Power Structure Manual

Table o f C ontents
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Welcome t o P ower S tructure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
Getting S tarted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 A T our o f P ower S tructure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Structure O ptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Other F eatures a nd O ptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 Power S tructure Q uick S tart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i-ix
ScriptPerfection Enterprises, Inc. 1999-2000 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be transmitted, reproduced, stored in any retrieval system or translated into any language or computer language in any form or by any means, mechanical, electronic, magnetic, optical, chemical, manual, or otherwise without prior written consent of ScriptPerfection Enterprises. The software described in this book is furnished under license and may be used only in accordance with the terms of such license. Power Structure and ScriptThing for Windows are trademarks of ScriptPerfection Enterprises, Inc. Movie Magic is a registered trademark of Creative Planet, Inc. Screenwriter 2000 is a trademark of Screenplay Systems, Inc. All other trademarks are registered trademarks of their respective holders. Disclaimer ScriptPerfection Enterprises makes no representation or warranties with respect to the contents hereof and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose. Power Structure is provided as is without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied. ScriptPerfection Enterprises shall have no liability or responsibility to you or any other person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused by Power Structure including, but not limited to, any loss of profits, interruption of service, loss of business or consequential damages resulting from the use of such programs.
B
Chapter 1 Welcome t o P ower S tructure
here are lots of computer programs out there that promise to make you a better writer. This isnt one of them. There are lots of programs that promise to make it a snap for you to develop realistic characters, exciting plots and sure-fire story lines. This isnt one of those, either. We know better. Everyone involved in the development of Power Structure is a published writer, ranging in form from novels to screenplays, so were painfully aware that there is no simplemuch less guaranteedapproach to any aspect of creative writing. On top of this, we know that every writer has unique work habits. There are those who disdain planning of any kind; when such people get a vague idea for a story they plunge straight into the real work, trusting their instincts to lead them to a successful conclusion. In contrast are those writers who wont put down a single word until theyve planned out every detail of plot, atmosphere, and character. Finally, of course, there are the majority of writers, who live somewhere in the middlethose who feel the need to create some kind of outline or guideline, however vague, before proceeding. And lets not forget that regardless of their creative style, writers also vary wildly in terms of how organized they are. Some label files and sort documents in a logical, systematic manner; others scribble notes on napkins and dig them out of the dirty laundry later, if they can find them at all. Regardless of your approach or style, if youre a writer, Power Structure is for you.
POWER STRUCTURE CATEGORIES CATEGORIES offer numerous levels of detail. You decide how far to go!
Be S pecific How, exactly, does Power Structure help improve the quality and/or efficiency of your writing? In its narrowest sense, Power Structure is a story development or outlining program, which means it provides you with features to efficiently develop plot and character ideas before you begin incorporating them into your full-blown work. But thats only the beginning of Power Structure. Besides providing an abundance of unique and powerful tools to maximize your storytelling skills and painlessly improve your organization as a writer, Power Structure creates a stimulating environment in which you can explore your story and character ideas. On top of that, Power Structure offers the following benefits: Because you want to write, not struggle with learning a new program, Power Writer is both intuitive and simple to use. Start today! When those random bits of genius strike, simply jot them down in a floating, fully searchable electronic scratch pad so you can access them again in any form, at any time. Develop any character to the level you desirefrom physical details to personal history, innermost desires, or any other data you wish to enter. View your story in three Acts, Chapters, Scenes, or virtually any other structure model you prefer. Develop each Plot Point to the degree of detail you desirefrom a single line to a full chapter or scene.
Chapter 1 Welcome to Power Structure Be Specific (contd) Track story conflicts and subplots, and graphically see how they develop and interact so you can prevent dead spots in your story, and ensure that everything you want resolved gets resolved. Above all, remember that Power Structure is designed for you. Its amazingly flexibleyou can customize both the entire program and individual documents to suit your working style and personal needs. How t o U se T his M anual You printed this manual from a PDF file. That file was, in turn, an adaptation of the original manual, a flip-over book designed to be set up on its own built-in stand so you can read it without taking your hands off the keyboard. Thats a feature which does not translate to a book you print at home. Therefore, although this version contains all the text and graphics of the original, its laid out differently. This manual was written with different kinds of users in mind. If youre the kind who wants to learn just enou gh about the program to start it up and dive right in, we suggest that after you install Power Structure, you skip to Chapter 7, Power Structure Quick Start, and get your hands dirty by creating a sample Power Structure document. If youre the kind of user who prefers to understand everything about a program before taking it on the road, save Power Structure Quick Start until youve read and experimented with the rest of the manual.
Another hint. Because Power Structures printing options are so varied, our chapter on printing (Chapter 6) covers only the general aspects of printing in Power Structure. Details about printing particular types of Structure documents can be found at the end of each relevant section.
The STORY TREE STORY
Definitions When it comes to the terminology of writing, weve discovered that people (even writers, if you can believe it!) sometimes use similar terms for different things. To avoid confusion, here are our definitions of a few terms used extensively in this manual:
THE STORY
SUBPLOT Conflict Conflict
plot point
SUBPLOT
Story. Refers generically to any form of fiction you might be creating: short story, novel,
screen- or stage play, etc.
Structure document/file. Its important to differentiate between the story as defined

Conflict
plot point plot point plot point
above, and the Power Structure document youll build the story around. Theyre related, of course, but they arent identical any more than the blueprint of a building is the building itself. Therefore, the terms Structure document and Structure file will be used to refer to anything you create in Power Structure, while the term story is reserved exclusively for the tale youre conjuring up in your head.
plot point plot point
Conflict. As you probably know, in its largest sense the term conflict refers to an open clash between two opposing forces, and forms the backbone of nearly all storytelling. But well use the term in a more specific manner. As a rule, the overall plot of a story is composed of numerous smaller stories, each of which has its own internal dramatic core and unique beginning, middle and end. Some of these subplots are in turn composed of still simpler stories. For the purposes of this manual, the minimum possible mini-story is called a Conflict. For example: Jack disrupts Jills quiet village is a Conflict, because it suggests
Chapter 1 Welcome to Power Structure Definitions (contd) a series of opposing dramatic events with a beginning, middle and end. How and when the does the disruption occur? Why does it happen? How far does it go? How is it resolved?
Plot Point. To use a musical analogy, if a Conflict is a musical phrase, then a Plot Point is
YOU CAN CHANGE almost any term used in Power Structure to suit your personal preferences. (See Chapter 5, Other Features and Options).
a single note. By itself a note doesnt tell us much, but when arranged in a particular sequence with other notes, it helps create the effect were looking for. For example, a Plot Point in the Conflict above might be: Jill tries unsuccessfully to force Jack to leave.
The S tructure o f P ower S tructure Think of Power Structure as a toolboxa really big toolbox, one jammed with tools so varied they can be used to build everything from a bookend to a space station. Some of the tools are big and hardy, designed for roughing out characters, themes, acts and overall story lines; others are smaller and more precise, for developing chapters and scenes; and finally there are the tiny, highly specialized tools intended for picking out minute details of motivation, background, and purpose. You wont need to use every tool on every project. Power Structure gives you the freedom to not only pick and choose what you need, but to customize many of the tools to suit yourself. Its your toolbox. Fill it with what you need, and use it as you like.
Chapter 2 Getting S tarted

The Power Structure INSTALLATION INSTALLATION MENU
hen you insert the Power Structure CD into your computer, the installation program will automatically launch itself (if for some reason it doesnt, double-click on the CD icon in Windows Explorer, then double-click on the Setup icon), and present you with the screen at left. Unless you have specific reasons for not doing so, we suggest you let the program install itself in the default directory and Program Group displayed. You can also select whether to place a shortcut icon to Power Structure on your desktop, your Start menu, or both.
Serial N umber As you can see, youre asked to type the serial number into a box on the initial Setup window. Your serial number can be found on the back of this Users Manual. We cant stress enough that you must keep a record of this number! People lose manuals, so write it down somewhere else as well. Tell it to your psychiatrist or your mother. Tattoo it on your forehead. Yes, after you install Power Structure the serial number will be listed on your Help menu under About, but that wont do you any good if your computer crashes, will it? And yes, youll ordinarily be registered with us automatically by the time youve finished installing Power Structurebut still, youll need to give us your serial number if you seek technical support or program updates in the future. So record this number in a safe place. Youve been warned! Once youve typed in your serial number, simply click Install. The Setup program will now place Power Structure on your hard drive, in the directory and with the options already specified.
A N ote o n C opy P rotection Yes, Power Structure is copy protected, in that we have to have some means of keeping track of whos installing the program, and how often. Each user is licensed to load and run Power Structure on up to three computers at the same time, for his or her personal use only (for network installations or additional installation credits, call us at 800 450-9450). But take heart; in most circumstances our copy protection is virtually unnoticeable. The process works like this: Once youve installed the program, it will only run if you do one of the following: A) put the original CD in the drive, or B) register. So , Register
THE WISE USER registers his or her program. It only takes a bit of typing and a click of the mouse.
Weve made this procedure as easy as possible, assuming you have Internet access. Simply make sure youre logged onto the Internet, then
1. Click Register Via Internet. 2. Make sure the Power Structure CD is not in the drive, then run the program. After
the initial splash screen youll be presented with the registration menu.
2. Fill in the various boxes (the blue ones must be filled in; the white ones are optional). 3. Click Register installation now.
A pop-up box will inform you of your registration options. Select Register via Internet, and in a matter of seconds, youll be able to open Power Structure on that computer without using the CD as a key.
Chapter 2 Getting Started So, Register (contd) What i f I m n ot C onnected? If youre one of those Luddites who eschew the Internet, youll have to either insert the CD as a key disk each time you launch Power Structure, or call us at (800) 450-9450 to register. Uninstalling Power S tructure
UNINSTALLING Power Structure is UNINSTALLING also a snap
Like we said, youre licensed to install Power Structure on up to three computers at any one time, for your own use. Typically, writers will install on a desktop machine, a laptop, and possibly a computer at work (not that youd ever dream of writing the Great American Novel at the office, of course). Each of these installations will require its own validation, which will register on our database as usual. But what happens if youre going to sell a computer thats got Power Structure installed on it, or you need to have an ailing hard drive wiped or replaced? Simple: Uninstall Power Structure first. Our database will return one of your installation credits to you, so you can reinstall the program elsewhere.
Click here to uninstall Power Structure
To uninstall, simply click on Start, Programs, Power Structure, then on the Uninstall icon. Follow the instructions from there. In the event that a hard drive crash or other unpredictable calamity destroys one of your installations before you can uninstall, give us a call. Have your serial number ready, as well as your tale of woe, and after a suitable amount of torture well most likely help you out.
Running P ower S tructure

This is the FIRST menu youll see when you launch Power Structure.
So now youve got Power Structure installed, and youve either registered it or have the CD in the drive. To start the program, simply double-click the Power Structure icon on your desktop, or access it from your Start menu. The Power Structure logo will construct itself on your screen, and then youll see the menu of options pictured at left.
Open Last Structure file. This wont do you any good until youve created and saved your first Plan, but after that, you can select this option to immediately open that file. Open Other Structure file. Brings up a list of the Power Structure files stored in the default directory, so you can choose which one you wish to open. Start New Structure file. So you can do that.
Note the box labeled Dont show this menu at start-up. Checking it means that in the future, Power Structure will open directly to the Welcome to Power Structure menu (which you also get any time you start a brand-new file). If you choose the Start New Structure file option, or begin a new Structure file at any time, youll be shown the Welcome menu on the next page. This menu displays the most common story formats used by fiction writers. Choose the one you want and click Start New. If you dont see the exact format you prefer, dont despair. All the formats on the list can be modified, or you can create your own unique format and save it for future use. Below are brief descriptions of the specific differences between the default formats. For the most part these differences are matters of terminology and general layout. Again, rememberanything you wish to change can be changed.
Campbell & Voglers Mythic 12 Steps. No, this isnt a support group for people who see unicorns. It refers to the work of mythologist Joseph Campbell, who developed two
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Chapter 2 Getting Started Running Power Structure (contd)

This menu appears whenever you begin a BRAND-NEW Structure file.
important concepts: The Heros Journey as the paradigm of all storytelling, and the idea of archetypes whose roles are assumed by various characters in a piece of fiction. These concepts were further codified for writers by Christopher Vogler, a Hollywood development executive, in his book The Writers Journey. If you select this format, your options will include Journey Stages, as defined by Campbell and Vogler.
Novel format (Chapters/Plot Points). The default format for the novel includes
Chapters and Plot Points. Can also be used to develop short stories, essays, poems, or other forms of narrative writing.
Play (2 Stageplay Acts and Scenes). Includes Act and Scene options for two Acts. Play (5 Stageplay Acts and Scenes). Includes Act and Scene options for five Acts. Screenplay (Scenes & Plot Points). The Screenplay format offers Scene designations
along with Plot Points.
Screenplay (Sequence & Scenes). This is an alternative Screenplay format offering Sequence and Scene options instead of Scene and Plot Point. TV Structure (5 Acts & Scenes). This format is designed to coincide with scripts written for television shows that use five Acts with corresponding Scenes. TV Structure (7 Acts & Scenes). Same as the five-Act structure, but intended for scripts
that use a 7 Act TV structure.
Templates youve created yourself will automatically appear at the bottom of this menu. For more on templates, please see Creating Templates in Chapter Five, Other Features and Options. Finally, youll notice on this window a CheckBox labeled Dont show this menu when starting a new file. If you check it, then in the future when you launch Power Structure youll bypass this menu entirely and go directly into a blank document using whatever terminology and format you selected as your default. Anyway, once youve selected the format of your choice, click the Start New button, and youll be presented with a blank Power Structure document with your chosen defaults loaded in and ready to go.
Chapter 3 A T our o f P ower S tructure
hen you open any Power Structure document, including a brand-new one, youll be presented with a screen similar to the one on the next page (the only difference being that Chapter might be replaced by Scene or some other label, depending on the format you loaded). As with any Windows program, at the top of the screen is a menu bar from which you select most of your options. Beneath that is a tab bar used for accessing your different Power Structure views. Next comes a button bar (optional) for those of you who enjoy using a mouse, followed by the bulk of the screen, which is split vertically into two parts.
Sheer J anus
Janus was a two-faced Roman god. Its a literary analogy, see?
As youll discover, nearly all Power Structure screens share this two-faced configuration. General options are located in the left window, and more specific options and input fields in the right. (See image on next page for details.) Lets say you just loaded the Novel format. Your left main window will display the item Chapter One, next to a plus (+) sign and above the item New Chapter. A dotted line connects the latter two. These symbols are very common in Power Structure, and mark a nested hierarchy. This means that the category in question contains at least one, if not several, additional categories or layers of categories. For example, the Chapter item contains the subcategory Plot Point, which itself contains subcategories for The Conflict, Characters Involved, Story Stage and Ticking Clock. To access subcategories, you can either 1) double-click the
CHAPTERS VIEW exhibits the two faced configuration of many Power Structure windows
Category item
A plus (+) sign indicates additional categories
Drag this divider to adjust the relative width of the two main windows
Structure categories
Options and input fields
Chapter 3 A Tour of Power Structure Sheer Janus (contd)

RIGHT-CLICKING a category item RIGHT-CLICKING produces these options.
item with the plus sign next to it; 2) click on the plus sign itself; or 3) press Enter while the desired item is highlighted. By the way, many of the items in hierarchy lists can be edited by right-clicking on them and then choosing one of the options described below.
Collapse all. Clicking this reduces the entire tree of expanded items and options to its
minimum size.
Create new. Generates a new iteration of the selected item; for example, if you right-click
CHOOSING EDIT from the list allows you to modify the category heading.
on Chapter One, choosing Create new will generate the item Chapter Two, along with a complete subset of options.
Edit. Enables you to rename the item. For example, you might be planning to give the Chapters in your novel actual headings, such as Carl Goes to Town. This option allows you to give each Chapter the appropriate heading in your Power Structure document. (You can also pull up the Edit option by selecting the item and pressing the Quick Key, F2.) Delete. Deletes the item and all its subsets. You can also delete an item by selecting it and pressing the Del key on your keyboard.
The M ain M enu B ar When you scan through the menus on your main menu bar, note that many of them offer Quick Key combinations (for example, Ctrl+Q accesses the Quick Note Pad) that enable you to activate the option without taking your hands off the keyboard. The menus and their contents are described in detail on the following pages.
The MAIN MENU bar
Chapter 3 A Tour of Power Structure FILE

The FILE menu
New. This brings up the same Welcome to Power Structure menu you encountered when
you first launched the program. All the options are identical.
Open (Ctrl+O). To open an already-created Structure document. Save (Ctrl+S). To save changes you've made to an open Structure document. Save As... To rename a file (so as to start a new copy of it, which you can then change
without affecting the original copy).
Backup To... To save a copy of the currently-open document to an external medium, like
a floppy disk or Zip drive.
Close (Ctrl+F4). To close the currently-open document, but not the program. Create Title Page. Takes you to a special WYSIWYG window where you can create, save,
or load a custom title page for your document.
Print Reports (Ctrl+P). Opens a menu from which you can select options for printing all or part of your document. Register with Firstuse. This feature allows you to register your Structure file with Firstuse.com, an Internet database offering electronic fingerprinting of documents. This ensures that an external record of when you completed and registered the file exists. Power Structure also places a copy of the fingerprinted file on your hard drive using the existing file name, plus the extension .fu, so you can access it in the future if need be. Import. Opens a menu from which you can choose to import certain kinds of information
from files created in the following programs: Power Structure, ScriptThing for Windows, Movie Magic Screenwriter, Story View, and Dramatica.
This area displays the names of up to the last three files you worked on. Click on one to open it.
TIP: Need to rework a script thats in Move Magic Screenwriter 2000 or ScriptThing for Windows? Just open the file directly in Power Structure, restructure it as needed, then export it back to Screenwriter 2000 or ScriptThing!
Export. Saves your Power Structure files in a format accessible to the programs listed
above. Also offers .RFT, a format used by most word processing programs, including MS Word.
Exit (Alt+F4). Closes Power Structure entirely.

