  Drama
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Greetings, I'm honored to be your host for this week's edition of the Writing.Com Drama Newsletter!
Drama is based on the Mistake. I think someone is my friend when he really is my enemy, that I am free to marry a woman when in fact she is my mother, that this person is a chambermaid when it is a young nobleman in disguise, that this well-dressed young man is rich when he is really a penniless adventurer, or that if I do this such and such a result will follow when in fact it results in something very different. All good drama has two movements, first the making of the mistake, then the discovery that it was a mistake. ~ W. H. Auden
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Greetings, fellow writers of prose and verse and fact and fiction.
We each seek to impart a sense of the dramatic, whether ironic, emphatic, overt or subtle, in our writing. We want our readers to take notice, to sense our world from our words ~ to make them care. That, I think, is drama. It's not a series of exclamation points which, when overdone, by the way, lose all effect (remember 'the boy who cried wolf'?).
In order to create drama, we are told that we must 'show, not tell,' and 'make sure dialogue advances plot/character. Now, isn't that what we strive for whether we write for screen or paper or ipod? But there is a difference I've found in dramatic writing. There's a sense of pacing and an intimate connection with the surroundings; the 'scenery' focal to the action taking place. It's visual and sensory; pulsing with life, like a heartbeat. And it's up to us to control the rhythm of that heartbeat - excited, passionate, relaxed, but never flatlined.
Even before Shakespeare, the Greeks offered us vivid visual and sensory plays ~ remember Agamemnon? And Epic poetry ~ what of Gilgamesh! And today, with the variety of mediums we have available, whether it be a screenplay or film, a skit or Youtube spot (fast becoming a common tool in the writer's repertoire prosaic and poetic), an epic or elgiac poem, writing drama will exercise your muse creative to create a vivid 'otherworld' whether earthbound or 'out there' for your readers/viewers/listeners/theater-goers.
 Begin with the exposition of the protagnist, antagonist, basic conflict and setting. This does not need to be lengthy, but a scene to introduce the story, to draw your audience into your world, whether on paper or on stage. It's more than a 'hook' as it offers more depth, an opportunity for you to share your sensory image of the characters and their interaction with each other and their surroundings in a few short paragraphs.
Then, the exposition ends with the inciting incident, without whic there would be no story. This is the reason for the story you are weaving and itsets the rest of the story in motion, with a rise in action.
Now, your characters are committed, and the action rises with internal conflict and related secondary conflicts. Here's where obstacles are introduced that try to keep the protagonist from reaching the goal.
There's a pulse, now, to the story, and conflict speeds the pulse of the story, as an incline would speed the heartrate of a runner. As a conflict is resolved, the heartbeat becomes more relaxed, as does the runner loping downhill. This pulse can continue over several 'obstacles' as each is first encountered, then engaged, then resolved for the benefit or further lesson of the protagonist.
The resolution arrives after the final push uphill, heart racing, to reach the climax, changing the characters, resolving the obstacles and allowing once and for all the protagonist and antagonist(s) to win or fail, to be changed by their journey - the resolution after the climax providing the understanding, perhaps a final instance of suspense to make your reader/listener/audience doubt the climax.
And we don't end a story on a cliffhanger but resolve what was begun in the opening ~ answer the questions raised, changing the lives, interactions, of the protagonist/antagonist. The protagonist mail fail, but learn something about him/herself; the ending may be joyous, comedic, or tragic; but do bring it to a conclusion for your characters (and your audience whether in print or on stage).
I'm exploring dramatic writing now, as I'm writing a series of scenes/sketches that I hope to weave into a visual or literary series of shorts and hope that my exploration makes sense. My resources began with reading through and viewing the graph of "Freytag's pyramid" and a criticism by Lajos Egri. I hope to continue this journey with you, and look forward to learning from some of the dramatic writing of our members.
Write On!
Kate
Kate - Writing & Reading
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dramatic pics
drama queen challenge
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A somewhat depressing short story depicting two men getting stuck in an elevator together.
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Consider the origins of 'drama' writing ~ envision
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A challenge for the Muse Creative to be dramatic ~ maybe even a drama queen/king ~
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Thank you for sharing my exploration. As a guest I don't have an ask and answer, but I do ask you to let me know if this exploration makes sense ~ or if I'm off track completely ~ if I'm just being a drama queen . I hope to return and continue the exploration with you into this creative venue ~ as all the world really is a stage, and we are the playrights of our verse and prose and articles whether set for stage or print or video ~ the worlds we each create.
Until we next meet,
Write On!
Kate
Kate - Writing & Reading
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Drama: March 31, 2010 Issue [#3623]
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