Narrative Maneuverability Framework: Difference between revisions
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AdminIsidore (talk | contribs) Created page with "{{Infobox theory | name = Narrative Maneuverability Framework | image = | caption = | author = [Proposed Collaborative Team] | date = 2025 | field = Narrative Theory, Storytelling, Physics-Inspired Modeling | influenced = Energy-Maneuverability Theory | influenced_by = Energy–maneuverability theory, Classical Rhetoric | website = }} == Narrative Maneuverability Framework == The '''Narrative Maneuverability Framework''' is an innovative extension of Energy–m..." |
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Drawing from classical Latin rhetorical terms—*fabula* (fictional invention), *historia* (factual recount), *parabolam* (illustrative moral), and *narratio* (overall narration)—the framework identifies quantifiable variables to model narrative "energy states" (e.g., tension, coherence) and "excess power" (e.g., capacity for twists). This enables predictive analysis, optimization, and simulation of stories across genres, from epic fantasy to historical drama, with potential applications in writing, film, and interactive media. | Drawing from classical Latin rhetorical terms—*fabula* (fictional invention), *historia* (factual recount), *parabolam* (illustrative moral), and *narratio* (overall narration)—the framework identifies quantifiable variables to model narrative "energy states" (e.g., tension, coherence) and "excess power" (e.g., capacity for twists). This enables predictive analysis, optimization, and simulation of stories across genres, from epic fantasy to historical drama, with potential applications in writing, film, and interactive media. | ||
== Core == | |||
The framework posits that a story's "maneuverability" is its ability to sustain audience immersion and resolve effectively without "energy bleed" (e.g., plot inconsistencies or disengagement). Inspired by EM's specific energy (E_s = h + V²/2g) and specific excess power (P_s = V(T - D)/W), narrative energy (E_n) combines creative depth and pacing momentum, while specific excess narrative power (P_sn) measures the rate of tension or engagement build. A "virtuous" narrative maneuver—such as introducing a twist—occurs when P_sn exceeds the narrative load (NL), ensuring the story remains compelling without overextension. | The framework posits that a story's "maneuverability" is its ability to sustain audience immersion and resolve effectively without "energy bleed" (e.g., plot inconsistencies or disengagement). Inspired by EM's specific energy (E_s = h + V²/2g) and specific excess power (P_s = V(T - D)/W), narrative energy (E_n) combines creative depth and pacing momentum, while specific excess narrative power (P_sn) measures the rate of tension or engagement build. A "virtuous" narrative maneuver—such as introducing a twist—occurs when P_sn exceeds the narrative load (NL), ensuring the story remains compelling without overextension. | ||
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Example: For a fantasy tale with IS=85, PD=20, CV=70, AW=40, TR=100, SC=42.5, P_sn=113.75, NL=0.6, Virtuousness=189.6 (>1, viable twist). | Example: For a fantasy tale with IS=85, PD=20, CV=70, AW=40, TR=100, SC=42.5, P_sn=113.75, NL=0.6, Virtuousness=189.6 (>1, viable twist). | ||
=== Applications | == Philosophy == | ||
The Narrative Maneuverability Framework extends [[Energy–maneuverability theory|Energy-Maneuverability (EM) Theory]] into storytelling by blending physical principles with the interpretive art of narrative craft. This section outlines the epistemological approach guiding its development and the ontological foundations shaping its conceptual framework. | |||
=== Epistemology === | |||
The development of the Narrative Maneuverability Framework follows a structured, iterative process rooted in John Boyd's OODA Loop (Observe, Orient, Decide, Act). As of September 9, 2025, the process begins with philosophical exploration to establish the theoretical underpinnings, followed by detailed analysis of core concepts. Updates to this framework are implemented on the wiki only after each discussion phase concludes, ensuring refinement through consensus. This approach allows for observation of diverse perspectives, orientation through collaborative dialogue, decisive integration of ideas, and action via documented edits, with periodic reviews to align the evolving theory with practical applications. | |||
=== Ontology === | |||
The ontology of the Narrative Maneuverability Framework is grounded in a synthesis of classical and modern philosophical traditions, adapting the dynamic energy states of EM Theory to the subjective realm of storytelling. It draws from the Latin rhetorical terms *fabula* (fictional invention), *historia* (factual recount), *parabolam* (illustrative moral), and *narratio* (overall narration) to categorize narrative essence. This framework posits stories as dynamic "vessels" navigating audience cognition, where "energy" represents the capacity to sustain engagement and execute maneuvers (e.g., twists, resolutions) without "bleed" (disbelief or disinterest). | |||