If you see the names of Power Structure files listed at the bottom of the Window, those are the last few Structure documents that you had saved in the program. Selecting a name from that list will reopen the file.
Chapter 3 A Tour of Power Structure EDIT

The EDIT menu
Cut (Ctrl+X). Removes selected text from the file and place it on the Windows Clipboard
until you need it again.
Copy (Ctrl+C). Makes a copy of selected text and place it on the Windows Clipboard, without affecting the original in any way. Delete. Erases selected text entirely. Paste (Ctrl+V). Places previously-cut or copied text in the currently-open file at the location of the cursor.
Edit Text. This option applies to the items in a left-hand window; for example, Chapter or Plot Point. Choosing this option pops up the edit box for the selected item, so you can change the text. Bold (Ctrl+B). Makes selected text bold, or ensures that new text typed in will be bold. Italics (Ctrl+I). Makes selected text italicized, or ensures that new text typed in will be
italicized.
will be underlined.
Underline (Ctrl+U). Makes selected text underlined, or ensures that new text typed in Normal (Ctrl+N). Removes any special formatting (Bold, Italics, etc.) from selected text,
or ensures that new text will not have any special formatting applied to it.
Terminology. Brings up a series of menus you can use to access and change virtually all of
the default terms used in Power Structure. Delete terms from lists, add them, or modify them to suit yourself. For detailed instructions, please see Editing Terminology in Chapter 5, Other Features and Options.
SEARCH
The SEARCH menu and its options
Find. Locates a word or phrase you type into the box. Replace. Locates a word or phrase, then replaces it with another word or phrase. Find Next. Repeats the previous find/replace command.
For more on searching for and replacing text, please see Chapter 5, Other Features and Options.
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Chapter 1 Welcome to Power Structure VIEW

The VIEW menu
This menu lists the main submenus relating to Power Structure's Views, which are also accessible from the row of tabs beneath the main menu bar. Because we'll cover story development options in detail in the next chapter, the following descriptions are cursory:
Story/Theme View (Ctrl+1). Where you work out the overall intent of the story. Character View (Ctrl+2). Where you develop the characters of the story. Three Act View (Ctrl+3). Where you describe the overall dramatic flow of the story
using traditional three act structure.
Chapter View (Ctrl+4). Where you break the story down into chapters. Plot Point View (Ctrl+5). Where you determine the Plot Points that make up the various conflicts in the story.
Conflict Overview (Ctrl+6). Where you view your document as a chart displaying the ebb and flow of Plot Points through all or selected Conflicts. Gestalt View (Ctrl+7). Where you see three aspects of your storyActs, Chapters and
Plot Pointsat a glance.
window.
Full Screen WP (Ctrl+8). Where you view each Plot Point in an editable, full-screen
Index Cards View (Ctrl+9). Allows you to view, edit and organize Plot Points on a screen where you can examine the Plots Points in the context not only of their chronological order, but also their relationship to other Plot Points. For more information on using Index Cards, please see Chapter 6, Other Options. Setup Gestalt View. Lets you choose how many columns of information will display in the Gestalt View window. Top Button Bar. Lets you choose whether to display or hide the Top Button Bar.
Writers who have no liking for the mouse might prefer to shut off the button bar and save an extra line or two of display space.
Color Categories. Lets you select whether to display colored tags (which you assign to various categories of information) on hierarchy lists, and/or same-colored lines around relevant edit boxes. Power Access. Launches Power Access, a handy feature that allows you to simultaneously run your word processing program while having your Power Structure information at your fingertips.
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Chapter 3 A Tour of Power Structure TOOLS

The T OOLS menu
Spell Check. Checks the spelling for a selected word or block of text. Thesaurus. Accesses alternative word choices for the currently-selected word. Quick Note Pad. Pops up a notepad on which you can jot ideas, questions, or anything else you want to look at later. Name Bank. Accesses a database of first and last names for both men and women, as well
as a list of surnames.
Auto-Spell on Exit. Turns on or off the option to have the program automatically check the spelling of all text when you leave that window. Check all Conflicts for tangling. When you create a Plot Point, Chapter, Scene, or
other subdivision of your story in Power Structure, you retain the option of rearranging their positions relative to one anotherfor example, if you drag Chapter 16 up in front of what was Chapter 4, everything in the document will automatically shift and renumber to accommodate the change. However, there can be situations where certain Plot Points cant be logically moved to certain locations, because of the nature of that Plot Point. For example, if the Point has been identified as introducing a particular Conflict, it doesnt make sense for it to end up in a position after the Conflicts resolution. If you move it to such a position, it has become tangled and youll get poor feedback about it in some of your charts and printouts. When you use this option, Power Structure scans your document, identifies tangles and gives you options for dealing with them. For more information on tangles, see Untangling Conflicts in Chapter 5, Other Features and Options.
CONDENSE PLOT POINTS warning
Condense Plot Points. When you use the Index Card option or Conflict Overview, you
have the freedom to create blank Plot Points as spacers between existing Plot Points. Generally these spacers will be filled in later, when you figure out what you want to be in them. However, when you finish your Structure document, you might find that some spacers remain and show up on your Index Cards and in Conflict Overview. Selecting Condense Plot Points automatically eliminates all blank spacers from your document.
Using Condense Plot Points automatically eliminates leftover blank Index Cards. (See Index Cards View in Chapter 5, Other Features and Options
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Chapter 3 A Tour of Power Structure

The SAVE Structure Template menu SAVE
TEMPLATES
Load Structure Template. Pulls up a menu containing the new file options. Select one, and that format template will be loaded. Save Structure Template. If you create a Structure document with a layout and set of
terminology lists that you like, you can save it as a template. If you choose an existing template type from this menu, the new settings will be saved as your defaults for that type. If you choose User defined, you can name a new type of template which will subsequently appear on all Template lists. If you choose Program Default, Power Structure will save the current template settings as the program default.
Templates youve already created and saved are listed here Accesses templates that are on a floppy disk or other source The LOAD Structure Template menu
Restores the original template settings
HELP
The HELP menu You can find your serial number by clicking here
Clicking Help connects you to a link to the technical support information on our web site, making it certain that you always have access to the very latest data about Power Structures features.
Takes you to our Frequently Asked Questions web page Takes you to our web site home page
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Chapter 3 A Tour of Power Structure The B utton B ar These buttons are useful for writers who enjoy using the mouse; they activate most of the major options found on the pull-down menus. (1) New. Opens a new, blank Structure document. (2) Open. Brings up the list of existing Structure files. Buttons 11-17 will be grayed out unless youve got a block of text selected.
10
11
12 13
14 15
16
17
18
(3) Save. Saves the current Structure document under its current name. (4) Save As Saves the current Structure document after you name or rename it. (5) Print. Brings up the main Print menu. For more on this topic, see Printing Your Power Structure File later in the manual. (6) Close. Closes the current document, prompting you to save it if necessary. (7) Quick Note. Pulls up the Quick Note window. (8) Search for Text. Produces an input field into which you type text you want to locate in the current document. (9) Spell Check. Checks the spelling of specified text. (10) Thesaurus. Produces other word-choice options for the selected word. (11) Cut. Cuts selected text to the clipboard. (12) Copy. Copies selected text to the clipboard. (13) Paste. Pastes previously cut or copied text at the current location of the cursor. (14) Bold. Makes selected text bold, or if no text is selected, bolds new text you type in. (15) Underline. Underlines selected text, or if no text is selected, underlines new text you type in. (16) Italics. Italicizes selected text, or if no text is selected, italicizes new text you type in. (17) Normal. Makes selected text normal, or if no text is selected, shuts off any text formatting for new text. (18) Text Zoom. Enlarges or shrinks the display of text displayed in input fields. Does not affect the size of printed text. Please see Printing Your Power Structure File in Chapter 6, Printing, for details on printer fonts.
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Chapter 4 Structure V iews
T
You can ACCESS Power Structures Views in three ways.
here are two major aspects to creating a powerful story breakdown. The first is to see the story from a variety of perspectives, including an overall one. And the second is to be able to manipulate all parts of the story freely so you can control how they develop both separately and interactively.
Power Structure provides nine major tools, called Structure Views, to accomplish these goals. Dont let the term view throw you. Structure Views are much more than just ways to look at your work. Theyre a set of integrated tools that invite you to reach in and edit, shuffle and rework your ideas to your hearts content. The information you generate in each View moves along with you into other Viewsfor example, information you create in Plot Points View is also available in 3 Act View, and is fully editable from either View. Structure Views can be accessed in three ways: through the main menu bar, via keyboard shortcuts, or by clicking on the relevant view tab just below the main menu bar. If youve already studied Chapter 7, Power Structure Quick Start, much of what youre about to read will be familiar if not downright repetitive. But other parts will be new, so we suggest you examine all the information carefully. Also, let us reiterate the Principle That Cant Possibly Be Overstressed: the Structure View options are exactly that: options. Use them to stimulate your creativityor to help you organize what youve already createdor dont use them at all. Its up to you. The following is an overview of what each Structure View is and what it does. If the actual technique for using a Views options requires detailed instructions, youll be directed to Chapter 5, Other Features and Options, to get the extra info.
Main menu
Layout View Tab
Quick Keys
A N ote A bout P rinting Because Structure Views offer such varied information, their printing options often differ a great deal from one another as well. For that reason, specific printing instructions for each View are included in its section of this chapter. Printing guidelines relevant to all the Views are as follows (see Chapter 6, Printing, for more general printing information): There are three ways to access the Print menu: 1. 2. 3. click on File, Print Reports; or click on the Print icon; or press Ctrl+P. If a printing option checkbox has a green light on it, that option is selected. Initially, everything will be selected. Click a button to deselect the option. Each time you exit a Print menu, the current settings will be saved as the defaults until you change them again.
15
Chapter 4 Structure Views

The VIEW Category Tabs
NOTE: If your screen width is less than 1024 pixels, youll need to use the scroll buttons at either end of the tab bar to access all the Views
Examining P ower S tructure V iews The View categories, shown on the View tab bar above, are described in detail below.
1. Story/Theme. This is where youre asked to define the very broadest big picture view
of your story. Whats it about? What does it mean? What deep ideas, if any, are you trying to express? Having these topics written down and easily accessible helps keep you from wandering too far afield. will appear in your story. This category offers a number of nested options for exploring in as much detail as you wish who your characters are, where they come from, what their goals are, and what they represent to the story as a whole.
2. Characters. Heres where you develop, or at least keep track of, the characters that
3. 3 Act Structure. This is the classic beginning, middle and end framework used in
most fiction. Put simply, you set up your story in Act I, build the conflict and confrontation in Act II, and resolve the story in Act III. To describe it another way, In the first act you get your characters up a tree; in the second act you throw rocks at them, and in the third act you get them back down. This View offers nested options for describing what a particular Act is to accomplish, which characters are to be in it, and how the characters are affected and/or affect the events in the Act. You can also use this View to develop your story plot arcsetup,
confrontation, resolutionand for creating or selecting which Plot Points are to be included in the Act. For more on Plot Points, see below.
Remember, all the View terms can be changed to suit your needs. You can change them individually by using Edit Terminology, or you can load a complete set of specialized terms by selecting the appropriate template from the Templates menu. To illustrate, the following three templates use different terms to refer to the same two View categories: Novel Screenplay (S&S) Mythic 12 Plot Point Scene Journey Steps Chapter Sequence Scenes Each Views options are the same, regardless of what terms are being used.
4. Chapters. This View provides nested options for developing the exact purpose of 5. Plot Points. For our purposes, a Plot Point (or Scene, or whatever term youre cur-
each chapter and its characters, and for creating or selecting the Plot Points that compose each chapter. rently using) is the minimum self-contained subdivision of your storythe fundamental building block from which everything else is constructed. This View provides nested options for describing the central issue in each Plot Point its relationship to and impact on the entire story, the Characters involved, the story stage of the Plot Point using The Heros Journey paradigm (or any other methodology you might prefer or create for yourself), and the ticking clockthe degree of story tension you wish to establish by the end of the Plot Point.
6. Gestalt View. This option creates a full-screen display that shows all the Acts,
Chapters and Plot Points youve created and/or organized so far, and their relationships to one another. You can add or rearrange Plot Points and Chapters here. You can also drag the borders of each window to change its size for ease of viewing. Points and the tension level youve associated with each one, organized in a flow chart format that tracks the development, from beginning to end, of each Conflict in the story. This enables you to see at a glance how the drama ebbs and flows, and whether there are dead spots, or chaotic places where too many Conflicts peak at the same time.
7. Conflict Overview. This unique option features a graphical display of all your Plot
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Chapter 4 Structure Views Examining Power Structure Views (contd)
8. Full Screen WP. Opens a full-screen word processor where you can change a Plot
Points description, text, add new Plot Points or delete the Plot Point entirely. This View gives you the freedom to write in a screen uncluttered by a lot of options.
9. Index Card View. For decades, many writers (particularly screenwriters) have used
index cardsreal ones made of paperas a convenient means of brainstorming and organizing story ideas. The principle is simple: jot every plot idea that occurs to you down on a 3 X 5 card. When youve got enough cards, start organizing them. You can cluster them (for example, in related subplots) or simply lay them out in a line as they might progress through a story. The advantage of the cards is two-fold: 1) because you can easily add, remove and rearrange cards as your story concept evolves, you wont feel reluctant to experiment with ideas; and 2) you can organize the cards in a visual layout that helps you literally see the structure of your story at a glance. Many writers even tape their cards to the wall so they can look at the entire story at once. For years software programs have replicated the index card idea, allowing you to break your story down into digital cards which you can then manipulate inside your computer. Power Structures Index Cards View does this and much, much more. We provide numerous ways in which your story information can be not only viewed and reshuffled as index cards, but also categorized, compared, analyzed, edited and printed. For details, please see Using Index Cards in Chapter 5, More Features and Options.
Building a S tructure D ocument F rom t he G round U p The following sections discuss the basic procedures for creating a Structure document using every single option available in Power Structure. This is just so you can see how all the bells and whistles work, but, as we mentioned in the first chapter, you by no means have to use all of them. We just want you to know what they are.... Overview As we said earlier, the basic purpose of story development/outlining is to plan, or at least focus better on, the overall structure and flow of a story before you start to write it. Proper story planning helps you spot pitfalls, avoid sidetracks, and build a stronger, more coherent storyall before typing a single word of the story itself. Story planning also helps you organize all the pieces of your story for ease of retrieval, and makes your writing more efficient because you can keep yourself from writing into blind alleys. The idea is that if you know more or less where youre going, youll get there faster. To top things off, a well-constructed story development document can make the story itself betterbecause youll know, in advance, how the various parts need to fit together, freeing you to create each passage as effectively as possible. But again, there is no single way to pursue story development, and no correct amount of detail to include in the resulting document. Your Structure document should be considered a guidebook, not a map. It should be flexible and easy to alter as the story progresses. Power Structure is open to all of that.
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Chapter 4 Structure Views STORY/THEME VIEW Even if you intend to create the most vague, broad, pliable plan possible, this is the place to start. What is your story really about? What are you trying to accomplish? What are the underlying ideas or lessons (if any) that you wish to convey? To help prod your thinking, Power Structure provides a drop-down list of items from which to choose. As always, you can fill in text for any or all of themor for none, if thats your preference. You can also create additional items, rename existing items, or delete items entirely (for more on changing default information, please see Editing Terminology in Chapter 5, More Features and Options).
The STORY/THEME View STORY/THEME
Type text into this box after choosing an item from the list
Click here to delete an item from the list without having to go to the Edit Terminology menu.
The default list:

STORY/THEME default list STORY/THEME
Backstory. What happened before your story began? What events led up to those youre going to tell about? This information helps give your plot the feel of having a foundation, and also helps prevent you from making the kind of continuity errors that can result from not being sure what came before. Pitch. A pitch is exactly what the name implies: something thrown hard and fast and only
once. The term comes from the film industry, where often a writer has only minutes (if that) to interest a studio in his or her script idea. A pitch is not an outline or even a synopsis; its a dramatic encapsulation of your story intended to be delivered live and in person. The purpose of a pitch is to get the batter to swingto make the producer, director or other movie mogul eager to know more, and hopefully read the whole script. Also, keep this in mind even if youre not a screenwriter: Its been said that if you cant describe your story in a sentence, you dont know what it is. its most fundamental level? Again, it helps to be clear about this as youre working.
Premise. The premise is the keystone in the arch of your story. Whats the story about at Synopsis. A synopsis might be viewed as an expanded pitch. Write it the way youd answer
this question: So, whats your story about? Typically, a synopsis tells the story from beginning to end, hitting the high points, skipping or consolidating subplots or minor characters, in as exciting a manner as possible. While a synopsis is usually included as part of a manuscript submission package, its also a very useful tool while the work is in process. Why? Because in the case of a novel, script or other relatively long project, losing track of the basic story line is surprisingly easy to do.
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Chapter 4 Structure Views Story/Theme View (contd)
Theme. The theme of your story is what its really about, apart from the plot and characters. Maybe the theme is as simple as crime doesnt pay; maybe its about the complexities and hazards of interracial conflict. Regardless, if you write your theme down, you have a better chance of not losing track of it while you struggle with the nitty-gritty of storytelling.
Printing Story /Theme Reports
The STORY/THEME print menu STORY/THEME
When you access the Print menu from the Story/Theme menu, youll automatically be taken to the Story/Theme Information print options. In the left box is a list of the various Story/Theme subdivisions; simply check the ones you want to print, or click on the Select all items button, then click on Print. There are no additional printing options for your choices in this View.
CHARACTERS VIEW Its been said that all fiction can be divided into two broad categories: character-driven and plot-driven. Thats an oversimplification, but since all fiction is about events that occur to people (or other sentient beingsanimals, aliens, some politicians), even the most plotdriven yarn has to take characters into consideration. The Characters View (see next page) displays a nested hierarchy of options for detailing aspects of your characters backgrounds, personalities, goals, obstacles, story needs and purposes, and so forth. The screen consists of two main windows. On the left is the list of character names and their sub-options. When you select one of these names or options, further windows and input fields appear on the right side of the screen. Incidentally, not all characters are created equalsome are more important than others, and need to be segregated so their information can be more easily located and accessed. As you can see on the left side of the screen, Power Structure delineates three primary categories of characters: Major, Subplot, and Other. You can add as many characters as you wish to any of the categories by double-clicking on the New... button. And you can change a Characters importance level simply by dragging the item from one category to the next.
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The CHARACTERS View. See next page for number legend
4 1 5 6
Move Characters from one category to another by simply dragging the item 2 Double-click to add a Character to this category
7 9
Add new category to list
Delete category from list
Type details for each motivation/ history item into this box
1. Major Character. This item includes those personalities who matter most: your
hero (protagonist) and villain (antagonist), their best friends, cronies and the like.
2. Subplot Character. These characters are most relevant to the secondary aspects of
your story.
3. Other Character. These are the most incidental characters, like the unknown guy
who always beamed down to a planet at the beginning of each episode of the original Star Trekand promptly got killed.
When you click on an existing Character item or create a new Character item in any category, a selection of input fields appears on the right side of the screen. Here is where you fill in the most basic information about the character: name (4), sex (5), age (6), level of education (7), and marital status (8) (the latter two options include handy drop-down lists of the most common choices). The next option (9) is a drop-down list of information you might want to develop about what motivates the character. Note that categories can be added, revised or deleted from this list. You can also change the basic categories for all new stories by using the Terminology option on the Edit menu. Above all, remember that the purpose of these options is not to make you mechanically fill out lists; its to spur your thinking about your characters! The options are:
Biggest Failure to Date. This is, after all, something we all think about from time to time, and can sometimes be the single defining occurrence of our lives. Biggest Success to Date. Like many options, this one depends on your personal interpretation of the characters motivations.
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Chapter 4 Structure Views Characters View (contd)

The CHARACTER MOTIVATION MOTIVA drop-down list
Biggest Trauma to Date. A trauma may or may not be self-inflicted and therefore may or may not be the same as the biggest failure to date. Characters Backstory. Heres where you sketch in the characters biography, particularly the events that led him or her to the current situation.
Characters Role (or Reason for Being) in this story. This is where you define how
the characters background, personality, etc., make him or her crucial to the story.
Childhood Dreams. Again, even if this information is never revealed directly in the story, its something you might want to work out for yourself; it can certainly enrich the character in ways that arent obvious.
she was a child.
Current Dreams. To reveal how the Characters hopes and fears have evolved since he or
After clicking on one of these items, fill in the relevant information in the input field. Next to each Characters name in the left-hand column is a plus sign. Click on it, and a list of Character traits drops down. Click on one of those, and input fields related to that trait appear on the right side of the screen. Move from input field to input field by pressing Tab or clicking on the field you want with your mouse. The traits include:
Physical C haracteristics
The PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS menu
Distinguishing Physical Attributes. Again, this can be problematic depending upon the type of story youre writing. In the case of novels or short stories, you can be as explicit as you like. But if youre writing for the stage or screen, physical appearance is usually left pretty vague unless theres some specific feature, like a scar or a mechanical arm, thats crucial to the story. How would an observer describe him or her? In other words, how does the character
come across to the outside world?
How would he or she describe him- or herself? When compared to how others see him or her, this shows any flaws or inaccuracies in the characters self-image.
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The DESIRES & GOALS menu
Desires & Goals What does this character want? Input fields include:
What are his/her Desires and Goals? This is a central question about any significant
character, because it determines so much of what he or she does (for good or ill).
How does having these Desires & Goals affect both the Character and the Story?
In other words, what makes them more than just internal quirks?
Strengths & Virtues

