Grand argument story

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A grand argument story is a type of story that is intended to be conceptually complete and to answer a core argument from both an emotionally and logically comprehensive perspective. The elements of a grand argument story should follow the argument and attempt to answer it. The term is a core concept of the Dramatica theory, created by Melanie Anne Phillips and Chris Huntley, which posits that every complete story is a model of the mind's holistic problem solving process (the "story mind").

There are a number of qualities which determine whether a story is a grand argument or not. These are seen in the story’s structure, dynamics, character, theme, plot, and genre. These parts of a grand argument story combine in complex relationships to create its "storyform". A storyform is like a blueprint which describes how these parts shall relate in a particular story, regardless of how they are symbolized for the audience. It is a shared storyform that allows such different stories as West Side Story and Romeo and Juliet, or Cyrano de Bergerac and Roxanne, to share the same meaning while bearing little resemblance to each other.

The underlying relationship between the parts of a story describe its structure. A grand argument story has a very specific structure. The moving, growing, or changing parts of a grand argument story describe its dynamics. In a grand argument story, the theme is tied to every structural and dynamic element. It provides the various biases and perspectives necessary to convey the story’s subject matter or meaning. The plot is the sequence in which a story’s thematic structure is explored. Plot details the order in which dramatic elements must occur within that story. Genre in a grand argument story classifies the audience’s experience of a story in the broadest sense. Genre takes into account the elements of structure, dynamics, character, plot, and theme to define significant differences between various complete grand argument stories.

Grand argument stories deal with two types of characters: overall story characters and subjective characters. These characters provide the audience with the experience of moving through the story in both a passionate and an intellectual sense.

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