  Drama
This week: Characters Have A Right To Grieve Edited by: Kit of House Lannister  
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We grieve for the loss of someone, or something, special. So, too, should our characters.
This week's Drama Newsletter is about the grieving process, and why this should be recognised in drama novels and stories.
kittiara |
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Dealing with grief isn't easy. It's stating the obvious to say that, but it really hits you when you're forced by life and circumstances to go through it. The pain isn't just mental; it's physical. It's a sick feeling. Not that the mental aspects are easy - there is pain there, too, and anger, and disbelief, and denial and sadness.
Grief can occur in a variety of situations. The loss of a loved one, the loss of a relationship, the loss of an ability, the loss of a pet, even the loss of a career a person truly enjoyed. When you lose someone, or something, you treasured, it takes time to come to terms with it. And the various stages of the grieving process are there to help a person adjust.
Understanding how grief works can help, but it doesn't necessarily make it any easier. You're still feeling what you're feeling. It's all well and good to tell yourself "oh, I'm going through the anger phase now", but you're still angry. I think that the important thing is to allow the anger, allow the tears, whilst holding on to the knowledge that it's natural and that it will pass.
Some people do become stuck and, on the other side of the coin, some don't allow themselves to grieve. Neither "solutions" are healthy. As much as it hurts, events have to be dealt with, yet there has to be a will to move towards the future.
Grief is something that characters in drama novels and stories are not unfamiliar with. The above (brief) discussion of the process is to highlight the different emotions and sensations that accompany a loss. A believable character should show at least some of the effects of a tragedy in their lives. If they lose someone, or something, special, they cannot simply shrug it off and carry on doing what they are doing, as it's not natural.
Most readers will have experienced a loss of some kind by the time they pick up your novel or click on your story. Quite a few of them, sadly, will have grieved on more than one occasion. They should be able to recognize what your characters are going through, and if the characters are not going through anything at all when something major has happened, the reader is unlikely to be impressed.
That doesn't mean that your character has to grieve through the entire novel. Not unless you wish to create a tragic character, who is too absorbed in their pain to overcome it. But it has to be recognized. Characters, too, have the right to grieve.
Just as we are changed by the ups and downs and downright horrible times in life, so is a hero or heroine. Their character will develop, for better or for worse.
The hero or heroine who doesn't allow themselves to cry is expected to break, sooner or later. The tragic bride left at the altar is expected to take off her gown in the end. That is the way things are. Not that you have to conform to stereotypes, of course. My advice, however, is to keep it real.
kittiara
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The Drama Newsletter Team welcomes any and all questions, suggestions, thoughts and feedback, so please don't hesitate to write in!
pinkbarbie - Hi,I totally agree that effect of twists and downs should have a realistic effect on the character and there doesn't not always have to be sorrow in the character's life. Thank you for the imporatant newsletter.
Thank you so much for your kind words!
~~~
Wishing you a week filled with inspiration,
The Drama Newsletter Team
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Drama: September 26, 2012 Issue [#5282]
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