The STRENGTHS & VIRTUES menu
What are the characters most redeeming traits? Input fields include: internal balance sheet?
What are his/her Strengths and Virtues? What lies on the plus side of this characters How does having these Strengths and Virtues affect both the Character and the Story? Another question to stimulate creative thought. In most stories, coming up with a
fleshed-out character isnt enough; ultimately, how a characters traits affect other characters or the story itself is what matters.
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The FAULTS & WEAKNESSES menu AULTS
Faults & Weaknesses What are the characters flaws? Input fields include: the hero or heroine?
What are his/her Faults and Weaknesses? What qualities of personality work against How does having these Faults and Weaknesses affect both the Character and the Story? As with virtues, its not the fault itself that matters so much as how that fault
affects the circumstances surrounding the character.
Character A rc
The CHARACTER ARC menu
How is the character affected by the events in the story? Input fields include:
What will he or she learn in the course of this story? In other words, how will the characters world view be altered before the end of the story? How will he or she be changed by having gone through the experiences in this story? In the vast majority of fiction, the protagonist undergoes changes as the story pro-
gresses. Thats what you want to think about here.
The Character Arc also allows you to define and describe the characters progression throughout each Act. Click on the plus sign next to the Character Arc category, then click on any of the Three Act headings that appear, and the following input fields materialize in the right-hand column:
Goal at Beginning of Act. To show where the character is coming from as the story
begins.
Goal at End of Act. To show how the characters goal has changedor not. In this Act, how do they change and what do they learn? Its always dangerous to
generalize about what fiction must or must not consist of, but in the vast majority of cases, if a major character undergoes no changes at all, theres probably no story; theres certainly little in the way of drama.
How is their Jeopardy increased in this Act? Generally, a character gets into deeper and deeper water from which they must escape before the final page, curtain or end credit.
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The Character Information PRINT MENU
Printing Character I nformation R eports When you access the Print menu from the Character menu, youll automatically be taken to the Character information print options. In the left box is a list of all your Characters. Check the box next to any or all of them in order to print their information, or click on the Select all items button, then choose specific reports to print by selecting buttons in the right-side window. Note that even though this is the Characters print menu, among its options is one to print out a list of all the Plot Points/Scenes in which the selected Characters appear, including as much or as little Plot Point detail as you desire. You might wonder, Isnt that redundant? If I want to print Plot Point data, why not just do it from the Plot Point print menu? Well, you can and probably should, when the time comes. But this option gives you the chance to print and analyze Plot Point information from the perspective of a Character. That might make all the difference to you.
HISTORICAL NOTE HISTORICAL Whats the difference between a 3 Act Structure and a 5 or 7-act TV or stage play structure? The basic 3 Act structure originated with Aristotle, who declared it to be a fundamental storytelling structure. TV and stage play acts lie on top of this fundamental three act structure in the same way that chapters in a novel do. Though the word Act is used in both cases, they mean very different things. AN EVEN MORE HISTORICAL HISTORICAL NOTE The length of a stage play act originally corresponded to the maximum length of time the candles used to light early theaters would burn. It was necessary to get patrons out of the theater occasionally so the candles could be changed...and popcorn sold, of course.
3 ACT STRUCTURE VIEW As we mentioned in Chapter One, the 3 act structure is the classic way to design a story; in fact, most stories tend to fall roughly into this structure regardless of intent. In its most general form, a three-act story consists of a section where characters and the basic themes and plot are introduced, followed by a longer development section, building up to the climax. In the event youre deliberately avoiding using such a structure but would like to take advantage of some of Power Structures Act sub-sections, simply use Act One for your entire story. Again, this menu (see next page) has a two-part design: general categories on the left, specific input fields and drop-down lists on the right.
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The 3 ACT STRUCTURE VIEW. See next page for numbers legend. VIEW
Subcategories such as Chapters and Characters will already contain information you created in their respective Views. But you can edit and add items in this view, too!
There are two immediate input fields requesting information about the Act:
1. General Act Information. To remind you about what this Act is supposed to contain or represent.
2. What has to be accomplished to get us to the Act break? Think about the genNOTE: Right-clicking on a checkedoff Has to be Accomplished item will provide the option to go directly to the relevant Plot Point.
eral goal of the Act. This field consists of a list of events, exposition, scenes, or anything else that must occur before the end of the Act. Although the lists can be edited for content from this view, they cant be checked off as completed here; to do that, you must go to a specific Plot Point and check it off. The checkmark will then appear in this view.
Now, we move on to the subcategories under each Act, and the options available for each of them. Characters Click on the plus sign next to this category, and youll see the now-familiar list of three basic character types. Click on the plus sign next to one of those, and youll get a list of appropriate characters. Click on a particular characters name, and to the right, editable boxes will appear. These input fields will look familiar if youve already accessed the Character menu and filled in those options; as if often the case, Power Structure makes the same information available from multiple locations, so you dont have to keep jumping from menu to menu to access or edit the data. Plot A rc
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The PLOT ARC menu
3 Act Structure View (contd) The second major category under each Act is the Plot Arc. The primary input fields for the Plot Arc are:
What is the Acts opening hook? In writing, a hook is exactly what the term implies
a device to latch onto the reader and keep him or her from getting loose from the story. Hooks can be obvious and dramatica murder in the opening sentenceor subtle, perhaps an exquisite description. Thats up to you. arching conflict, which is either resolved by the end of the Act or metamorphoses into something that propels us forward.
What is the overall Act conflict? As a rule, each Act introduces its own major, over-
Everyone needs a CLIMAX checklist
is it the best place? Ticking C lock
What is the Act break, and how does it move the conflict into the next phase, thrusting us into the next Act or final climax? Exactly how does the Act end, and why
By default, this category (not shown) contains only one input field question: What is the Acts overall Ticking Clock? Think about it....
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Chapter 4 Structure Views 3 Act Structure View (contd) The C limax What Plot Point do you want this Act to end on? Click the button next to your choice. Plot P oints Displays a list of all Plot Points assigned to this Act, along with the nested options for each Point. Again, these options replicate those found in another menuin this case, the Plot Points menu. For more on that, read Plot Points later in this chapter. Printing Act I nformation R eports
ACT INFORMATION print menu INFORMATION
When you access the Print menu from the 3 Act menu, youll automatically be taken to the Act Information print options. In the left box are your three Act headings. Check any or all of them in order to print their information, or click on the Select all items button, then choose specific reports from the right-side window. As you can see, you can even choose to print reports from subcategories like Plot Points, which can also be printed from a separate menu.
CHAPTERS VIEW The Chapters View menu is pretty straightforward. It contains a list of all the Chapters youve created so far (irrespective of what Act theyre in). Each Chapter item contains a nested list of all Plot Points currently assigned to that Chapter, and each Plot Point contains its own submenu of categories, as always. You can create or delete new Chapters from here, and rearrange existing Chapters. Similarly, Plot Points can be moved around within a particular subcategory list, or from one Chapter to another. You can also give each Chapter an actual title or heading by right-clicking on the item in the left-hand window, then clicking on Edit and typing whatever you want into the input field that appears.
The CHAPTERS View
Chapters (and their contents) can be rearranged by dragging the headings up and down in the list. Theyll renumber automatically
Plot Points can also be dragged from place to place, or Chapter to Chapter
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Chapter 4 Structure Views Chapters View (contd) When you click on an item in the left-hand column, the following input fields appear on the right:
1. What is the Chapters opening hook? Here is where you can contemplate the best
way to grab your reader and get him or her involved in the Chapter.
2. How does the Chapter move the story forward? This is something lots of writ-
ers fail to consider in advance, often resulting in flat, vague or counterproductive results. happens to keep you on track as you work through the chapter. Again, you can edit the text here, but not actually check items off; that has to be done from a Plot Point field.
3. What Has to Happen Events are completed? Here you can view a list of must
CHAPTER INFORMATION print menu INFORMATION
4. What is the Chapters ending Hook? Many writers prefer to end each Chapter
with a hook so strong that no reader can possibly keep from moving on to the next chapter. Heres where you can come up with that terrific end to your Chapter.
Printing Chapter Reports When you access the Print menu from the Chapters menu, youll automatically be taken to the Chapter Information print options. In the left box is a list of all your Chapter headings. Check any or all of them in order to print their information, or click on the Select all items button, then choose specific reports from the right-side window. As you can see, you can even choose to print reports from subcategories like Plot Points, which can also be printed from a separate menu.
PLOT POINTS VIEW Like we said earlier, Plot Points are the smallest self-contained subdivisions of the story; they have no particular structure or direction of their own. However, link them together in proper sequence, and youve got something dynamic: what we call Conflicts (for more on Conflicts, see the next section). When you open the Plot Point View (next page), youll be presented with a list of all existing Plot Points in the document, regardless of Act or Chapter divisions. You can add Points here, or delete them, or rearrange them by dragging a Point from one location to another on the list. If you click on a Plot Point in the left-hand column, the text describ-
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The PLOT POINT View Selecting the Movement tab provides additional options to consider
As always, hierarchies of items in the left-hand column are identified by plus signs
4 Check off any items that are completed in this Plot Point 5
Plot Points View (contd) ing that Plot Point will be displayed in boxes on the right (1). In order to see the Point in context, you can choose to view the text of up to five consecutive Points at once by clicking the buttons labeled 1 Card, 2 Cards, etc. at the top of the right side of the screen. A sixth button, labeled Movement (2), provides three additional input fields:
(3) Plot Point Detail. Displays existing Plot Point text, if any, or you can enter it here. (4) How does this move the story forward? Contemplating this question could keep
you from throwing some occurrence in just because you like it, even though it doesnt really accomplish much.
You will see the What Has to Happen Events are completed? checklist (5) ONLY if a) youve already defined at least one Has to Happen Events in either Act or Chapters View, b) some of those Events have not yet been resolved, AND c) the Movement button has been pressed.
(5) What Has to happen events are completed? Includes the checklist you creat-
ed under the Chapter menu (assuming you used that option, of course). Click on any items CheckBox to indicate that that item was polished off in the current Plot Point.
Click on the plus sign next to any Plot Point in the left-hand column to drop down its list of subcategories. Click on any of those, and relevant input fields and drop-down menus appear on the right side of the screen (see next page for image):
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Chapter 4 Structure Views Plot Points View (contd)

Selecting CONFLICTS in Plot Point View
The C onflict As we stated in Chapter 1, if the Plot Point is the smallest fragment of story, the Conflict is the smallest fragment of drama. In Power Structure, a Conflict depicts the birth, growth and resolution of a particular dramatic elementa sort of mini-plot. For example, in The Land of Nod the main character, Jeff Dittimore, begins to have particularly vivid dreams, and then waking hallucinations, about his childhood friends. At the same time, hes dealing with career pressures and his failures as a husband and father. Although all of these factors and more intertwine to act on him, at the same time each remains a separate entity with its own beginning, middle and end. Power Structure helps you to not only define and identify these individual threads, but weave them into the larger tapestry of your story to their best effect. Again, keep in mind that its unusual (to say the least) to have all your Conflicts lined up in a row; far more often several Conflicts run concurrently, affecting one another without necessarily combining. For example, in The Land of Nod the first two Plot Points are The boys play a game and Jeff awakens and reflects on his childhood. Although these Points follow one another chronologically and both center around the same character, in this case each Point also introduces a separate Conflict. So , how d o y ou c reate a nd m anipulate C onflicts i n P ower Structure? When youre in the Plot Point View, click on the plus sign next to a Plot Point and youll see a number of options below the Plot Point item. The first one is The Conflict. Click on that, and three tabs appear at the top of the right-hand window. These bring up the categories for Conflicts displayed on the following pages.
Click on the two faces yelling at each other, of course
Conflict INTRODUCTION
Introduction This is the tab you choose when introducing a brand-new Conflict. From the first two drop-down lists, select the following names:
1 2
(1) First Character in Conflict (2) Second Character in Conflict

as well as an input field for...
(3) Description of Conflict

Give these things some thought, because what you type here will be used as the descriptive header of the Conflict in all other Views. This makes you really clarify in your mind what each Conflict is about. At the bottom of the window is a fourth option:
(4) Conflict Color. From this

4
palette you select a color to represent this Conflict on the Conflict Map (more on that later).
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Conflict HEIGHTENING
Heightening Select this tab when youre in a Plot Point that heightens or otherwise changes the dynamic of an existing Conflict. The options are:
(1) Which Existing Conflict is Heightened? Simply scroll to the correct choice
from the list of unresolved Conflicts.
(2) How is it Heightened? Type in a descrip-
tion of how this Plot Point heightens the Conflict. you choose a tension level for the Plot Point. The setting will be reflected on the graph in Conflict Overview. You might be thinking, Well, I want all my Plot Points to peg the excitement meter! And who can blame you? But thats rarely the way it works, particularly in long fiction, because variations in tension actually contribute to the overall buildup of tension. So what were talking about here is estimating the relative tension levels of various Plot Points. Conflict Overview will immediately reveal places where your story suffers from too many coinciding low spots or an overindulgence of adrenaline.
(3) Plot Point tension setting. Heres where

2
The buttons in this row can be used to jump you through all the Plot Points in this Conflict
Conflict RESOLUTION
Resolution Select this tab when youre in the Plot Point that brings the Conflict to its conclusion. This time you have only two options:
(1) Which Existing Conflict is Resolved?
Simply scroll to the correct choice from the list of unresolved Conflicts.
(2) How is it Resolved? Type in a description of how this Plot Point resolves the Conflict.
There is no tension level setting here because the Conflict is now resolved, finished, done and therefore, by definition, without tension. Although a resolution might simultaneously trigger off a new Conflict, such as Timmy wants revenge on Jeff for abandoning him.
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Chapter 4 Structure Views Plot Points View - The Conflict (contd)

STORY STAGE options STORY STAGE 1 2 3
Story S tage This category brings up input fields and drop-down lists containing the following options. If youre wondering where we came up with these items, youve obviously never read The Hero With a Thousand Faces, by mythologist Joseph Campbell, or The Writers Journey by Christopher Vogler, or Myth and the Movies, by Stuart Voytilla. Although you might want to check those out for more details, heres a synopsis.
1. This Plot Point represents the following Story Stage: By default, this drop-down
list includes the following categories:
problem.
Ordinary World: In which we meet the hero and form a bond of recognition. Call to Adventure: Where the hero is challenged to undertake a quest or solve a Refusal of Call: Where the hero hesitates or expresses fear. Meeting with the Mentor: Where the hero contacts a source of experience or
wisdom.
Crossing the Threshold: Where the hero finally commits to the adventure and
enters the Special World.
Tests, Allies & Enemies: Situations and characters that help the hero discover
whats special about the Special World.
Approach to the Inmost Cave: Where the hero prepares for a central battle or
confrontation.
Ordeal: The central crisis of the story for the hero.
Reward: The moment in which the hero is reborn in some sense and enjoys the benefits of surviving the Ordeal. Road Back: Where the hero leaves (or is chased out of) the Special World. Resurrection: A climactic test that purifies, redeems and transforms the hero on
the threshold of home. she has gained on the quest, benefitting friends, family, community, and the world. If you find guidelines like these helpful, use them. If you prefer your own guidelines, substitute them by clicking on the Terminology menu, then selecting Edit Terminology. If you dont care at all, ignore this list entirely.
Return with Elixir: Where the hero finally returns home and shares what he or
2. In this Plot Point, what is ????s Role? Again, we have a drop-down list based on
Campbells analysis of universal myth, referring in this case to the first Character you defined as being part of this Conflict. Theres a similar box for the second participating Character. The choices are:
Hero: Mentor: Shadow: Herald: Threshold Guardian: Trickster: Shapeshifter:
To serve and sacrifice. To guide. To destroy. To warn and challenge. To test. To disrupt. To question and deceive.
Again, any item on the list can be modified, or renamed to suit your own style, or ignored completely.
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Chapter 4 Structure Views Plot Points View - The Conflict (contd)

The CHARACTERS INVOLVED INVOLVED checklist
3. How is ??? Affected by this Conflict? This input field gives you the opportuni-
ty to think about how the Conflict affects this Character. Again, there is a matching box for the second Character. Characters I nvolved
Check the box next to any Character who will appear in the Plot Point
When you select this option, youll be presented with a checklist of all existing Characters; click the CheckBox next to the name of any Character whos going to appear in the Plot Point.
The names of the two Characters the Conflict is between will be marked in red
Ticking C lock
The TICKING CLOCK option
This category brings up two input fields:
How does this heighten the Acts ticking clock? Asks you to consider how the Conflict escalates the overall buildup (the ticking clock) of the current Act. Tension Level at the end of this Plot Point. This option features a gauge you can set
to the tension level you intend this Plot Point to attain. Unlike the tension level you set on the Heightening tab in the Conflict options, this setting does not affect the Conflict Map in Conflict Overview. The information is, however, printed out as part of the Plot Point report.
Drag the slider to set a tension level for the Plot Point
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Chapter 4 Structure Views Plot Points View (contd)

PLOT POINTS print menu
Printing Plot P oints When you access Print from the Plot Points menu, youll automatically be taken to the Plot Point View print options. In the left box is a list of all your Plot Point headings, in chronological order and without any Act/Chapter/Scene subdivisions. Check any or all of them in order to print their information, or click on the Select all items button, then choose specific reports from the list on the right side of the screen.
GESTALT VIEW
RIGHT-CLICKING on an item in RIGHT-CLICKING Gestalt View generates a pop-up menu that allows you to cut, copy, edit or move the item
The Gestalt View menu (image on next page) presents you with a screen divided (by default) into four columns, each of which contains information youve already created. The difference is that in this View, everything is presented in a more inclusive context so you immediately see how things fit together, then move, edit or delete text or specific items with ease.
1. Act. Editable text boxes containing your description of what happens in each Act. 2. Chapters in Act. A list of your Chapter numbers. You can add, delete, edit, or
dragn drop Chapters to change their arrangement.
3. Plot Points in Chapter. A list of the Plot Points in any selected Chapter. You can
add, delete, edit, or drag n drop Plot Points to change their arrangement. Plot Point.
4. Plot Point Detail. An editable text box containing the text of the currently-selected
34

The GESTALT VIEW lets you see everything at a glanceand move things, too. See previous page for number legend. GESTALT
4 You can hide or display columns by clicking here
One way to hide or display columns is by clicking on View, Setup Gestalt View.
Adjust column widths by dragging vertical spacers with your mouse
CONFLICT OVERVIEW This View brings you to a unique, graphical display of your Structure document that shows at a glance how the Conflicts youve defined interact throughout the story (see next page for example). If youve defined Acts and Chapters, those are displayed as vertical markers from left to right. But the major players in Conflict Overview are the Conflicts you already defined in the Plot Point menu. Each Conflict displays on the Conflict Map as a jagged line delineating the lifespan of the Conflict, from its introduction to its resolution. Individual Conflicts can be identified by the color of their lines, assigned to them under the Introduces tab of each conflicts first Plot Point. The Plot Points themselves are represented by colored bullets (the color is determined by the category to which the Plot Point has been assigned; see Index Cards for more information). If you place the mouse pointer over a bullet, the relevant caption and text will display in the Description of Plot Point #? boxes at the bottom of the window. Most important, though, is this: Each Plot Point is given a vertical orientation on the Map, representing that Points tension level. This enables you to see at a glance how your story flows from one Point to another. Is the drama building the way you want from Point to Point, Chapter to Chapter and Act to Act, or are there weak spots where a number of lowvalue Points converge? Are there overly-energetic spots where too many things come to a head at once? Does a Conflict lie dormant for too long, only to be resolved suddenly?
Remember, in Power Structure a Conflict is defined as the minimum storytelling unit that includes its own beginning, middle and end.
35

