A thematic approach to emerging narrative structure

Abstract

In this paper we look at the possibility of using a thematic model of narrative to find emergent structure in tagged collections. We propose that a thematic underpinning could provide the narrative direction which can often be a problem with stories from existing narrative generation methods, and present a thematic model of narrative built of narrative atoms and their features, motifs and themes. We explore the feasibility of our approach by examining how collaborative tags in online collections match these properties, and find that while tags match across the model the majority are higher level (matching broader themes and motifs rather than more specific features) which may require further investigation into their utility. Copyright 2008 ACM.