dramatica has been more of a boon than a relational database has ever been. All the benefits without the programming.
There are different ways of using Dramatica. I've already got a good idea about my characters and how the plot progresses before I begin. Most often, I use character building and the many different reports to complement.
The various input options, such as character building, are very helpful for noting down important elements and ensuring the continuity of them.
I rarely use the brainstorming option, but it's there if I am well and truly mired in a loop.
To sum up: horses for riders, not so much for courses.
Don't be swayed by negative or positive reviews. Use the trial version as long as you can, make sure you use it as a partner, a tool, and not the universal panacea, and you'll find out if it is right for you.
If you think it is, and decide to spend your hard earned money on it, then be prepared to work harder on your writing than you have, perhaps, before. If it only does that, I think you'll consider it money well spent.
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