CONFLICT OVERVIEW gives you a graphical look at your entire story structure. See next page for number legend. OVERVIEW
1 2 3 4 5
7 When you assign a Plot Point to a color category, the color is applied to the bullet here as well as in other Views
This window displays the graphed lines for each of your storys Conflicts
You cant adjust the tension level of Introduction and Resolution Points!
These numbers represent the actual order of the Plot Points
Right-Clicking a graphed LINE on the Conflict Map produces a pop-up box like this one.
If you havent already defined a tension level for a particular Plot Point, or want to change a Points level, simply drag its bullet along the vertical axis to the desired position. In addition to the graph itself, you have the following option buttons:
(1) All Conflicts. Makes the chart display all Conflict lines and Plot Points. (2) Current Conflict. If you click on a Plot Point and choose this option, all conflict
lines except the one containing the selected Plot Point temporarily disappear.
(3) Unresolved Only. Sets the display so that the only conflict lines that remain visible
on the chart are those that have not yet been resolved.
(4) Hot Tracking. Ordinarily, when you move your pointer arrow from one part of the
chart to another, nothing happens unless you click or right-click on a Plot Point. Single-clicking calls up boxes containing all the text relating to that Plot Point (more on this below). Right-clicking calls up a menu of options (more on that below, too). However, with Hot Tracking selected, moving the cursor over any Plot Point will instantly call up the text boxes for that Point, no clicking required.
RIGHT-CLICKING a BULLET on the RIGHT-CLICKING Conflict map produces an pop-up box like this one.
(5) Drag Tension Level. If you want to drag a Plot Point bullet up or down to adjust its
tension level, youll need to click on this button first. Otherwise, its too easy to move a button unintentionally. Which creates an entirely different kind of tension that wed prefer to avoid.
(6) Reorder Plot Points. Enables you to drag Plot Points horizontally across the graph,
changing their order within the Conflict.
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Chapter 4 Structure Views Conflict Overview (contd) Text B oxes There are three text boxes in the Conflict Overview window, all of which display editable text options when you click on a given Plot Point with your mouse. The input fields include:
(7) Active Conflict. Displays the text, if any, that you used to describe the Conflict of
which the currently-selected Plot Point is a part. If you scroll through the list of these Conflict descriptions, the selected Conflict line on the chart will change accordingly. Displays the text, if any, that describes how the currently-selected Plot Point is introduced, heightened, or resolved. If you scroll through the list of heightened scene descriptions, the currently-selected Plot Point will change accordingly. currently-selected Plot Point, as well as a larger input field containing the Plot Points description.
(8) The Conflict is (Introduced, Heightened, Resolved) in the following manner.
(9) Description of Plot Point #?. Contains an input field displaying the heading of the
Mouse O ptions
Double-Click. If you double-click on any Plot Point or Conflict line, a list will pop up
offering choices of colors for that Conflict line. Click on the color you want, and the currently-selected Conflict line will convert. Heighten the Conflict in this Plot Point. Resolve the Conflict in this Plot Point. Introduce a new Plot Point. Delete this Plot Point completely.
Right-Click. If you right-click on a Plot Point, the following list of options will appear:
The menu also offers options to: Show All Conflicts Show Unresolved Conflicts Show Unresolved Conflicts only Clicking on your choice will eliminate irrelevant conflict lines, making it easier for you to track specific kinds of conflicts, if you wish.
CONFLICTS print options
Printing from C onflict O verview When you access the Print menu from the Conflict Overview menu, youll automatically be taken to the Conflicts print options. In the left box is a list of all your Conflict headings. Check any or all of them in order to print their information, or click on the Select all items button, then choose specific reports from the right side of the screen
NOTE: The Conflict Map itself does not print. Why not? Because without the dynamic text explaining what the charted information means, all youd end up with is a pretty graph.
FULL SCREEN WP This menu calls up a full-screen window (3) containing the text describing a Plot Point you select from a drop-down list (4). It also includes options that allow you to create a new Plot Point (1), change the name of the currently-selected Plot Point (2), or delete (5).
37
Chapter 4 Structure Views INDEX CARDS VIEW Heres another amazingly versatile feature youll wonder how you ever lived without. Theres a long tradition of writers using index cardsblank 5 X 7 inch cardsto help them outline their stories (especially scripts). Basically, the writer simply jotted any plot idea that came to mind down on a card, one idea (which is to say, one Plot Point) per card. Later,
The FULL SCREEN WORD PROCESSING Window
3 4
5 NOTE: You can also scroll through all existing Plot Points by using your up and down arrows
when enough cards had accumulated, the writer could literally shuffle them around, working out the best dramatic arrangement without having to do any tedious cutting-and-pasting. Eventually the entire story would be organized from beginning to end. Only then would the writing begin. Power Structures Index Card mode (see next page for image) allows for the same flexibility, plus some. Lets see how. Anywhere from one to sixty Power Structure index cards can be displayed on-screen at any one time, simply by adjusting the numbers in the Rows (1) and Cards Across (2) drop-down lists, and/or adjusting how much information displays in each card (4). You can also assign Plot Points to various categories of your own devising, in order to see how different kinds of Points interact over the course of the story. For example, you might want to see how the scary parts of The Land of Nod play out relative to the domestic disputes, job problems and other issues facing Jeff Dittimore. Just assign one row of cards to love, another to horror, another to internal, and so forthand then drag the Plot Point cards into the relevant rows. You can see at a glance what kind of Plot Point it is by which row its in. Thats still not all. You can assign each row a color to make it all the easier to recognize a Plot Points assigned categorynot only in Index Card View but in any view where Plot Points appear! Also, you can create an Index Card View where the Plot Points are all on the top row, and the main Characters involved in the Point are displayed on lower rows (3).
38

STANDARD INDEX CARDS view with categories defined. See following pages for number legend. STANDARD
4 Each card is bordered in the color you assign to that category/row

(you cant see the colors here because, well, this manual is printed in black and white)
Each card represents one Plot Point
Clicking these buttons lets you label different rows for different categories of Plot Points
Simply drag cards up or down to change their category assignment
Using I ndex C ards For a long time, many writers (particularly screen- and stage writers, who are forced to adhere to relatively strict guidelines of length and structure) used 5X7 cardboard index cards to help them outline their stories. Basically, one simply jotted any plot idea that came to mind down on a card, one idea (which is to say, one Plot Point or Scene) per card. When enough cards had been accumulated, you could literally shuffle them around, working out the best dramatic arrangement without having to do any tedious cutting-and-pasting. Eventually the entire story would be organized from beginning to end, and the writing could begin. Power Structures Index Card View (see next page) allows for the same flexibility, plus some. When you access Index Cards, youll notice that the cards are not three by five inches in size; in fact, you can view anywhere from one to sixty cards on-screen at a time by adjusting the numbers in the (1) Rows and (2) Cards Across boxes. The default setting is three rows by six columns. You can also choose to view either the complete text of the cards, the body text (the details) alone or, to really save space, the headings alone (4). When you first access Index Card mode, and assuming youve already created some Plot Points, youll see those Points displayed in the first row of boxes. You can edit the text of any box by double-clicking on it, and you can rearrange the cards order by dragging them from one position to another in the line. But thats just the beginning. You also have the option (3) of displaying the names of your main Characters under the Plot Points in which they appear, so you can consider and/or apply a role to the Character for that Point.
39
Chapter 4 Structure Views Using Index Cards - Catagorizing Cards (contd) Categorizing Index C ards Theres a vertical component to Index Card View, too, and you can drag cards up and down to different rows. What good does that do? This good: Lets say you want to see at a glance where all your romantic Plot Points appear, or all your scary Plot Points, or all your arguments. Power Structure allows you to label different rows as different categories, then drag Index Cards into the appropriate row, all without affecting the cards horizontal order. On top of that, you can assign each row a color to make recognizing the category that much easierespecially because your color choices will show up in other views as well! Heres how to set up categories and colors:
1. Move your cursor to the vertical box at the far left end of the first row and right-click.
An Edit box appears, labeled Select Category for Color. make sense to you. Hit Enter.
2. Type in a label for the rowfor example, Scary or Love or Internal; whatever 3. From the menu that appears, select a color for that category/row.
NOTE: Whatever color you choose will (by default) display as an outline around each box in the row, and also as a box adjacent to every Plot Point of that category when you use your Plot Point and Chapter menus. Not only that, but the bullet for each Plot Point on the Conflict Map will also become the chosen colorand you can even print your index cards (assuming youve got a color printer) with the relevant color borders!
Continue moving down the left-side column, labeling and assigning colors to as many rows as you wish. Then simply drag your Index Cards into the appropriate row. As we said before, their horizontal relationships with one another will remain unchanged. Mix w ith C haracters As you can see, a row of buttons across the top of the Index Cards View allows you to decide how much information is displayed in each box: all the text of each Scene, the headings only, or the detailed text only. But theres still more: Note the drop-down list that defaults to the setting Plot Points ONLY. Click on the arrow, and youll see a second option: Mix with Characters. Click on that. Immediately, all your Plot Points are shifted up to the top row (see image on next page). The remaining rows are labeled with the names of your Characters, and individual boxes will display the role (if any) the Character was assigned in that particular Plot Point, as well as any text you typed into the How is ??? affected by the Conflict? input field. These Character rows are ordered according to your definition of the Characters importance, and in addition are automatically assigned to a Major (light blue) or Minor (light green) group depending on how you defined the Character. If you have enough Characters on the list, you can scroll down by using the scroll bar on the right side of the screen. Note that the top row of boxes (the one with your Plot Points in it) remains constantly in view; only the Character rows scroll. When you switch the Character display on, you can view the role each Character plays in a given Plot Point, or create a role for them if one doesnt exist. To do so, double-click on the relevant box. A pop-up box appears, offering two options:
40

Index Cards view with CHARACTER NAMES
Each card in the Plot Points row is bordered in the color you assign to its category
Clicking a Character name tab pops up a list of existing characters. Then...
...click on the name you want assigned to that row
If the Character was assigned a role in the Plot Point, its displayed here
Each Character Name row is assigned a color designating Major or Subplot status
Select Characters Role. This produces a drop-down list of the now-familiar Character
roles. Choose the one you want, or leave it blank.
Main input field. Heres where you type in details concerning how the Character will react to the events of the Plot Point.
Inserting , Deleting a nd E diting I ndex C ard s
The INDEX CARD EDIT pop-up menu
As you look at your Plot Points in Index Cards mode, you might discover places where youd like to insert a new Point, make changes to an existing one, or delete one entirely. As usual, you can do any of these things without having to change to some other View. Inserting Cards
1. Right-click on the card you want the new one to go in front of. The Index Card edit
box will pop up. Type in the short and/or long text for the Point.
2. Click Apply or press Enter. A new row containing the card is inserted.
Editing Cards
1. Double-click on the card you want to edit. The Index Card edit box will pop up, displaying the text for the selected Plot Point.
2. Make your changes, then click Apply or press Enter.

Deleting Cards 1. 2. Right-click on the card you want delete. The Index Card edit box will pop up. Select Delete This Card. Answer Yes to the warning prompt.
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Chapter 4 Structure Views Using Index Cards (contd) Printing Index C ard R eports
The INDEX CARDS print menu
When you access the Print menu from the Index Cards menu, youll automatically be taken to the Index Cards print options. In the left box is a list of all your Index Card headings. Check the box next to any or all of them in order to print their information, or click on the Select all items button, then choose specific reports from the right-side list. As you can see, these options include the ability to print the related Character cards if you wish, as well as to choose to print only certain categories of cards. You can also choose how many cards to print on a page (pages are automatically laid out in horizontal or landscape orientation), regardless of how many cards are displayed on-screen. The following two options might require additional explanation:
Always print cards in true positions. If you look back at the graphic of the Index Card View, youll notice that if you printed only the Boys in conflict row, youd end up with lots of blank spaces where cards have been shifted into a different row. With this option checked, your printed document will include the blank cards. Uncheck this option, and your printed document will not include any blank cards.
full left-to-right justification.
Print the card text justified. This means that the text within each card will print with
42
Chapter 5 Other F eatures a nd O ptions
s weve said repeatedly, Power Structure is a very flexible program. Rather than forcing you to adhere to any particular methodology or layout, we let you choose these things for yourself, and mold the program to fit. This chapter covers in detail many of these options, as well as features only touched upon in earlier chapters.
Customizing Terminology Terminology v s . Templates Terminology refers to the words or labels assigned to certain functions or parts of a document in Power Structure. Different format types have different terminology lists. For example, a Chapter in the Novel format might be a Scene in the Screenplay format, and so on. A Template is a collection of settings that you can load into any new or current document. Templates contain not only terminology lists, but also default Structure items (like 5 Acts in a 5 Act Play) for a particular story format, either pre-defined or one that you create and name yourself. There are nine standard templates, and you can create as many additional templates as you wish.
Editing Terminology
EDIT TERMINOLOGY menus
EDIT, TERMINOLOGY This option brings up a collection of menus that includes virtually every term used in Power Structure. To edit an existing term, simply double-click on it in the list and make your changes. To delete a term or add one (these options are available for every category except General), click on the appropriate button. Youll also have the option to Use Current Terminology for all new stories. If you check this box, any changes you make to the lists will become your new default settings for future Structure documents. The menus are:
General. Includes the most basic, or root, Power Structure categories. To repeat: Because
this list is so basic and fundamental, you can change the existing terminology, but not delete or add items.
Story Stage. By default, the terminology on this list conforms to the story stages described in Christopher Voglers The Writers Journey. If youve got something else in mind, go ahead and change, add or delete terms as desired. Character Role. Again, the defaults employ terms from The Writers Journey. General Topics. This menu has two separate lists, Character History Topics and Story/Theme Topics. Each list can be edited independently. These lists are used in the Character View (as discussed on page 39) and the Story/Theme View (page 35).
43
Chapter 5 Other Features and Options

The SAVE STRUCTURE TEMPLATE SAVE TEMPLATE menu
Editing Terminology (contd) Saving Templates Once youve modified or created a Structure document with a specific set of terminology lists that you intend to use again, you can save those settings for future retrieval. Simply click on Templates, then Save Structure Template. Another menu appears, offering you the same list of default templates you saw when you started a new file. If you select one of these items, its default settings will be replaced with the settings you created. Alternatively, you can click on the User Defined option, and give the template a unique name (the file will automatically be given the extension .trm, for terminology). Theres also a Program Default option on the menu. If selected, this option sets the current files template to tbe programs default settings. Loading Templates To retrieve and load a template into a new document, simply click on Templates, Load Structure Template, and select a file from the list displayed. Double-click to load it into the current document.
Save your own unique template by clicking here
The LOAD STRUCTURE TEMPLATE TEMPLATE Menu
Power A ccess (VIEW, POWER ACCESS) Power Access takes story development to a new level by enabling you to access your Structure information without ever leaving your Windows-compatible word processing program. No more toggling through documents on your computer, or flipping through the pages of a notebook to track down some crucial bit of information. Its waiting for the click of a mouse button or the touch of a couple of keys. Heres how it works: First, Power Structure and your word processor (or any other Windows-based program, for that matter) must both be running. To launch Power Access from within Power Structure, simply click on View, Power Access. Alternatively, you can launch it while youre in your word processor by holding down the Windows key on your keyboard and pressing the letter A. Either way, the top margin of your main programs window will shift down a couple of inches, making room for the special Power Access menu bar to appear.
The Power Access MENU BAR
44
Chapter 5 Other Features and Options

POWER ACCESS at work with a word processing program. See next page for number legend. Power Access Menu
2 4
Word Processor Window
Once Power Access is launched, simply click on the tab of the category you wish to view (1), then choose the subcategory from the drop-down list (2) and click on the item you want. An item detail window (3) will pop up, offering more tabs and options for bringing up the exact information youre looking for. Close the Item Detail box by clicking on the X button in the upper-right corner (4). Any changes you made will be saved.
45
Chapter 5 Other Features and Options Untangling Conflicts

The TANGLE WARNING helps you WARNING deal with mixed-up Conflicts
(TOOLS, CHECK ALL CONFLICTS FOR TANGLING) No matter how idiosyncratic your approach to story development might be, certain logical rules always applyfor example, a Conflict cant end before it begins. But as you know, Conflicts are composed of Plot Points, one of which acts as the Conflicts Introduction, and another as the Conflicts Resolution. Thats perfect when the Conflict is first devised; however, when you begin editing your document you might want to rearrange certain Plot Points without regard to the role they were originally assigned. If you get into a situation like the one described above, where what was once a Conflicts Introduction has been moved to the end of the Conflict, well, youre obviously going to end up with strange results in some of the document views. We refer to these logical glitches as tangles. Power Structure offers two methods for straightening tangles out. The first method appears automatically when you try to move a relevant Plot Point from one location to another in many of the Views. Depending on the nature of the Plot Point, you might get a warning pop-up window like the one displayed at left. As you can see, you have three options.
(1) Ignore. If you choose this option, Power Structure will go ahead and move the Plot
Point to its new location even though it makes no logical sense. You can change the nature of the Plot Point later. (2) Undo move. Returns the errant Plot Point to its original location. (3) Go to Plot Point. Opens the Plot Points editing window so you can change the nature of the Point to a logical one for the current Conflict. For example, if a Plot Point was once a Conflict Introduction and got moved into the middle of a different Conflict, you can change its designation to a heightening of the new Conflict. Now, suppose you create and edit an entire Structure document and never once received a pop-up warning about tangles. Are you home free? Maybe not, because there are just so many different ways to shuffle Plot Points around in Power Structure. To be absolutely certain no tangles exist, click on Tools, Check all Conflicts for Tangling. Power Structure will scan your entire Plan for tangles, and if it finds any, produce a pop-up menu containing a relevant warning. If you click OK, youll be taken to that Plot Points editing window, where you can make the necessary adjustments.
46
Chapter 5 Other Features and Options Using T itle P age P ublisher (FILE, CREATE TITLE PAGE) Power Structure offers a WYSIWYG interface for creating title pages for your Structure documentsor for the manuscript itself, if you wish. This interface (see next page) is semigraphical, in that you create text boxes which you then drag around and align on-screen. The reason for this interface is that ordinary word processors become awkward when you try to compose and situate dissimilar blocks of textfor example, a left-justified block containing address and telephone information to go in the upper right-hand corner, another left-justified block to go in the upper right-hand corner, a centered block containing the title in a certain font, then the byline, also centered, and then perhaps agent information in yet another box in the lower right-hand corner. Power Structures Title Page Publisher enables you to mix and match these elements to your hearts content. As you can see, the display page in Title Page Publisher is marked with punch holes (which are used for screenplays and stage plays, but not for novels) and an optional non-printing grid that you can use to roughly position text boxes. To create the boxes themselves, simply point the cursor more or less where you want the box to appear, then double-click. A text editing window (1) will open. Heres where you type in the text you want to appear in that particular box, along with whatever formatting (alignment, font type, style and size, etc.) you want associated with it. When you click OK, a box containing the text appears on the WYSIWYG screen (2). Drag it with the mouse to position it.
The TITLE PAGE PUBLISHER Window PAGE
Double-clicking anywhere on the page pops up a text editing box
These options are used to align text boxes with one another--not text lines within a box! Tabs toggle between horizontal and vertical alignment options
After entering text into the edit box, click OK to put it on the page
47
Chapter 5 Other Features and Options Using Title Page Publisher (contd) Repeat this process for your other blocks of text. If you want to align multiple text blocksthe title and byline, for examplewith one another precisely, first position one box where you want it to go, then hold down your Shift key and click on any other boxes you want aligned with it. Now click on the appropriate options from the right side of the screen (note that there are tabs for both horizontal and vertical alignment), and the boxes will line up accordingly. When youre all done, click OK. The title page will be stored as part of this particular Structure file. You can also save a title page as a separate document for loading later, so you wont have to recreate the whole layout, but instead can simply edit existing text to reflect a new document. Just click on the Save button and type in a name for the title page, then click OK. To load an existing title page into a new document, open the new document, then click on File, Create Title Page, and Load. Select the title page from the list.
Search a nd R eplace (SEARCH, SEARCH AND REPLACE) When you want to find a given word in your Structure document, or replace a word, this is where you start. The interface is pretty much the same as for most Windows programs, except that you can specify which sections of the document you wish to search (or choose Anywhere to search them all). The image at left shows the Search & Replace window, which is identical to the Search window except for the addition of the Replace Text field and the options below:
The SEARCH & REPLACE Window
(1) Match Case. Click this button if you want to ensure that the new word matches the
case of the word being replaced.
(2) Whole Words ONLY. This option ensures that Power Structure doesnt replace part
1 2 3
of a word with the new word. For example, if youre putting in the word tiger for cat and do not choose this option, then the word catamaran would become tigeramaran. your document and replace all instances of the desired word without stopping each time to ask if its okay to do so. Otherwise, it politely enquires of every instance, so you can tell it what to do.
(3) Replace w/o Prompt. When selected, means that Power Structure will simply scan
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Chapter 5 Other Features and Options Quick N ote P ad

