  Drama
This week: Great Drama in Small Moments Edited by: fyn  
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“The world is all gates, all opportunities, strings of tension waiting to be struck.” ~~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
I hoped the dramatic power of the play would rest on that tension between elegant structure - the underlying plan is that you see the first and last meeting of every couple in the play - and inelegant emotion. ~~ Patrick Marber
“Creativity arises out of the tension between spontaneity and limitations, the latter (like the river banks) forcing the spontaneity into the various forms which are essential to the work of art or poem.” ~~ Rollo May
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The holidays have come and gone. One of the sideways benefits of holidays are masses amounts of people in varying states of emotion. At this point it is almost impossible for me to see the emotions (of all kinds) flying and NOT take notice, file away and remember for writing use. Every bit as much as the vast arrays of food we see, is the smorgasbord of emotions that are on display or lying just beneath the surface. If you look, they are ready to be mined, remembered and then, later, used.
Holidays are a great time of year for collecting additional emotional moments to add to your repertoire. It is fun to sit back and observe, and, occasionally, look in the mirror, for I am no less guilty than anyone else. It is interesting, as well as educational, to watch the byplay, the dance and catch the moves; the pirouettes, the Chassé, the twists, jumps and turns choreographed within each framework/relationship.
For example, I remember my mother coming to visit, along with my older brother and although I was an adult, with three children, I would find myself back in the role of youngest child. That role would battle it out with the one of wife and mother. My house, I'm the boss...yes, well, except for when Mom came to visit. Now when the kids come with their kids, I see the same thing happening, albeit from a different perspective.
Another example is my prospective son-in-law "really" wanting a specific "something" for Christmas, and my daughter adamantly being against said item. The looks Hubby and I exchanged that clearly said we were in agreement that although we were done buying presents, that yes, one more would be bought and given, that it would be from Santa as neither of us wanted the blame and that it was going to be fun before we headed for cover! Christmas morning, when her boyfriend opened the "item" to squeals of pure glee, I also learned that my daughter, sans children as yet, has totally mastered the "Mom Glare" look perfectly.
Looks exchanged, eyebrows raised, private smiles and body postures are all part of the choreography of the Holiday dance and of one dance in particular--the "Pushing Buttons" dance. You know the one where parts include the game being more important to some than the meal you just spent hours cooking, the vanishing family members when it is time to clean up that meal for eighteen people you just spent all day creating, the repeated stories that always end up with someone wishing they could hide beneath the table and the other tales that some folks will never, ever live down. Consider a card game with partners where couples play one game as partners, and the next with them mixed up. Body language, the 'table-talk,' changes considerably. The three or four guys arguing interminably over a game played years ago as if it were of vital importance while meanwhile missing something else important going on, right now, in front of them, but, incorrectly perceiving they are in their "invisible cone of silence," talk over everyone else so that no one else can get a word in edgewise short of blowing the conveniently given child's whistle at full blast! Each of the actions creates ripples in the deceptively smooth waters of the family pond. How and when the ripples coincide and the reflective actions as a result vary with differing people, but the actions are in motion that can lead to a "shaken head, eyes rolling" reaction, or a "Sweetheart, can you come help me in the kitchen for a moment" type comment that may or may not lead to war.
Cannon fodder! All filed away to be remembered and used when creating tension, drama and reality in writing. The new, expensive earrings given and the discovery of one being lost in the mounds of paper, ribbons and boxes that are the detritus of Christmas morning. The forgotten present lost in its carefully placed and long forgotten hiding place. The hint that had been broadcast to someone repeatedly who never 'got the hint' and never went out to get and the disappointment resulting from same. The moments. Of course this all also includes the "tear-jerker" moments when someone receives the unexpected surprise, the meaningful gift that blows them into next month, or the rock your world present disguised as an ornament hanging on the tree!
This time of year is a microcosm of the emotional swings we all experience and is a perfect place to glean material and descriptions to enhance your writing even when it has nothing to do with holiday gatherings. |
As this is a new year, I am featuring all newbies this week! Read a newbie!
| |  | Belonging (E)
This poem is about someone wanting to belong. I wrote this poem based off of a book.
#1737626 by tasha  |
| | | Tin Rose (E)
"Tin Rose" explores the perception of beauty and how it is changing.
#1737524 by dgbskball |
| |  | Invalid Item
This item number is not valid.
#1737456 by Not Available. |
| | | Invalid Item
This item number is not valid.
#1737358 by Not Available. |
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Anticipation.....
morfindal writes:I love opening presents on Christmas, but then it wrecks the lovely scene of all the wrapped boxes under the tree! :( haha Whenever I'm opening my gifts, I open them very carefully, trying not to rip the paper - it drives my sisters nuts! :P Then last year, I discovered that one of my little sisters, who is turning out to be like me (not necessarily a good thing...), is doing the same thing! :D My other sisters really have it bad now!! They can't stand suspense :)
Hopefully they were happily surprised! Loved the surprises at this end.
atwhatcost says: I guess I'm the exception to the rule. I've never peaked, didn't want to know, and intentionally looked the other way, if someone just might be doing something to something that might end up mine.
As for holding the suspense on Christmas morn? While growing up the "grown-ups" forced us to wait, until they got their coffee, and they loved slowing that down as long as possible. As an adult, I've found no other adults willing to torture children in that wonderful way. I love the suspense with as few hints as possible - on Christmas or in stories.
Me too! My daughter (an adult) had us all up at 4:20 AM!!! She 'couldn't wait!" Me neither. *grin*
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Drama: January 05, 2011 Issue [#4165]
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