Key ontological areas include: | |||
* '''Realism versus Nominalism (Plato-Aquinas-Ockham)''': Explores whether narrative elements (e.g., characters, themes) possess inherent reality (realism) or exist as conceptual constructs (nominalism), influencing the "thrust" of imaginative scope versus the "drag" of plausibility. | |||
* '''Heroism and Hero-worship (Carlyle versus Emerson)''': Examines heroic agency as a source of narrative "velocity," contrasting Carlyle's reverence for great figures with Emerson's emphasis on self-reliant momentum, shaping credibility and tension. | |||
* '''Myth Theories''': | |||
** Rational theories (myths as early science): View myths as explanatory "thrust" derived from primitive observation. | |||
** Ritual theories (myths as explanations for rituals): See myths as "energy reservoirs" sustaining cultural coherence. | |||
** Psychological theories (Freud and Jung—unconscious expressions and archetypes, including collective unconscious as archetypal reservoirs): Frame myths as "potential energy" from the psyche. | |||
** Structural theories (Lévi-Strauss viewing myths as language with universal structures): Propose myths as "structural envelopes" for narrative flow. | |||
** Functional/Sociopolitical theories (Machiavelli, Hobbes, and later Marx/Gramsci on ideology): Interpret myths as tools for social "maneuverability" or ideological "drag." | |||
* '''Language Theories''': | |||
** Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis: Suggests language shapes narrative "velocity" and "range" through cultural lenses. | |||
** Nativist (innate ability, as proposed by Noam Chomsky): Posits an inherent "thrust" for linguistic structure. | |||
** Learning/Behaviorist (imitation and reinforcement, by Skinner): Views language as "learned momentum" via reinforcement. | |||
** Social Interactionist (emphasizing social context and interaction, by Vygotsky): Frames language as "relational energy" from dialogue. | |||
** Cognitive Development theory (Piaget): Models language as "developmental weight" affecting coherence. | |||
** Monitor Model (Stephen Krashen, including affective filter as emotional drag): Highlights language acquisition barriers as "friction." | |||
* '''Semiotics and Sign Theory (Saussure, Peirce, Barthes)''': Analyzes stories as sign-systems, where signifier/signified relations provide "codes" and unlimited semiosis offers interpretive "range." | |||
* '''Comparative Mythology''': Includes Monomyth and Archetypal Patterns (Joseph Campbell, with ties to Jung), viewing the Hero's Journey as a universal "energy envelope" for narrative maneuvers. | |||
* '''Narratology''': | |||
** Aristotle (Poetics): Defines narrative "structure" as a cohesive "steady-state" (beginning-middle-end). | |||
** Vladimir Propp (Morphology of the Folktale): Outlines "maneuver phases" in plot functions. | |||
** Mikhail Bakhtin (The Dialogic Imagination): Introduces heteroglossia (multivoiced "thrust"), dialogism (interactive "velocity"), chronotope (time-space "envelope"), and carnivalesque (subversive "twist potential"). | |||
* '''Existentialism and Narrative Agency (Sartre, Camus, Kierkegaard)''': Positions stories as acts of "absurd creation" or "bad faith" avoidance, where protagonists "maneuver" through existential voids. | |||
* '''Ethical and Postcolonial Narratives (Said, Spivak, Anzaldúa)''': Addresses subaltern voices and hybridity as "decolonizing maneuvers" against imperial "drag." | |||
* '''Fundamental Art of Storytelling''': | |||
** Elements (Character, plot, setting, etc): Core "components" of narrative energy. | |||
** Relations (Syntactic Relations: noun-verb, subject-object; Echo-Response Dynamics; Pacing Rhythms): "Relational energy" driving flow. | |||
** Divisions (Play, act, scene, beats, etc): Structural "phases" of energy allocation. | |||
** Convention (Dramatic, Comedic, etc): Genre-based "envelopes" for maneuvers. | |||
** Techniques**: Monologue/Dialogue, Perspective(s), Chekov's Gun, Foreshadowing/Irony, Therefor/But (versus And this happens...): "Maneuver tools" for tension and resolution. | |||
This ontology integrates EM's kinetic principles with storytelling's interpretive nature, positing that narrative "energy" emerges from the tension between invention (*fabula*), credibility (*historia*), moral efficiency (*parabola*), and structural integration (*narratio*), modulated by cultural and psychological "forces." | |||
== Applications == | |||
- **Writing Optimization**: Adjust IS/PD to maximize TP for genre (e.g., high IS for sci-fi). | - **Writing Optimization**: Adjust IS/PD to maximize TP for genre (e.g., high IS for sci-fi). | ||
- **Film/Media**: Simulate AE trends via TRate, predicting audience retention. | - **Film/Media**: Simulate AE trends via TRate, predicting audience retention. | ||