The QUICK NOTE Window
(TOOLS, QUICK NOTE PAD) This is Power Structures answer to yellow stickies. If you have an idea or question but dont want to jump out of whatever work youre currently involved in to jot it down, simply call up Quick Note Pad and type it in. You can always find it again later. To launch , click on Tools, , or use the Quick Key combination Ctrl+Q. The box at left will pop up on your screen. If youre creating a new note, click on the Note icon and type your reference text into the input field that appears. Reference text is a short label that will allow you to recognize this Note easily when it appears in a list of other Notes. Press Enter, and the reference text appears in the left-hand side of the Quick Note window (1). You can then type details text into the larger right-hand side of the window (2). Close the Notepad by clicking on the Close icon or the X button in the upper right-hand corner; your note will automatically be saved and listed the next time you open QNP. Printing from Q uick N ote P ad When you access the Print menu from Quick Note Pad (not shown), youll automatically be taken to the Quick Notes print options. In the left box is a list of all your existing Note headings. Check the box next to any or all of them in order to print their information, or click on the Select all items button. There is one option in the right-side window: Include text of notes. Select that if you want to print the full text of the note, and not just its heading.
Click this icon...
...to create or edit a Note heading
Name B ank
NAME BANK puts thousands of Character names at your fingertips
TOOLS, NAME BANK Heres yet another feature to make your story creation efforts easier and more creative. Name Bank is just what it sounds likea compendium of first and family names for both men and women. But Name Bank is a lot better name source than the phone book, and more fun to use, too. Heres why: Choose from lists of mens, womens and family names from various cultures. If you have a vague memory of a name but cant recall the whole thing, just type the first few letters into the Find Name box, and the list will automatically scroll closer and closer to the name youre looking for. Once you find names you like, drag them into the Personal Favorites box, from which theyll be automatically added to your Personal Lists for future reference. Paste names directly into your Power Structure document simply by selecting a name, then copying it and pasting it into your document.
Start typing here, and the list will automatically scroll to the closest match
Drag your favorite names here for easy future reference
49
Chapter 5 Other Features and Options Pitching with P ower S tructure

Print out just enough information for a compelling PITCH
As described earlier, a pitch refers specifically to a live, in-person presentation about a screenplay that the writer makes to one or more movie industry people. The fundamental purpose of the pitch is to cram a wedge of Chapters View in a door that swings shut very quickly. The pitch must therefore be very exciting, clear and conciseand flexible, because its made in person. This means that if you get the feeling youre losing your audience, you might have to quickly tighten your presentation; if they look confused, you might want to expand on it. All on the spot. Like any live speech, a pitch works best when the presenteryoudoesnt just sit there doggedly reading from his or her notes. The pitch should come across as spontaneous, confident, vivid. Which means that your notes should be easy to follow at a glance, and organized in such a way that the most important information is the most readily accessible, in case you dont have the opportunity to elaborate. Power Structure handles all this beautifully. You can limit yourself to writing a super-brief pitch using the relevant sections of Power Structure, or you can print out a more detailed document and pitch using that. If you choose the latter course, you can use the primary headings as triggers to remind you of your story progression as you pitch, and glance at more detailed information only when necessary. As always, Power Structure is available to act as a prod and a crutch to your fevered imagination.
Updating Power S tructure

The WEBGRAB INTERNET UPDATER will automatically find out UPDATER what new files you need, and update them for you!
Every time you install Power Structure, youll be given the chance to automatically update the program (assuming you have Internet access, that is). But what about updates in between installations? As it happens, a handy program called Webgrab is already listed in your Power Structure program group. Webgrab examines your current Power Structure files, determines which are up to date and which arent, and presents you with a list of needed files. You can deselect any that you dont want to replace, or leave the list as-is and click OK. Assuming youre logged onto the Internet, Webgrab will automatically download the selected updated files from our web site and install them for you. Its as simple as that.
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Chapter 6 Printing
A sample ACT/CHAPTER PAGE PAGE printed in Power Structure
lthough Power Structure can, of course, be run at the same time as your word processing program, and Power Access makes your Structure information even more readily available, the time will likely come when you want a hard copy of your document. Or you might be preparing a pitch or synopsis presentation which you want on paper. In other words, its time to print stuff out. Not surprisingly, Power Structure offers numerous printing options. Because of this, detailed instructions on printing particular Structure information has already been provided throughout this manual in the relevant sections. What follows is the generic information about printing in Power Structure.
Accessing t he P rint M enu There are several methods for accessing the main Print menu (pictured on next page):
Option One: Click on File, Print Reports. Option Two: Click on the Print icon on the button bar. Option Three: Press Ctrl+P.
A typical PRINT MENU Page Click on a view to access its options page
Select specific items to print from this list
A green light indicates an option is selected
Select particular categories to print from this list
Lets you switch to a printer other than your Windows default printer
Click to select ALL items in above list
Click to switch off ALL category green lights This section is the same for ALL print menus
51
Chapter 6 Printing Print M enu L ayout The main Print menu contains several pages of options, for the most part corresponding to the different Structure document Views. Youll notice that the print options for whatever View you were in when you decided to print will automatically be in the forefront, although you can select another Views options simply by clicking on its page header. The exception to this rule is the last page, which is the main Options menu. Well deal with that one separately. For now, heres the scoop on how the majority of the Print pages are laid out and work: Each Print menu page consists of two halves. The half on the left contains the printable items for the currently-selected View; simply click on the CheckBox next to any item you want to print, or click the button labeled Select all items to choose them all. The half on the right contains a list of all the printable categories within a selected View. By default, all available categories are selected the first time you print items from that View; to deselect a particular category, click on its green-lit button. To deselect them all, click on the button labeled Clear all selected. The settings you choose on a given print job will be saved as your defaults for the next print job. OPTIONS PAGE The Print Options page (see next page for image) contains options that apply to all Structure Views and categories you print out.
The PRINT OPTIONS menu. See following pages for number legend.
2 3 5
7 6 8 10 11 12 13 15 9 14
Note that changes made to fonts here do not affect the DISPLAY of text in Power Structure, but only printed pages!
52
Chapter 6 Printing
Page M argins
(1) Power Structure lets you choose from four widths, ranging from 1/4 inch to a full
inch, for your left and bottom margins. This lets you make allowances for binder rings if you wish, and also for the notoriously variable amount of white space different printers need at the bottom of a page. The top and right margins are fixed.
Categories Provides options defining how much information prints for the selected category, what font is used, and other things. Options include the ability to:
(2) Print the Category headings (such as Plot Points or Quick Notes). (3) Print Not specified for that Categorys text. (4) Not print that specific instance of the Category
To illustrate: Lets say that while you were creating a certain character in Character View, you didnt bother filling out her Physical Characteristics category. But as a reminder to yourself, you want the printed document to indicate where that information would normally have been placed. The solution is simple: before printing, select both a) Print Category headings, and b) Print Not Specified for that Categorys text from this menu. The printed-out result for the Character in question will look something like this: Physical Characteristics Not Specified
Footer T ext
(5) Is where you type in whatever youd like to have print on the bottom of each page.
Also includes:
(6) A handy button for inserting the copyright () symbol; (7) Inserts the file name in the footer.
Other O ptions At the bottom of the Print menu are various options for setting general printing preferences. They include:
(8) How much white space should print between lines of text; (9) The option to use the current font and spacing settings for all future print jobs; (10) Whether or not to print text justified; i.e., aligned on both the left and right margins.
(11) Whether or not to print a box around the text on each page; (12) Whether or not to allow text to be orphaned (i.e., a single line from the beginning
of a paragraph being left alone on a page, all sad and abandoned-looking); in the story and on the Conflict Overview graph;
(13) Whether or not to place numerals in front of each Plot Point, designating its position (14) Font options.
Once youve made your choices in the various menus, click either Print or...
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Chapter 6 Printing Print Menu - Options Page (contd)
15) Print Certain Pages Only. This option enables you to choose a range of pages,
rather than all the pages in the selected views and categories. At first, printing certain pages only might seem like a Catch-22 situation. After all, no page numbers appear in Power Structure itself (because you can print Views in any order you prefer), so how can you possibly know what pages you need to print until youve printed the pages, right? Well, yes. But thats okay, because this option is designed for two situations in which youll want to reprint only part of a job: 1) Youve already printed a portion of the document and only need to print out the pages youve since changed; or 2) your printer mangled a couple of pages of a job and you need to reprint those. Either way, the existing hard-copy will indicate which page numbers to reprint. Selecting a nd U nselecting P rint O ptions If an option button has a green light on it, that option is selected. Initially, every option on the page will be selected. Click a button to deselect its option. Each time you exit the Option page of the Print menu, the current settings will be saved as the new defaults.
54
Chapter 7 Power S tructure Q uick S tart
O
NOTE: This chapter is intended to help you create a Structure document with a minimum of fuss, so we wont be explaining everything in minute detail here. Thats what the rest of the manual is for!
kay, so youre impatient to create your first Power Structure document. Youve got the program installedwhats next?
Ordinarily, your first step would be to consider what medium your story is intended to come out in: print, stage or screen. However, for the sake of this demonstration well make the choice for you: were going to develop a story for a novel. Not only that, but to keep you focused on learning to use Power Structures tools, well supply the story as well: Its a little ditty called Jack and Jill. If youre not a novelist (or Mother Goose), dont worry; these tools and options, sometimes under different names, apply identically to stories written for other media. Follow A long This chapter will lead you through your lessons in as direct and linear a fashion as possible. We understand that there are numerous ways to approach any given aspect of your story, and our primary goal is to give you the freedom to use thembut for now, we suggest you follow us carefully. Select the menus and items we suggest, and fill in text as we direct. Trust us, this will be a big help later, when we start using Power Structures advanced tools for viewing and manipulating this information. Having said all that, let us add that we wont make you fill out every single field we come across. For example, our first exercise will be to put in Story/Theme information. There are five default categories to examine, but well work with only two, which is enough to show you how this particular View works, and how to use it.
Now Without F urther A do ...

Select your preference to start a NEW Power Structure file
Click on File, New, and choose Novel Format. Then Save I t Thats right. Before you do anything else, click on File, Save, name the document Jack and Jill and click Save. Now, if you accidentally step on your power strip switch and shut off your computer, you wont lose everything. In fact, if youre smartand even though Power Structure does create automatic backup filesyoull periodically do a manual save as you work. Its simply a good work habit. Now that thats taken care of... Choices , Choices Yep; youre immediately faced with a decision. If youre an extremely systematic thinker, you might want to begin your Jack and Jill document by deciding how many Chapters it will contain, and then filling in the Plot Point details for each one. Or perhaps youre more of a brainstormer who prefers to first jot down all your plot ideasregardless of their eventual order or categoryand then organize them at your leisure. Or you might be the kind of writer who needs to know at least some details about your characters before you can figure out what theyre going to do, in which case youll want to start with the Characters options. Power Structure allows you to assemble your storys pieces in whatever order you choose. But for the purposes of this exercise well follow the same sequence as Power Structures View tabs, which is a pretty common order of development for any story.
NOTE: If youre not familiar with the term Plot Point, or any other term you run across in this chapter, please consult the index
55
Chapter 7 Power Structure Quick Start By the way, keep in mind that because the various Views interact with one another, the order you use them in can affect the options that are available at any given time. For example, if you create your Plot Points before you develop your Characters, the Who is this Conflict between? question in the Plot Point View will, for obvious reasons, be unanswerable at that moment. This T ime Really With N o F urther A do ... Lets proceed to create our first Power Structure document. Like we said, well begin with the heart of the program, its nine Views.
STRUCTURE VIEW tabs are a quick way to access your View menus.
NOTE: If your screen width is less than 1024 pixels, youll need to use the scroll buttons at either end of the tab bar to access all the Views
Story / Theme V iew

Adjust the slider bar to change the size of display text
The STORY/THEME View STORY/THEME
Type text into this box after choosing an item from the list
Drop-down list of choices
Click here to delete an item from the list
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Chapter 7 Power Structure Quick Start STORY / THEME VIEW This View (see previous page) is where you can define the very broadest, big picture view of your story. Whats it about? What does it mean? What deep ideas, if any, are you trying to express?
You can ACCESS Power Structures Views in three ways.
To A ccess S tory /Theme V iew: On your main menu bar, click View, then Story/Theme View; or Press Ctrl+1; or Click Story/Theme on the View tab bar. To prod your thinking, Power Structure provides a drop-down list containing five different ways to approach these Big Questions. You can respond to all, some or none of them, or you can create and answer your own questions if you prefer. To respond to the items Method:
Main menu
Structure View Tab
Quick Keys
1. Click on the down-arrow button of the Category drop-down list.

NOTE: Again, to save you from gratuitous typing, for this demonstration well deal with only a couple of the options on the list.
2. Click on the Premise item. 3. Type the following into the main input field:
A woman, following the man she loves, falls to her tragic death.
Now we want to type in a Theme. Simply click on the drop-down list again, and this time select Theme. Then type: Its better to live a short, full life than a long one spent avoiding pain. To go back to Premise or any other category on the list, simply click on it; any text youve already written will be saved automatically.
NOTE: You can write as much text as you like in the main input fields: a word, a sentence, the entire story.
STORY / THEME VIEW
Customizing
If you wish to add, edit or delete any of the categories on the drop-down list, you have two options. The first one is handled from within Story/Theme View itself, as follows: Method:
1. While in Story/Theme View, Click the Create New Category button. In the editing
box that appears, type: Concept
2. Click OK.
Click on the drop-down list again. Concept is now on the list. But were not satisfied with it, so Method:
1. Click Concept on the list. 2. Click the Change Category Name button. 3. Type High Concept in as the category name and click OK.
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Chapter 7 Power Structure Quick Start Check the drop-down list again. Do we really need this new item? Nah; lets get rid of it. To do so, simply Method:
1. Select High Concept from the list. 2. Click on the big X button to the right of the drop-down list. Answer Yes to the
prompt. Check the drop-down list once more. High Concept is gone. The second way to edit this list is a bit more involved, because it lets you change the text used in virtually all the drop-down lists, as well as many other terms, all from a single source. Although its covered in detail in Chapter 5, Other Features and Options, lets get some practice using it right now Terminology T ime O ut If you know youre going to be modifying a lot of your Terminology lists, you can do it most efficiently from the Edit Terminology menu. For the purposes of this demonstration were only changing one item, but youll get the point. Proceed as follows: Method:
1. Click Edit, Terminology. 2. On the menu that appears, click General Topics. Youll see buttons for adding and
deleting items, but in this case were going to do some editing. So
3. In the Story/Theme Topics window, double-click Synopsis.

EDIT TERMINOLOGY, General TERMINOLOGY Options menu
4. An edit box appears. Type in:

Treatment
5. Click OK.
The term Treatment now replaces Synopsis on the drop-down list. Congratulations, youve just created the first couple of pieces of your Power Structure document. Now we suggest you do a manual save to preserve your work. To repeat, we obviously know theres an automatic backup, but thats not always going to save your very latest changes in the event of an emergency. So, to do the manual save Save O ptions Methods: Click File, Save; or Press Ctrl+S.; or Click the Save icon.
Double-click an item to pop up the Edit box
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Chapter 7 Power Structure Quick Start
Characters V iew
The CHARACTERS View. See following pages for number legend.
1 4 Move Characters from one category to another by simply dragging the item 5 7 8 10 9 6
2 Type details about each motivation category into this box Delete category from list
Add new category to list
59
Chapter 7 Power Structure Quick Start CHARACTERS VIEW Characters are, of course, the people, entities or other living things that act and are acted upon in your story. Whether you want to develop your Characters down to the last nuance or sketch them out just enough to immediately kill them in battle, this is the View to do it in. To A ccess C haracters V iew: On your main menu bar, click View, then Characters View; or Press Ctrl+2; or Click Characters on the View tab bar. When you open the Character View, your main window (see previous page) splits into two parts. This is a very common Power Structure layout, so it helps to get acquainted with it. On the left side of the screen, as displayed in the graphic at left, are the three main categories for this item. These are:
Main CHARACTER categories
Major Character (1). This category includes those personalities who matter most: your hero (the protagonist or viewpoint Character) and villain (the antagonist or obstacle character), their best friends, cronies and the like.
your story.
Subplot Character (2). These Characters are most relevant to the secondary aspects of
Other Character (3). These are the most incidental Characters, like the unknown guy who always beamed down to a planet at the beginning of each episode of the original Star Trekand was promptly killed.
Each item has a plus sign next to it, which indicates that subcategories nest within. This is what were looking for, so
MAJOR CHARACTER subcategories
Method:
1. Click on the plus sign (which then becomes a minus) next to Major Character. 2. Three subcategories appear:
Antagonist Protagonist New Note that each of these items has its own plus sign, and therefore additional subcategories. For now, click directly on the Hero item. A variety of options appear on the right side of the screen.
NOTE: Although by default we use the terms "Protagonist" and "Antagonist" for our hero and his or her opposite, remember that you can change these terms to whatever you like. For example, if youre writing a romantic comedy and dont have an antagonist in the classic sense of a bad guy, you might prefer a less aggressive term. Feel free!
NOTE: A plus sign next to an item indicates that subcategories are nested within. Simply click the plus sign to access them.
Incidentally, regarding these options, we cant repeat it often enough: You do not need to fill everything out. For the sake of practice well be thorough now, but neednt be in the future if its your nature to keep things sketchy. The options exist as much to stimulate your creative processes as to help you organize your thoughts, and the input fields are available so you can work out details if you so desireand when you so desire. Youre free to add, delete or modify information whenever you wish, or to simply leave boxes blank if that suits you.
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Chapter 7 Power Structure Quick Start Characters View - Details (contd) Lets continue developing our Hero.
3. Name (4). Heres where you type inwellthe Heros name. If this were an origi-
nal story and you were uncertain what name to use, you could type in a temporary choice and replace it later, or, better, access Name Bank to construct the perfect moniker (for more on Name Bank, see Chapter 5, Other Features and Options). In this case, our Heros name is well-known: Jill
Type that in and press Enter. Jill now replaces Hero in all lists where the Heros name appears. Now lets move on to the next option, which is
4. Sex (5). Yes is not a choice. Select:

Female
5. Age (6). In a novel, you can be as precise here as you like. If youre writing for stage
or screen, remember that ultimately, someone else is almost certain to decide what actor plays the part. Screenwriters are constantly finding their fifty year-old heroine being played by the teenaged bimbo of the year. Of course, if you want to describe Jill in detail for your own internal reasons, thats just fine. Here, well use Mid 30s
6. Education (7). If this makes a difference, use it!

Advanced degree
7. Profession (8). What a person does for a living usually says a lot about them.
Social Worker
8. Marital status (9). This matters a lot to poor Jill.

Divorced The next drop-down list (10), which is untitled but could be called Motivations, consists, by default, of seven headings designed to make you think hard about the events or attitudes that helped shape the Jills personality and outlook on life. As before, for purposes of this illustration, well only fill out a couple of items: Method:
1. Click on Biggest Failure to Date. Type in:

Her previous marriage to Dick. When he left her to have fun with Jane, she lost everything, even her dog Spot. Because she felt so helpless herself, she became a social worker to help others.
2. Click on 1and type in:

Getting this placement in the foothills of the Peruvian Andes.
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Chapter 7 Power Structure Quick Start CHARACTERS VIEW Modifications
The Motivations drop-down list can be modified if youd prefer to ask different questions. Again, you can use the Edit Terminology menu, or do the job from the Character View itself. Lets practice the latter.
Use the ADD/EDIT CATEGORY popCATEGORY up to change your Motivations list
Method:
1. Click on the Add/Edit icon to the left of the drop-down list. 2. Select Add from the options that appear. 3. Type Ugliest Fantasy in the input field and click OK. The new item is added to the
drop-down list. Thats it! Now well move on through our other Characters categories.
CHARACTERS VIEW
The full list of MAJOR CHARACTER subcategory items
Physical Characteristics
Its time to describe what Jill looks like, and how that might affect her behavior. Method:
1. Back on the left-hand side of the screen, click the plus sign next to Jills name. More
subcategories appear. on the right.
2. Click Physical Characteristics. A new set of drop-down lists and input fields appears 3. Click in the Distinguishing Physical Attributes input field. Again, describing a characters looks can be problematic depending upon the type of story youre writing. In the case of novels or short stories, you can be as explicit here as you like. But if youre writing for the stage or screen, physical appearance is usually left pretty vague unless theres some specific feature, like a scar or a mechanical arm, thats crucial to the story. In our case, Jill has Stunningly blue eyes.
4. How would an observer describe him or her? In other words, how does Jill come
across to the outside world? Quite attractive although she hides it well under big glasses and a tight bun.
5. How would he or she describe him- or herself? When compared to how others see Jill,
this shows any flaws or inaccuracies in her own self-image. Plain Jane. Unlike the one that stole her husband.
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Chapter 7 Power Structure Quick Start CHARACTERS VIEW

The DESIRES & GOALS menu
Desires & Goals
What does Jill wantor at least think she wants? Method: On the left side of the screen, click on the category Desires & Goals; then start filling out the options on the right side: significant Character, because it determines so much of what he or she does (for good or ill). To make the world a better place; to right all the wrongs -- and to work so hard that she can forget about Dick and her abandonment.
1.
2. What are his/her Desires and Goals? This is often a central question about any
3. How does having these Desires & Goals affect both the Character and the Story? In other words, what makes them more than just internal quirks?
She has run away from the world to forget and it has brought her here to the foothills of the Peruvian Andes.
CHARACTERS VIEW
The STRENGTHS & VIRTUES menu
Strengths & Virtues
What qualities of character make Jill an admirable person? Method:
1. Click the next item on the left side of the screen: Strengths & Virtues.
2. What are his/her Strengths and Virtues? What lies on the plus side of Jills internal balance sheet? Extremely bright and hard working; a go-getter who wont take no for an answer.
3. How does having these Strengths and Virtues affect both the Character and the Story? Another question to stimulate creative thought. In most stories, coming
Shes not afraid of the difficulties of the climbshes sure that hard work can accomplish anything.
up with a fleshed-out Character isnt enough; ultimately, how a Characters traits affect other Characters or the story itself is what matters.
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Chapter 7 Power Structure Quick Start CHARACTERS VIEW

The FAULTS & WEAKNESSES menu AULTS
Faults & Weaknesses
What internal qualities stand the way of Jills success and fulfillment? Method:
1. Click on the next item on the left side of the screen, Faults & Weaknesses. 2. What are his/her Faults and Weaknesses? What qualities of personality work
against Jill? Being abandoned has broken her spirit and left her extremely vulnerable. To compensate, shes built a wall around herself that wont let anyone in.
3. How does having these Faults and Weaknesses affect both the Character and the Story? As with virtues, its not the fault itself that matters so much as how that
fault affects the circumstances surrounding Jill. It is her unavailability that makes her attractive to Jack, as he believes he can pretty much seduce any woman.
CHARACTERS VIEW
The CHARACTER ARC menu
Character Arc
In this case, the Character Arc defines how Jill changes during the course of the story. Method: The two main questions to answer are:
1. What will he or she learn in the course of this story? In other words, how will
Jills world view be altered before the end of the story? That if you dont risk anything, youll never gain anything.
2. How will he or she be changed by having gone through the experiences in this story? In the vast majority of fiction, the Hero undergoes changes as the story progresses. Thats what you want to think about here. Shell have recovered her love of life; and died happy. As you can see, the Character Arc subcategory has a plus sign next to it, indicating still other options within. Click the plus sign and the items Act One, Act Two, and Act Three appear. Clicking on any of these subcategories produces the following input options:
1. Goal at Beginning of Act. To show where Jill is coming from as the story begins.
To work hard and improve the lives of the Peruvian foothill folk.
2. Goal at End of Act. To show how Jills goal has changedor not.
To get Jack out of town.
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Chapter 7 Power Structure Quick Start Characters View (contd)
3. In this Act, how do they change and what do they learn? Its always dangerous
to generalize about what fiction must or must not consist of, but in the vast majority of cases, if a major Character undergoes no changes at all, theres probably no story; theres certainly little in the way of drama. She is hiding from the world; not participating in it. And when Jack comes to town and starts disrupting things, she has to take an active role to get rid of him.
4. How is their Jeopardy increased in this Act? Generally, a Character gets into
deeper and deeper water from which they must escape before the final page, curtain or end credit. Her repressed attraction to Jack is the beginning of the end for her. Well, thats it, weve developed one complete Character. But most stories have two or more Characters in them, so Next I n L ine , Please Lets get Jack whipped into shape. Move your mouse to the left side of the screen, click on Obstacle Character and start filling in the same options you used with Jill:
1. Name: Jack 2. Sex: Male 3. Age: Mid-thirties 4. Profession: Professional dowser (you know, those folks who find water with a
forked stick).
5. Education: High School 6. Marital Status: Single (and intending to stay that way) 7. Motivation:
This time around, well fill out only one item on the list: Characters Role (or Reason for being in this Story): He is the devil-may-care rogue who helps Jill find joy in life, but who ultimately leads her to her doom. Physical 1. 2. Distinguishing Physical Attributes: Exceptionally strong, though not in a weight lifter kind of way. How would an observer describe him? Handsome in a rough kind of way. Could use a shave.
3. How would he describe himself?

Indiana Jones. Desires & Goals
1. What are his desires & goals?

To find that big one--to do a dowsing that no one has ever done before.
2. How does having these desires & goals affect both the Character and the story?
Its what ultimately leads him--and Jill--to their doom in the Andes.
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Chapter 7 Power Structure Quick Start Characters View (contd) Strengths & Virtues
1. What are his strengths & virtues?

Honesty and caring for others, though he tries to hide these virtues under a rough, devil-may-care exterior.
2. How does having these strengths & virtues affect both the Character and the story?
Its what attracts Jill to him and what makes him such a successful leader. Faults & Weaknesses
1. What are his faults & weaknesses?

Idealistic, a bit of a dreamer, doesnt consider the practicality of things.
2. How does having these faults & weaknesses affect both the Character and the story?
Jill is intrigued by his qualities as a dreamer and the spontaneity that it produces. And his impracticality is what ultimately leads them to their deaths. Thats it for Jack; we wont bother creating a Character Arc for him. But we still have one category left to explore on the left-hand side of the screen, and that is New
This is how to create a brand-new Character within the currently-selected category (in this case, Major). Simply: Method:
1. Double-click the New item. An input field pops up into which you type the chosen
name. Lets use: The villagers
2. Click Apply or press Enter and The villagers appears on the left-hand side of the
screen, along with its own set of subcategories. Which we dont need to go through again, because by now youre an expert. Right? Time to move on!
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Chapter 7 Power Structure Quick Start 3 A ct S tructure V iew

The 3 ACT STRUCTURE View. See following pages for numbers legend.
Because you already created Character information, youll find it available here, too. You can also edit, delete and add items to the Character subcategory from this View.
3 ACT STRUCTURE VIEW This is the classic beginning, middle and end framework used (overtly or otherwise) in most fiction. To define it another way, In the first act you get your characters up a tree; in the second act you throw rocks at them, and in the third act you get them back down. To A ccess 3 A ct S tructure V iew: On your main menu bar, click View, then Three Act View; or Press Ctrl+3; or Click 3 Act Structure on the View tab bar. Method:
1. Click Act One, and two input fields will appear on the right side of the screen.. The first, General Act Information (1) is where you create a basic synopsis of the main
events that are to occur during this Act. Jack and Jill meet in the Andean foothills. The next box on the right is: What has to be accomplished to get us to the Act Break? (2). As you develop your Act, youre going to have ideas you want to develop, information that must be conveyed, and miscellaneous other tasks that must be taken care of in the current Act. This option gives you a place to jot these items down, so theyll always be visible in Views where the information is important. Furthermore, youll be able to tell if the item has been dealt with already because if it has, it will be checked off.
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Chapter 7 Power Structure Quick Start 3 Act Structure View (contd)
2. Initially, this field is blank except for the option New Item Double-click that and... 3. a Create/Edit box (3) opens. Type in:
Introduce Jills backstorywhy shes hiding in the Andes.
4. Click OK. 5. Back in the What has to be accomplished box, double-click New Item; this time
type in: Setup initial dislike between Jack & Jill. 6. Click OK. Have Jill discover Jacks true (virtuous) motives.
7. Repeat steps 1-3, only this time type in: 8. Click OK.
Youll notice that every item you add to this input field has a CheckBox next to it. Right now, none of the items is checked, and if you try to check one youll get a warning box telling you you cant do it from this View. Go ahead. Give it a shot. What does this mean? Think of the What has to be accomplished? field as a shopping list. If you need to go grocery shopping for a lot of food, youd probably start by looking in your pantry and fridge to see what needs to be on your list. But youd never check items off the list before you went to the store, right? What would be the point? No, youd take your list to the store with you, and check items off it after you placed them in your basket, so youd know youd taken care of it. The same principle applies here. You cant cross items off your has to happen list from 3 Act View because this View is designed for working with broad issues, not details. To resolve items on your list, you must first go to Plot Point View, create the necessary Plot Points, and write the text for them. Then, while still in that View, you check the item off the list, which is also displayed there. After that, the item will appear checked off in all other Views that include the list.
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3 ACT STRUCTURE VIEW

You can edit the WHAT HAS TO BE WHAT TO ACCOMPLISHED? list from 3 Act View, but you cant add to it here
Mouse Options
Right-Click Options
Speaking of Has to be accomplished eventsonce somethings on the list, you can edit it by simply double-clicking on it (the text, not the checkbox!) and typing in the new text. If youd prefer to move the Event to a different Act entirely, or go to the Plot Point where a checked-off item occurs, just right-click the item to get the appropriate menu of choices. In addition to the two main left-screen items listed above, the 3 Act Structure View offers several subcategories to examine. So lets do that.

Relevant information on CHARACTERS is also displayed (and editable) in the 3 Act Structure menu
Characters
Method:
1. Click on the plus sign next to Characters to drop down a subset of the Characters
youve already created (plus the option to Add New ones if you want).
2. Click on the plus sign to drop down a list of subcategories under Characters. 3. Click on the plus sign next to Major Character, and your existing list of Characters
for that category, including Jack and Jill, will appear.
4. Click Jill, and four input fields will appear on the right: Goal at Beginning of Act,
Goal at End of Act, How does she change and what does she learn?, and How is her jeopardy increased in this Act? As you can see, these boxes are relevant to the 3 Act View, and contain the text you already created for them. You can edit them by simply clicking on the appropriate field and starting to write; your changes will be automatically carried back over to the Character View.
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Chapter 7 Power Structure Quick Start 3 ACT STRUCTURE VIEW Plot Arc
Heres where you describe the overall shape and function of each Act. To do so
The PLOT ARC menu
Method:
1. Click on Plot Arc on the left side of the screen. Several input fields appear on the
right:
2. What is the Acts opening Hook? A hook is a device that immediately snags
the reader and pulls him or her into the story. It can be a plot device, a piece of superlative writing, or the introduction of a remarkable Characterjust so long as it compels the reader or viewer to continue. Jill is happily working in a quiet village in the Andean foothills, safe from the world, when a loud, American dowser (Jack) shows up and disrupts it all.
3. What is the overall Act Conflict? Like other divisions of the story, each Act norJack trying to get Jill in bed, and Jill trying to get rid of him.
mally has its own beginning, middle and end, and a main conflict that drives it. Heres where you can figure out what the latter might be.
4. What is the Act break, and how does it move this Conflict forward? Heres
Jill discovers that Jack is wanting to go up into the Andes to save a village dying of drought--and she realizes he really is a good guy.
where you determine what event brings the Act to a conclusion, and why thats an appropriate place to shift into the next Act.
Ticking Clock
The Ticking Clock is that aspect of the plot that gives the reader the sense that things are moving toward some inevitable conclusion, and that the characters cant just take a vacation in the middle of the story.
The TICKING CLOCK item
Method:
1. Simply select Ticking Clock on the left side of the screen, then type in a description
of your Ticking Clock on the right side: Will Jill discover that Jacks really a good guy before the drought kills everyone in the village?
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Ticking Clock
Climax
What is the inevitable conclusion defined as the Ticking Clock? Which Plot Point is it, and what exactly does it accomplish? Lets find out.
The CLIMAX input fields look pretty sad with no Plot Points to go in them
Method:
1. Click on the Climax item on the left side of the screen. Two input fields appear on
the right.
2. The first field contains a list of the Plot Points found in this Actor it would, if there
were any Plot Points in this Act. Like we said before, no matter what order you create your Structure document in, some options will be unavailable until after youve worked in all the Views. Well take care of that in a second. Anyway, once youve got some Plot Points to work with, you simply click the RadioButton next to the one you want to be the Acts climax.
3. The second input field, Climax Description, is where the detail text from the Plot
Point you selected will appear. You can edit it from here as well, of course. But were back to the little problem mentioned above: no Plot Points to work with. Whatever shall we do?
A M omentary D iversion
Create a PLOT POINT from almost any View
What else? Lets create some Plot Points. Plot Points are such a fundamental aspect of any story that Power Structure offers opportunities to write and/or edit them not only in their own View, but from most other Views as wellincluding this one. Although Plot Points can contain a considerable amount of information (especially in the detail text section), for the moment well just dash a few off so we can see how they work in the Act Climax. Method:
1. On the left side of the 3 Act View screen, click the plus sign next to Plot Points. 2. Double-click New 3. Type in a Plot Point, or to be specific, the Short text which will serve as a header for
the complete Plot Point. In this case, type: Jill in Andean Village
4. Click Create or press Enter. 5. Now repeat steps 1-4 five more times, adding the following Plot Points:
Jack arrives. Jack undermines Jills authority. Jill tries to force Jack to leave. Party. Jack announces that hes going to leave tomorrow.
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Chapter 7 Power Structure Quick Start 3 Act Structure View (contd) Back t o t he C limax
The CLIMAX input fields with Plot Point information in them
Okay, we did it. Now click on The Climax again. This time youll see the Plot Points we created listed both in the left-hand column and in the top box on the right side of the screen, where each is marked by a round RadioButton. To define the climactic Plot Point of this Act, simply: Method:
1. Click on the appropriate RadioButtonin this case:

Party.
2.
Type a detailed description of the Climax into the box below: Its the annual village party and despite her initial reluctance, Jack gets Jill to start talking about what brought her to Peru from Philly.
And there you have it. Weve now laid out Act I of our epic tale of altitude sickness and H2O.
Chapters V iew
CHAPTERS View. See following pages for numbers legend.
Chapters (and their contents) can be rearranged by dragging the headings up and down in the list. Theyll renumber automatically
Plot Points can be dragged from one position to another, including into different Chapters
Double-click to add a new Chapter
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Chapter 7 Power Structure Quick Start CHAPTERS VIEW As anyone whos ever read a book knows, Chapters are subdivisions of the story. In a film or TV show, Scenes serve the same purpose. They can be pretty arbitrary in terms of length and content, but generally writers try to make the story flow from Chapter to Chapter (or Scene to Scene) in such a way that the reader cant bear to put the book down, or the viewer run off for popcorn. Thats what this View (see previous page) helps you do. To A ccess C hapters V iew: On your main menu bar, click View, then Chapters View; or Press Ctrl+4; or Click on Chapters on the View tab bar. In Power Structure, a Chapter (see previous page) is basically a group of consecutive Plot Points. This View helps you develop the Chapter into a coherent whole, as follows: Method:
1. First, note that the item Chapter One on the left side of the screen can be edited so
that it says something specificfor example, Jack Climbs the Hill. To do this, you have two options:
i. Right-click on Chapter One and select Edit from the pop-up list; or ii. Left-click on the item and press F2.
Either way, you now simply:
iii. Type in the text you prefer.
Go ahead, play with it. If you dont like the results, just press the Esc key on your keyboard to return to the default. If you put in something you want to keep, press Enter.
2. On the right side of the screen, click in the input field What is the Chapters opening Hook? (1) A hook is something that draws the reader or viewer helplessly into the
story. In this case, its: Jacks arrival and his and Jills immediate conflict.
3. Click in the next input field, How does this Chapter move the story forward? (2), and
write: It introduces the characters, sets up Jills backstory and introduces the possibility of her healing.
4. The next input field is What Has to Happen in this Chapter? (3) As in 3 Act View,
youre allowed to add and edit items here, but not check them off. That has to be done from a Plot Point field. While were here, lets go ahead and insert some items, as follows:
5. Double-click on New Item. 6. When the Create/Edit Has to Happen Item box appears, type in:
Introduce the possibility of Jill healing.
7. Click in the next input field, What is the Chapters ending Hook? (4) Like the openJack announces hes going to stay for a week.
ing hook, this is a chance to ensure that the reader/view cant resist moving on to the next step in the story.
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Chapter 7 Power Structure Quick Start CHAPTERS VIEW Add Chapters
Adding additional Chapters to the list is simple enough: Method:
1. Double-click on the New Chapter item (

CHAPTERS VIEW
screen. A new Chapter item appears on the list. Add Plot Points Plot Points
) on the left side of the
Because Chapters are composed of Plot Points, it only makes sense that youd have the option to add Plot Points directly from this View. Again, the method is simple: Method:
1. Click on the plus sign next to Chapter on the left side of the screen. The item New
Plot Point drops down.
2. Double-click on New Plot Point. An input box will appear; type in the short text
you want to appear on the left side of the screen under the current Chapter item.
3. Click Create or press Enter.

When you create a Plot Point in this View, all its subcategories will also appear. For more on Plot Points, please move on to the next section.
Plot P oint V iew

PLOT POINT View. See following pages for number legend. Selecting the Movement tab provides additional options to consider 1 2
As always, hierarchies of items in the lefthand column are identified by plus signs
Check off any items that are completed in this Plot Point.
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Chapter 7 Power Structure Quick Start PLOT POINT VIEW

PARENTHETICAL NOTES in Has to Happen fields have a special meaning
Plot Point View is where you jot down all the little plot ideas you think up. In the early stages of developing a story you neednt concern yourself much about placing the Points in any particular order, far less developing them in detailjust write them down. They can always be expanded, edited and arranged later. To A ccess P lot P oint V iew On your main menu bar, click View, then Plot Point View; or Press Ctrl+5; or Click Plot Points on the View tab bar. Because weve already created a cluster of Plot Points, those will be listed on the left side of the screen. Nows the time to work with them in a bit more detail. Method:
Indicates in what View and category the item was originally created
1. As you know, our first Plot Point is:

Jill in Andean village. Click on it.
2. In the right-hand window appear several input fields. Above them are buttons (1)
that allow you to display anywhere from a single Plot Point up to five, as well as a button (2) labeled Movement, which is currently selected. Youre presented with three input fields:
A) Plot Point Detail

Introduce Jill in a village at the foothills of the Andes, helping out the locals but not getting involved.
B) How does this move the story forward?

It reveals Jills commitment to her work, but also her commitment to emotional self-preservation.
C) What Has to Happen events are completed?

Heres a list of items you created as What has to happen... events while you were in 3 Act and/or Chapters View. Go ahead and check a couple of them off by clicking on the box or double-clicking on the item itself. Theyll then be marked as completed in other Views.
3. Click in the selected Plot Point Detail input field and type in the details of this Plot
Point; to wit: Introduce Jill in a village at the foothills of the Andes, helping out the locals but not getting involved.
4. While were at it, lets add Detail text to the rest of our existing Plot Points. Click on
each Short text item on the left side of the screen in turn, then add its Detail text as follows:
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Chapter 7 Power Structure Quick Start Plot Point View (contd) Short: Jack arrives.
Detail: Jills quiet village is disrupted by blaring Rock n Roll when Jack arrives in his Range Rover, the radio going full blast. She takes an immediate dislike to his devil-may-care ways and resents how the village children immediately love him. Short: Jack undermines Jills authority. Detail: Jill finds the village kids drinking water straight from a well, rather than boiling it first as Jill had instructed. They tell her Jack said it was okay.
NOTE: When viewing multiple Plot Points, remember that the white box is the active or editable Point
Short:
Jill tries to force Jack to leave.
Detail: Jill tries to get the villagers to refuse to sell Jack food so hell have to leave, but they are amused by him and want to set the two of them up together instead. Short: Party. Detail: Its the annual village party and despite her initial reluctance, Jack gets Jill to start talking about what brought her to Peru from Philly. Short: Jack announces that hes going to leave tomorrow. Detail: To everyones dismay--including Jills--Jack says hes going to leave the village to fend for itself. There are two more input fields under the Movement tab, but for the moment well ignore them.
5. Just so you can see what happens, try clicking on the other buttons across the top of
the right-side screen. The window there will display anywhere from one to five boxs worth of consecutive Plot Points. This can be handy when you need to check the storys flow from one Plot Point to the next.
6. On the left side of the screen, click on Jill in Andean Village again. As before, on
the right side appears the Movement tab and its input fields. Weve already worked with Plot Point Detail, so lets move on.
7. The How does this move the story forward? field helps prevent you from coming up
with Plot Points that dont really accomplish much. Click in it and type: It reveals Jills commitment to her work, but also her commitment to emotional self-preservation.
8. Move on to What has to happen events are completed? Yes, this is one of the
PLOT POINT subcategories
Views where you can check off has to happen events that you created in 3 Act or Chapters View, and have since been resolved in a Plot Point! The technique is simple: Click on the CheckBox. Point. Several subcategories appear. Click on The Conflict.
9. Meanwhile, back in the left-hand window, click on the plus sign next to your first Plot
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Selecting CONFLICTS in Plot Point View
The Conflict
As weve defined them, Conflicts are the smallest dramatic units of the story. You can think of them as mini-stories in and of themselves, since each has its own beginning, middle and end. When you weave enough Conflicts together, youve got a complete story. Conflicts are, in turn, composed of Plot Points, one of which introduces the Conflict; another of which resolves it; while in between are as many heightening Plot Points as necessary. Plot Points can be moved from one Conflict to another at any time and from many different Views, including this one. Since weve already created a group of Plot Points, lets go ahead and create a Conflict or two, to see how its done and how Power Structure uses the information. Method: Click on the plus sign next to the first Plot Point on the left side of the screen, Jill in Andean Village. From the list of categories that drops down, click on The Conflict. Several options and input fields appear on the right side of the screen. Youll also notice three tabs above them: Introduction, Heightening and Resolution. starting a brand-new Conflict.
Click on the two faces yelling at each other, of course
1.
2. Click Introduction. This assigns the Plot Point Jill in Andean Village the role of 3. Now you have a question to consider: Who is this conflict between? Each drop-down list (1, 2)contains the names of all the Characters youve already created. In this case,
Jill
because were talking about an inner struggle Jills having, select her name from both lists:
Conflict INTRODUCTION
4.
Below, in the box labeled What is the actual Conflict thats introduced? (3), type: A battle between the part of Jill that just wants to hide in a corner and be safe; and the part of her that wants more out of life...
1 3
At the bottom of the right side of the screen youll find a horizontal bar of colored bands labeled Color for this Conflict on the Conflict Map (4). The Conflict Map is a graphical display of Conflicts produced on the Conflict Overview window, which well get to shortly. You can either click on a color or just use the one the program has already set for you.
Once youve added several Plot Points to your Conflict, you can use these buttons to navigate easily from Plot Point to Plot Point.
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Chapter 7 Power Structure Quick Start PLOT POINT VIEW The Conflict Story Stage
Now, on to the next subcategory in the left-hand window, Story Stage. The options youll find here are based on the work of mythologist Joseph Campbell as interpreted by story development executive Christopher Vogler in his book The Heros Journey.
STORY STAGE options STORY STAGE
Method:
1.
Click on Story Stage. Several input fields appear on the right. labeled The Plot Point represents the following Story Stage and select: Ordinary World.
2. Click on the button to open the drop-down list
NOTE: Items on the Story Stage drop-down lists can be edited in Edit, Terminology
3. Drop down the list under the label What is Jills Role in this Conflict? and select:
Hero.
4.
Click in the input field beneath the question How is Jill affected by the Conflict? and type: She thinks shes defeating her inner pain, but shes actually only hiding it. Drop down the list under What is Jacks Role in this Conflict? and select: Shadow.
5.
6. Click in the input field beneath the question How is Jack affected by the Conflict?
and type: He has no idea what hes getting into.
The CHARACTERS INVOLVED list INVOLVED
7.
8.
Back on the left side of the screen, click on Characters Involved. On the right appears a checklist of every Character youve created so far. Check off those who are going to appear in this Plot Point (the Characters who have been assigned the lead roles in the Point will already be checked off, and their names colored RED).
NOTE: Items on the Story Stage drop-down lists can be edited in Edit, Terminology
9. Back on the left, click Ticking Clock.

Check the box next to any Character who you intend to have appear in this Plot Point
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The TICKING CLOCK gauge
The Conflict
Ticking Clock
Method:
1. On the right appear a couple of options. The first, How does this heighten the Acts
Ticking Clock?, is followed by a reminder of what the current Acts Ticking Clock is: in this case, Will Jill discover that Jacks a good guy before drought kills everyone in the village? Click in the input field and type the answer to the first question: Jack and Jill get off to a very bad start.
Drag the slider to set a tension level for the Plot Point
2. At the bottom of the right side of the screen is a gauge labeled Tension level at the
end of this Plot Point. Beneath that is a slider bar. Drag the bar from left to right and the dial will register an increasing tension level (incremented in percentage points between 0 and 100). You might think this an odd optionafter all, surely every Plot Point should end with the meter maxed-out, right? Not really. Before long, a sustained scream becomes exhausting rather than exciting, which is why most stories ebb and flow to manipulate the emotions of the reader or audience in a certain direction. These settings should, therefore, be weighed relative to one another. Where do you want the story to hit scream levels, and where should it drop down to a whisper?
In this case, drag the dial to 30 or 40 percent. You can always change the setting later, either here or from Conflict Overview. Okay, weve just created the first stage of a Conflict, its Introduction. But a complete Conflict is comprised of three parts and at least three Plot Points, the second of which is Heightening. But waitas is often the case, the next Plot Point on our list isnt even part of the Conflict we just defined. In fact, it introduces an entirely new Conflict. No problem. We have two options: 1) skip to the next Plot Point that is part of this Conflict, and define it as such; or 2) set up a new Conflict with the next Plot Point in line before moving ahead. To avoid confusing you by jumping around in the Plot Point list, well go with Option 2. Method: Repeat the procedure you used with the first Plot Point, with only textual differences:
1. Click the plus sign next to the second Plot Point, Jack arrives, on the left side of the
screen.
2. From the list of categories that drops down, click The Conflict. 3. On the right side, click the Introduction tabbecause, remember, were launching a
new Conflict with this Plot Point. Jill and Jack.
4. This time, answer Who is this Conflict between? with these names: 5. In the box labeled What is the actual Conflict thats introduced?, type:
Jack disrupts Jills quiet village.
6. Again, you can select a color from the bar at the bottom, or just go with the default. 7. Click on Story Stage on the left side of the screen. Several input fields appear on the
right.
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Chapter 7 Power Structure Quick Start PLOT POINT VIEW The Conflict Heightening Conflict
Our next Plot Point, Jack undermines Jills authority, happens to be part of one of the two Conflicts we just created, but does not resolve the Conflicttherefore its got to be a Heightening Plot Point. Heres how to define it as such (well only put in enough information to illustrate what you need to do). The procedure begins roughly the same as it did with your Introduces Plot Point:
Conflict HEIGHTENING
Method:
1. Click the plus sign next to the third Plot Point, Jack undermines Jills authority, on the left side of the screen. 2. From the list of categories that drops down, select The Conflict. 3. This time, on the right side, click the Heightening tab. Youre presented with two
new input fields.
4. The top one, Which existing Conflict is Heightened? consists of a scrollable list
of any unresolved Conflicts youve already defined. In this case, there are two of them. Scroll the list until Jack disrupts Jills quiet village appears in the window; thats all you have to do to select it.
5. The next question is How is it Heightened? Type in:

Jack undermines Jills authority -- hes now not only annoying, but actively disruptive.
6. Set the Tension Level at 60 or 70.

Thats all well do with this Plot Point. Now on to the next one, Jill tries to force Jack to Leave. PLOT POINT VIEW The Conflict Heightening Conflict More Heightening
This is another Heightening Plot Point, and heres the short list of responses for the input fields:
1. Plot Point short description:

Jill tries to force Jack to leave.
2. Conflict being Heightened:

Jack disrupts Jills quiet village.
3. How is it heightened?
Jill tries unsuccessfully to force him to leave.
4. Set the tension level to whatever you want.

PLOT POINT VIEW The Conflict Heightening Conflict Still More Heightening
1. Plot Point short description:

Party
2. How is it Heightened?
To her dismay, Jill finds herself being attracted to Jack!
3. Again, set the tension level to suit yourself.
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Conflict RESOLUTION
The Conflict
Resolution
Were ready to wrap up one of our Conflicts. How? Method:
1. Start out in the usual way, by clicking on the plus sign next to the relevant Plot
Pointin this case, Jack announces that hes going to leave tomorrow. Click on The Conflict. On the right side of the screen, click the Resolution tab. Under Which Conflict is Resolved?, scroll to find Jack disrupts Jills quiet village. Under Exactly how is this Conflict resolved? type: Jack is going to leave. Congratulations, youve just created your first complete Conflict. What does that mean, exactly? Youll see shortly. But first, lets check out another unique View.
2. 3. 4. 5.
Because this particular Plot Point resolves a Conflict, these go to buttons are not available
Gestalt V iew
GESTALT VIEW. See following pages for number legend. GESTALT VIEW
One way to hide or display columns is by clicking on View, Setup Gestalt View
4 You can hide or display columns by clicking here
Right-clicking items in this column pops up an edit box Adjust column widths by dragging vertical spacers with your mouse
Right-clicking items in this column pops up an edit box
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Chapter 7 Power Structure Quick Start GESTALT VIEW If youre unfamiliar with the word, Gestalt refers to a configuration or pattern of elements so unified as a whole that it cannot be described merely as a sum of its parts. In Power Structure, the Gestalt View (see previous page) enables you to see, at a glance, how the various parts of your story fit together, and allows you to manipulate those parts with a few twitches of the mouse.
Switching GESTALT VIEW items on GESTALT and off
To A ccess G estalt V iew: On your main menu bar, click View, then Gestalt View; or Press Ctrl+6; or Click Gestalt on the View tab bar. Gestalt View can be set up to display anywhere from one column of information to four: Act, Chapter, Plot Point and Plot Point Detail. There are two methods of determining how many columns will display: Method 1 :
1. Click on the View menu, then on Setup Gestalt View. A secondary menu pops out. 2. Unselect any column of information you dont want by clicking on it with your
mouse. Reverse the process to switch a column back on. Method 2 :
1.
Note the little X boxes to the right of each column. Click on them to close that column.
2. If you close them all and want them back, click on the double-arrow button (>>) until
the columns have been restored. One purpose of Gestalt View is to enable you to see at a glance how the major elements of your story flow from one to another and relate to each other. When you initially open it, the columns and boxes will already contain any Act, Chapter, Plot Point Short Text and Plot Point Detail Text youve created. All items can be edited and, with the exception of Act Information, dragged up or down within their respective columns. You have three major options to choose fromEditing, Moving and Creating; well demonstrate them here to a limited extent: GESTALT VIEW Method: This method works for both Act and Plot Point Detail columns: Editing Editing Act and Plot Point Detail Text
1. Click the cursor in the text box for Act I. Delete the words Andean Foothills and
in their place type: Foothills of the Andes Your changes are automatically acceptednot just in Gestalt View, but everywhere Act information appears. The same technique works for Plot Point Detail, so we wont demonstrate it here.
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Chapter 7 Power Structure Quick Start GESTALT VIEW Editing Editing Chapters and Plot Point Short Text
These techniques work for both Chapters and Plot Points, so well demonstrate with only Chapters: Methods:
Right-click Chapter One and select Edit from the pop-up menu. You can now type Left-click Chapter One, then press F2. Same options. Double-Click Chapter One, and a pop-up box asks if you want to Go to selected Plot
anything you want, but to avoid making a mess of what weve already got, just click the cursor in some other box or press ESC to deselect Chapter One.
Point in Chapters View?. Answering Yes does exactly what youre asked; in that location you will, of course, have access to all the editing options you need. Give it a try, then come on back to Gestalt View. Editing Deleting Chapters and Plot Point Short Text
GESTALT VIEW
To Delete Chapters and Plot Points... Method 1 : To delete a Chapter or Plot Point (this is for demonstration purposes only, so please dont actually go through with it!cancel the command instead): 1. Click on Chapter One or a Plot Point item.
2. Press Del on your keyboard. 3. Answer Yes to the prompt (except not now, during our demonstration). Answering
No brings you back to the main Gestalt window. Method 2 :
1. Right-click on the Chapter or Plot Point item, then: 2. Select Delete from the pop-up list.
GESTALT VIEW Editing Moving Chapters and Plot Points
As your story develops, you might decide youd prefer to move a certain Chapter or Plot Point forward or back, either within the current Act or into a different Act entirely. In Gestalt View, both are easy to do. Method 1 :
1. This technique is for moving individual Chapter items. With your mouse, click on
Chapter One and drag it down into the Chapter Two box. The entire Chapter and all its contents will transfer, and the Chapters you left behind will renumber themselves automatically. For now, though, please drag Chapter One back up where it belongs.
Method 2 :
1. Right-click on Chapter One. 2. From the list of options, select Move. A secondary menu gives you two options:
Preceding to Previous Act and Following to Next Act. If one is grayed out, thats because theres no previous or next Act to move things to. Anyway, make your choicebut be warned! Power Structure will move not only the selected Chapter/
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Chapter 7 Power Structure Quick Start Plot Point, but all Chapters/Plot Points either above or beneath it, depending upon which option you choose. Obviously, if you move things that you didnt intend to move, you can always just move them back. GESTALT VIEW Editing Creating New Chapters and Plot Points
There are three ways to create either new Chapters or new Plot Points from Gestalt View:
The Plot Point CREATE / EDIT / CREATE DELETE pop-up
Methods: Double-click the New Chapter/Plot Point icon. Right-click the New Chapter/Plot Point icon and choose Create New... Press Ctrl+N. Note: These options create items named Chapter # (where # is the correctly incremented number for a new Chapter in that Act) and Plot Point. If you want to change the text, youll need to edit it (see the preceding sections on editing).
Conflict O verview
CONFLICT OVERVIEW gives you a graphical look at your entire story structure. See following pages for number legend. OVERVIEW
7 When you assign a Plot Point to a color category, the color is applied to the bullet here as well as in other Views Introduction and Resolution Plot Points are the only ones whose Tension Level is not adjustable The Conflict Map displays the graphed lines for each of your storys Conflicts
8 These numbers represent the actual order of the Plot Points
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Chapter 7 Power Structure Quick Start CONFLICT OVERVIEW To A ccess C onflict O verview: On your main menu bar, click View, then Conflict Overview; or Press Ctrl+6; or Click on Conflict Overview on the View tab bar. Conflict Overview (see previous page) is one of the most powerful Views in Power Structure, providing a unique perspective on how your Conflicts develop and interact with one another over the course of the story, and giving you plenty of tools for changing things if you so desire. As youll see, the information currently found here was all developed by you in the Conflict part of Plot Points View. The graph part of this Viewthe Conflict Maphas a horizontal and a vertical axis, like all graphs. The horizontal axis represents the Plot Points as they progress from the beginning to the end of the story. The vertical axis represents the tension level you assigned to each Plot Point. The Conflicts themselves are each represented by a graphed line that which begins at a zero tension level as its introduced, rises and falls from one heightening Plot Point to another, then drops back to zero as it is resolved. The color of the line comes from the Heightening section of the Plot Point Conflict menu. The illustration on the previous page shows how the Conflict Map of our Structure document looks so far. As you can see, two Conflicts are displayed. One is not resolved, while the other has a beginning, middle and end.
Merely seeing how these Conflicts interact with one another should be useful to you as a writer, but Power Structure doesnt stop there. Lets explore a few of our options in this View. CONFLICT OVERVIEW Playing With the Map
There are lots of ways to manipulate the information displayed on the Conflict Map. For now, well deal with those readily accessible by right-clicking on different items on the Map. Youre free to follow each of these options to their conclusions if you wish, although that will mean losing a lot of information youll need to recreate. At any rate, well take a good look at each of them. Starting with: CONFLICT OVERVIEW
The PLOT POINT BULLET editing pop-up box
Playing With the Map
Plot Points
Method:
1. Right-click on the third Plot Point bullet. A pop-up menu appears, offering two editing options and three display options (well cover the display options later, so ignore them for now). The editing options are:
A. Remove Heightening of Plot Point. For now, dont select this option because if B. Delete this Plot Point completely. Again, dont try it, because if you do, the Plot
you do, the selected Plot Point will vanish off the Map (although not from Plot Point View). Point and all its subcategories and information will be deleted from the document entirely.
85
Chapter 7 Power Structure Quick Start CONFLICT OVERVIEW

The CONFLICT LINE edit pop-up box
Conflict Lines
Method:
1. Right-click on any Conflict Line (that is, one of the colored lines between bullets). A
pop-up box appears, offering four editing and three display options (again, more on the latter later). The editing options actually available (not grayed out) will vary somewhat depending on which segment of the Conflict line you selected, but the entire list is:
A. Heighten the Conflict in this Plot Point. B. Introduce a new Plot Point. Clicking this will shift the bullets of the current C. Resolve the Conflict in this Plot Point. Clicking this will convert the Plot Point D. Delete this Plot Point completely. This refers to the Plot Point preceding the spot
Conflict line segment to the right and place a new Introduction Plot Point at the point where you were when you made the selection. immediately following the place where you double-clicked into a Resolution for the Conflict.
where you double-clicked. Introduction and Resolution Plot Points cant be deleted from here.
CONFLICT OVERVIEW
Display Options
If you develop a long or complex story, the Conflict Map might display more information than you can comfortably assimilate at a glance. Not a problem; Power Structure lets you temporarily hide various Conflicts so you can concentrate only on those that interest you. Method:
1. Just above the Conflict Map is a row of buttons, the first of which is All Conflicts (1).
It should be selected, indicating that the Map is displaying every Plot Point and Conflict that currently exists in this document.
2. Click on the second Plot Point on the Map. 3. Click on the Current Conflict (2) button. One of the two Conflict lines will disappear, leaving only the line that includes the second Plot Point.
4. Click on Unresolved Only (3), and the current Conflict line will vanish, to be replaced
by the incomplete line. If we had more than one unresolved Conflict in this story, they would all be displayed right now, too.
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Chapter 7 Power Structure Quick Start CONFLICT OVERVIEW Playing With the Map Other Options
Conflict Overview gives you more options than just viewing Conflicts and editing text. You can perform major editorial changes from here.
NOTE: Introduction and Resolution Plot Points have a tension level of zero that cannot be changed; a warning prompt will tell you so if you try.
Method:
1. Just above the Conflict Map and to the right are three buttons: Hot Tracking (4), Drag Tension Level (5) and Reorder Plot Points (6). Click on the first one, Hot Tracking. 2. Move your cursor from bullet to bullet on the Conflict Map. Previously, you had to
actually click on a bullet to bring up its text boxes; now, that information appears the moment the cursor passes over a bullet. can be dragged up and down, changing their Tension Levels dynamically. Practice it on any Heightening Plot Point on the Map.
3. Click on Drag Tension Level. This unlocks your Heightening Plot Points so they 4. Click on Reorder Plot Points. This enables you to drag Plot Points horizontally
across the Conflict Map, moving them to different locations within the current Conflict. But there are logical limitations as to what Plot Point can be moved where. For example, try to drag the third Plot Point, Jack undermines Jills authority, to the far left side of the Map. A warning prompt will let you know that you cant move a Heightening Plot Point in front of the Plot Point that Introduces the same Conflict. Which only makes sense.
If youre determined to move the Plot Point up there, youll first need to go to the Plot Point View for that particular Point and either redefine its Conflict role or assign it to another Conflict entirely. Heres how: CONFLICT OVERVIEW Playing With the Map Reassign a Plot Points Role Method:
1. Double-click on Plot Point 3s bullet. A pop-up menu asks if youd like to be taken to
that Plot Point in Plot Point View.
2. Answer Yes, and off you go to Plot Point View, specifically Jack undermines Jills
authority.
NOTE: The Plot Point numbers correspond to the numbers on the Conflict Map.
3. Click on the plus sign, then on The Conflict. 4. On the right side of the screen, the appropriate type tab (in this case, Heightening)
will already be selected, with Jack disrupts Jills quiet village displayed in the Which existing Conflict is Heightened? box. Scroll the list up to Does Not Heighten Any Conflict.
5. Click on the Introduction tab. Dont bother typing anything into the input field. 6. Click on Conflict Overview. The third Plot Point is now sitting there all by itself, dis-
connected from any existing Conflicts. How sad. But since were almost done with Conflict Overview, well just leave the poor guy right where he is. Playing With the Map Text Editing
CONFLICT OVERVIEW
All the text boxes can be edited. Changes made to the text will be reflected in any other View where that item appears.
87
Chapter 7 Power Structure Quick Start Conflict Overview (contd) Method:
(1) Each Plot Point is marked on the Map by a bullet. Click on the first one, and the
surrounding text boxes will display the text for Jill in Andean Village.
(2) Click your cursor in the text box labeled This Conflict is HEIGHTENED in the fol-
lowing manner. The text currently reads To her dismay, Jill finds herself being attracted to Jack! Delete the word dismay and type in horror.
Full S creen W P V iew

Full Screen WP. See following pages for number legend.
(3) You can write as much here as you want or need
(4) The drop-down list lets you navigate Plot Points at a click
88
Chapter 7 Power Structure Quick Start FULL SCREEN WP VIEW

NOTE: Pressing the up and down arrow keys will walk you through all existing Plot Points
To A ccess F ull S creen W P V iew: On your main menu bar, click View, then Full Screen WP; or Press Ctrl+8; or Click on Full Screen WP on the View tab bar. This View features a full-screen editable display of whatever text is currently selected anywhere in your Power Structure document, or the item you choose from its drop-down list. Full Screen WP lets you work on a larger, uncluttered screen than is otherwise available. Theres really no method to thisjust click your cursor in the main window and start editing or typing. However, take note of these options:
1. Create New Plot Point. Click this button to pop up the Create New Plot Point
(Short Text) window. Type in your short text, then click Create or hit Enter, and type the long text into the main WP window. ference that it already contains the short text of the current Plot Point.
2. Change Plot Point Name. This also pops up the Short Text window, with the dif3. Right-clicking in the main input field pops up a menu from which you can select a category/color for this Plot Point. At the moment, no options are available because
we havent created any yet (more on this in the Index Cards section). bring it forward for editing.
4. The drop-down list contains all your existing Plot Points; click on any of them to
Index C ards V iew

INDEX CARDS View. See following pages for numbers legend.
7 8
A B
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Chapter 7 Power Structure Quick Start INDEX CARDS VIEW Heres another amazingly versatile feature youll wonder how you ever lived without. Theres a long tradition of writers using index cardsblank 5 X 7 inch pieces of cardstockto help them outline their stories (especially scripts). Basically, the writer simply jotted any plot idea that came to mind down on a card, one idea (which is to say, one Plot Point or Scene) per card. Later, when enough cards had accumulated, the writer could literally shuffle them around, working out the best dramatic arrangement without having to do any tedious cutting-and-pasting. Eventually the entire story would be organized from beginning to end. Only then would the writing begin. Power Structures Index Card mode allows for the same flexibility, plus some. Lets see how. To A ccess I ndex C ards V iew: On your main menu bar, click View, then Index Cards View; or Press Ctrl+9; or Click on Index Cards on the View tab bar. INDEX CARDS VIEW Screen Layout
Beneath the View tabs is a row of drop-down lists and buttons (1-6) that allow you to change the number of cards that display on-screen, as well as the type of text that displays within each card. Beneath that is a header (7) indicating what Chapter the cards are in, and beneath that the numbers (8) assigned to each individual Plot Point. Finally we come to the index cards themselves (9). The default screen displays three rows of six cards each. A total of ten rows are available. Each card is capable of displaying the Short and Long Text of a single Plot Point. The cards/Plot Points are arranged chronologically from left to right. Theres basically no limit to the number of cards/Plot Points you can add to a row. Scroll bars on the right and bottom margins of the screen allow you to move up or sideways through the cards.
You can view from one to 60 PLOT POINTS at a time, depending on how much text you want displayed
At the moment only the top row of cards contains any text, so you might be wondering, If all the Plot Points are in the top row and you have to scroll to see any that run off the screen, then what are the lower rows for? Well get to that in a minute. But first, lets see how to control the display of cards and their information. INDEX CARDS VIEW Viewing Index Cards
Power Structure enables you to view anywhere from one to sixty cards on-screen at a time. Obviously, the more cards you have showing, the less text can be seen in each cards windowbut dont worry, you can easily access whatever information you need. Heres how. Method: There are three drop-down lists on the screen just beneath the View tabs. Each one affects how much information you see on the cards, but in a different way.
1. Click on the first drop-down list, Rows (1), which currently displays the number 3.
Select 2 from the list, and the screen will arrange itself accordingly.
2. Click on the next drop-down list, Cards Across (2), which by default displays the
number 6. Select a 4; again, the screen rearranges itself. The next box displays the heading Plot Points Only (3). For the moment well leave that one alone.
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Chapter 7 Power Structure Quick Start Viewing Index Cards (contd) Your screen now contains fewer cards than it did before, so each card that contains a Plot Point can show more text. Thats fine for some purposes, but if your immediate goal is to see more cards with less information (for example, if you need to shuffle the cards), simply change the number of rows and columns to suit yourself. But theres more. To the right of the drop-down lists are three buttons labeled Headings & Details (4), Headings Only (5) and Details Only (6). If you havent figured it out yet, Headings refers to the Short Text of the Plot Points, which is displayed in underline at the top of each card; and Details refers to the Detail Text, which displays farther down in the card. Method:
1. Click on any of the three buttons to determine which type of text displays in the
cards.
2. To view (and/or edit) all the text in a card, regardless of how much or little is displayed in Index Card View, simply double-click on the card.
INDEX CARDS VIEW
Adding and Deleting Index Cards
Remember, these cards represent Plot Points. Any changes you make here, including adding or removing cards, will be reflected in any View that contains Plot Points (which is basically all of them except Story/Theme and Characters). Method:
1. Right-click on a card, and a pop-up list appears. To remove a card, select Delete this
Card. A warning prompt will remind you that youre going to also be removing that Plot Point and all references to it from everywhere in the document. For now, cancel the command so as not to remove the card.
2. Right-click on the card again. Your second option is to Insert New Card. If you select
Selecting SWITCH VIEWS toggles you from Regular Index Card View to Index Cards Plus Names View
this, a Plot Point input field will appear. Type in whatever Short and Long text you desire and click Create or press Enter, and the new card will be inserted before the one you right-clicked on. If you want to insert a blank index card (and the empty column to go with it), simply do the above but press Create or Enter without typing in any text. Blank cards can be useful as markers in the early stages of story development when you want to make it clear to yourself that theres a lot of storytelling to do between two widelyseparated plot ideas youve already decided to include.
Theres a third option on the pop-up menu you get when you right-click a Plot Point: Switch Views. Well get to that one in a moment.
91
Chapter 7 Power Structure Quick Start INDEX CARDS VIEW Rearranging Index Cards
Obviously, one of the main reasons to use index cards while developing your story is the ease with which they can be shuffled from one position to another. In Power Structure, the same function is simple: Method:
1. Put your mouse pointer on the first card in the row, Jill in the Andean village, and
The Index Cards TEXT EDITING pop-up box
hold down the mouse button. Now drag the card to the right a card or two and release the button. The cards will reshuffle, placing Jill in Andean village in front of the card your pointer was on when you released the button.
2. For the sake of continuity, go ahead and drag the card back where it was originally.
Its also possible to drag cards vertically, from one row to another. Later, well explain why youd want to do such a thing. INDEX CARDS VIEW Text Editing in Index Cards View
As usual, Power Structure gives you the freedom to change your mind at any time about what youve written or how youve organized your story, and to rework your document from almost any View. In the case of Index Cards View, you can easily change the text within any given card. Heres how: Method:
1. Double-click on the card you want to edit. An Edit box pops up; type in your changes
to the Short Text, Detail Text, or both. Click Apply or press Return, and the changes are made. Categorizing Cards
INDEX CARDS VIEW

Category names display in the VERTICAL BARS at the beginning of each row of cards
Heres where Power Structure adds a whole new dimension to using Index Cards. As you know by now, stories can be analyzed from numerous different perspectiveshow the main plot flows, how the characters change, how the subplots develop, etc. But theres another useful perspective as well: how are various themes handled throughout the story? For example, Jack and Jill is not just a story about hiking in the Andes. Its a love story, an anthropological case story of an indigenous mountain culture, an adventure, a character study, a cautionary environmental tale. Which of these aspects do you want to emphasize? When and how do you do so? This is where the empty rows of cards come in. What were going to do is assign some of them to categories which represent themes found in Jack and Jill, then move relevant Plot Points into those categories. Then it will be easy to see how your themes work as part of the entire story. INDEX CARDS VIEW Categorizing Cards Setting up Categories
ASSIGN categories to your index cards
Method:
1. On the far left side of every row of index cards is a narrow vertical box. Double-click
on the one in the first row. When you do, youll get an Edit pop-up box labeled Select Category for Color. Type in the name for the first category in this case, Exposition, and click OK or press Enter. NOTE: You can
leave any or all rows unassigned to categories. Theres no law about it.
92
Chapter 7 Power Structure Quick Start Index Card ViewSetting up Categories (contd)
The COLOR palette
2. A palette of color options automatically appears. Click on the box of the color you
want to represent this category. In this case, click on one of the shades of yellow.
3. Click OK or press Enter. Exposition now appears in the vertical box, and theres a 4. Move down to the second row and double-click its vertical box. This time, type in the
category Heart.
yellow outline around the entire row of (currently blank) cards to help make it clear, at a glance, what category those cards belong in.
5. Choose one of the pink colors off the chart and click OK or press Enter. Now theres
a pink-outlined row of cards labeled Heart.
6. Following the above steps, create a category called Plot and assign it light blue.
INDEX CARDS VIEW Categorizing Cards Assigning Cards to Categories
Now its time to assign cards to their appropriate categories. This is, of course, a judgment callone writer might consider a particular Plot Point to represent internal struggle, while another writer might think its more like Politics. And of course you can always add, delete or modify categories later, not to mention shift cards from one category to another whenever you wish. With all that in mind, the technique for categorizing cards remains the same: Method:
1. Because the first Plot Point/Card, Jill in Andean Village, happens to already be in
the correct category, well skip it. Click on the second Plot Point/card, Jack Arrives, hold down the mouse button, and drag the card straight down into the third row, Plot. Release the mouse button.
INDEX CARD VIEW with cards moved into various CATEGORIES CATEGORIES
NOTE: if you drag a card horizontally from one column to another, all subsequent cards automatically shift one column to accommodate it
If you want, you can create empty columns as markers for future Plot Points.
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Chapter 7 Power Structure Quick Start Index Cards View - Assigning Cards to Categories (contd) As you can see, the rest of the cards remain where they arein other words, the first row now has a gap where this Plot Point used to be. Thats because assigning cards to categories doesnt affect the horizontal flow of the story at all; this is strictly to help you keep track of your story themes as they move along.
2. 3. 4. 5.
Drag Plot Point 3 to Plot. Drag Plot Point 4 to Plot as well. Drag Plot Point 5 to Exposition. Drag Plot Point 6 to Heart.
You get the idea. Now all our cards belong to various categories marching along through the story.
INDEX CARDS VIEW
Categorizing Cards
The Broad View
Having these categories clearly visible in Index Card View is extremely useful, but the benefit doesnt stop there. The colors you selected for each category will also appear (if you want them to) in almost every View that features Plot Points, so youre always aware of what category they represent. Check it out.
1. Click on Plot Point 3, then click on the Normal WP View tab. Notice that the entire
WP input field is outlined in light blue, which we know represents Plot. Map have now been assigned category colors.
2. Click on Conflict Overview. Notice that your Plot Point bullets on the Conflict 3. Click on Plot Points View. Each Point is now marked with a colored box. This will
be true in the Plot Points sections of Chapter, Gestalt and 3 Act Views as well. Categorizing Cards Mix With Characters INDEX CARDS VIEW
Were still not finished. Theres another way in which Index Cards View can help you analyze your storyby including Character information in the View, as seen below. Method: Remember the Plot Points ONLY drop-down list up at the top of the window? Click on the button, then choose Mix with Characters from the list. Heres what happens: all your Plot Points shift back up to the first row (without losing their respective outline colors), and the remaining rows become devoted to various Characters from your document. Wherever a Character row intersects with a Plot Point column, the card at that locus will display the Characters Role and Impact for the Point.
1.
94

INDEX CARD VIEW with CHARACTER NAMES included Click here to select Plot Points ONLY or Mix with Characters mode
When Mix with Characters is selected, all Plot Points shift into the first row
The remaining rows contain Character names and info, ranked by order of importance
If a Character is not involved in a certain Plot Point, the card at that locus will be completely blank. If a Character is involved in the Plot Point but you never defined his or her Role or Impact for it, the card will display the word Unspecified. Which Characters get displayed, and why? Basically, Power Structure examines your Character information and displays everyone you defined as either a Major or Subplot Character, in descending order of importance. Major Characters rows are given light blue outlines; Subplot Characters rows are given green outlines. (In this case we dont have any Minor Characters defined, so all the boxes are light blue.)
The CHARACTER NAME pop-up list makes it easy to move Characters around in Index Cards View
2. If you want to rearrange the order of the Characters so the names you consider most
important are at the top of the list, you have two options:
A) Scroll down the list until you see the name you want, then click on it (in its vertical box), hold the mouse button down and drag the row to its new location. B) Right-click or double-click on any Characters vertical box. A pop-up list will appear, displaying the names of every Character currently in the list. Simply click on the name you want moved to the current location, and all the other names will shift down to accommodate it.
95
Chapter 7 Power Structure Quick Start INDEX CARDS VIEW Categorizing Cards Editing Characters
If you decide to give a Character a role in a given Plot Point, or want to more thoroughly define his or her existing role in the Point, both are easy to do from this View.
From Index Card View you can assign Characters ROLES for the Plot Points theyre in
Method:
1. Double-click on the third card in Jacks row, then choose:

Unspecified.
2. The Character input box appears. Select a Role from the drop-down list:
Shapeshifter.
3. Now type in as much detail concerning the Characters Impact on this Plot Point as
you want into the input field: He takes advantage of the villagers trust and Jills social ineptitude.
4.
Click Apply or press Enter on your keyboard to return to the document.
And thats it. Congratulations, youve just created your first Power Structure document. For more information on any of the matters we covered, or to find out how to print all or part of your document, please consult the relevant chapters in this Users Guide. The End FADE OUT Finis
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Table o f C ontents

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Welcome t o P ower S tructure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Getting S tarted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 A T our o f P ower S tructure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Structure O ptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Other F eatures a nd O ptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

Printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 Power S tructure Q uick S tart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

Chapter 1 Welcome t o P ower S tructure

Structure document/file. Its important to differentiate between the story as defined

plot point plot point plot point

plot point plot point

Chapter 2 Getting S tarted

Click here to uninstall Power Structure

Running P ower S tructure

Chapter 2 Getting Started Running Power Structure (contd)

Chapter 3 A T our o f P ower S tructure

A plus (+) sign indicates additional categories

Options and input fields

Chapter 3 A Tour of Power Structure Sheer Janus (contd)

Chapter 3 A Tour of Power Structure FILE

Exit (Alt+F4). Closes Power Structure entirely.

Chapter 3 A Tour of Power Structure EDIT

Chapter 1 Welcome to Power Structure VIEW

Chapter 3 A Tour of Power Structure TOOLS

CONDENSE PLOT POINTS warning

Chapter 3 A Tour of Power Structure

Restores the original template settings

Chapter 4 Structure V iews

Layout View Tab

Chapter 4 Structure Views

Chapter 4 Structure Views Examining Power Structure Views (contd)

The default list:

Chapter 4 Structure Views Story/Theme View (contd)

Chapter 4 Structure Views

Add new category to list

Delete category from list

Chapter 4 Structure Views Characters View (contd)

Chapter 4 Structure Views Characters View (contd)

Strengths & Virtues

Chapter 4 Structure Views Characters View (contd)

affects the circumstances surrounding the character.

gresses. Thats what you want to think about here.

Chapter 4 Structure Views Characters View (contd)

Chapter 4 Structure Views

Chapter 4 Structure Views

Everyone needs a CLIMAX checklist

is it the best place? Ticking C lock

The CHAPTERS View

Chapter 4 Structure Views

Chapter 4 Structure Views Plot Points View (contd)

Click on the two faces yelling at each other, of course

(1) First Character in Conflict (2) Second Character in Conflict

(3) Description of Conflict

(4) Conflict Color. From this

Chapter 4 Structure Views

(2) How is it Heightened? Type in a descrip-

(3) Plot Point tension setting. Heres where

(1) Which Existing Conflict is Resolved?

Chapter 4 Structure Views Plot Points View - The Conflict (contd)

Ordeal: The central crisis of the story for the hero.

Hero: Mentor: Shadow: Herald: Threshold Guardian: Trickster: Shapeshifter:

Chapter 4 Structure Views Plot Points View - The Conflict (contd)

This category brings up two input fields:

Chapter 4 Structure Views Plot Points View (contd)

Chapter 4 Structure Views