  Drama
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Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.
Mother Theresa
I am learning all the time. The tombstone will be my diploma.
Eartha Kitt
The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining.
John F. Kennedy
There is no agony like bearing an untold story inside you.
Zora Neale Hurston
Hello, I am Joy , this week's drama editor. In this issue, our subject is a few common terms in writer-lingo. |
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Welcome to the Drama newsletter
Recently, one of our WdC writers commented about the writer-speak we use in our reviews and in our newsletters, and she said that readers of newsletters and those reviewed sometimes mistook the meaning of some terms.
Truth is none of us really likes to get too technical when reviewing a nice piece of fiction by one of our talented writers or when writing a newsletter. Most of us would prefer to say what we mean without having to use words with little-known meanings; however, some terms facilitate the reviews and newsletters, and they make the advice shorter. So, in this newsletter, I’ll concentrate on some of the general terms of the craft because, to write better and to create drama, one needs to understand what the reviewers and newsletter editors mean.
Here are the terms used by most writers and those I might use in the Drama newsletter.
Plot or Storyline:
Although some views may differ, most of the time, plot and storyline are used as meaning the same thing.
In general both mean what happens in a story throughout the story.
In particular, a plot is the entire framework of the story. It envelops all the sections of the story or novel. A storyline is what happens to a particular story within the story or within a sub-plot or to a character. In other words, any piece of fiction has only one plot, but it may have several storylines.
A plot is held together by its pieces, the scenes. The word plot also means a wicked scheme or the burial place. A wicked scheme may be better for the writer than a burial place for his story. 
Scene:
A segment of the story’s action that adds coherence to the story. Scenes create the atmosphere for the story with setting, time, and mood; or they introduce characters and show the conflict; or develop the theme; or create suspense.
Subplot:
Subplots are smaller plots that enhance a character, theme, or plot and move the course of the main story in the general direction of the plot. Subplots tend to change the direction of a story.
Two subplots may be parallel for the audience to be able to compare different issues; in this case, one of the subplots needs to be the stronger one. Otherwise, subplots are woven into the main plot.
Background of a story or character:
Information that has to do with the story that had been true and continues to be true.
Backstory:
Experiences and events concerning the plot and the character that already happened before the present story.
Storytime:
The current time for the events and characters taking place in a story.
 To illustrate the last three terms above, let’s take Dracula.
In the 1979 Movie The First Bite, the storytime would be 20th century New York, when Dracula moves to New York to find his bride, after being forced to move out of his castle in Transylvania.
The story of the film happens after he has moved, and the time it happens in is its storytime. Consequently, the original Bram Stoker’s Dracula would be the The First Bite’s backstory and that Count Vladimir is a vampire would be the background for the character, as the tagline of the movie indicates, “Your favorite pain in the neck is about to bite your funny bone!”
Theme:
Theme is what you want to communicate through your story and characters. Theme is the universal meaning implied in your work. It is the heart and soul of it. Theme can be an emotion, a situation, a vice or a virtue like love, survival, forgiveness, compassion, acceptance, anger, rivalry, surrender, awe, hate, etc. Themes in stories can also be referred to as man against man, man against nature, man against himself, and good vs evil.
The theme usually hides behind a good writer’s words. Theme is never preached, or else, the story dies. Often, a writer may find his theme after he has written a few paragraphs or pages.
Hook:
What grabs attention and gets the reader involved with the story right in the beginning; this needs to happen in the opening paragraph of a short story or in the first chapter of a novel.
Structure:
The form or the shape of the story in which the events the writer created fit together. This brings to mind a Hemingway quote: “Prose is architecture, not interior decorating. Good quote to keep in mind when we start to write any piece of fiction.
Setting:
The circumstances in which a story takes place such as culture and world events, plus the time as to time of day or historical period and the location or locations such as in real geography or a place like a room, a garden, a city etc.
Viewpoint or POV:
The stance or the point of view of the character who is telling the story. Usually, it is either the first or the third person singular; although, rarely second person or first person plural is used. Most stories are told from the main character’s point of view as in Anne Frank’s Diary and sometimes from a narrator’s point of view as in Moby Dick.
Protagonist:
The main character like Dean Koontz’s Odd Thomas and like the character Othello in Othello.
Antagonist:
Someone opposed to but is not always an enemy of the main character. The antagonist makes the main character’s goal difficult. Both the antagonist and the protagonist want the same thing badly; their actions toward the acquisition of that thing create the conflict. Sometimes a protagonist like Othello stands in the way of an antagonist like Iago to create jealousy in him, leading to Iago’s acts of vengeance.
Secondary characters:
Characters inside the story who have something to do with the progression of the plot, but they are not the protagonist or the antagonist. In reference to secondary characters, remember to practice crowd control, especially with short pieces.
 It is better for any story if the characters are introduced through their actions.
Conflict:
When a character runs into obstacles to reach his goal, conflict is created. Conflict may happen between characters, between two sides in war, between a character and his environment, and within the character’s self. Conflict is the primary tool of fiction. Without conflict nothing happens in a story, no matter how long the writing. Conflict is the backbone of drama.
Anticipation:
The feeling of looking forward to something whether it is positive or negative. This is one form of evoking emotion. Creating anticipation in a reader leads to superior dramatic writing. A good story or play will create anticipation in the form of: tension or when will it happen; curiosity or what will happen; suspense or will it happen or not; hope or looking forward to it; and worry or not looking forward to a dreadful happening.
Payoff:
The wrapping off of anticipation. It comes in the forms of relief or what was worried about not happening; disappointment or not getting what was hoped, like the guy not getting the girl; and surprise or finding something unexpected.
Dialogue
The actual speech between characters.
In contrast to chitchat or everyday conversation, effective dialogue is purposeful because it reveals characters and their relationships to each other. It also introduces the conflict and forwards it in the story.
Action:
Action is more than motion; it is the performance in the story that advances the plot as it reveals the characters, creates tension and conflict, and incites reactions within the story.
Progression :
The plot’s forward movement toward the ending of the story.
Pacing :
The rate and rhythm of the progression of the story.
Exposition or Narrative
Exposition is the overall telling part of the story to give information by condensing, explaining and summarizing content. A narrative usually refers to an incident told but not shown. Exposition and narrative are sometimes used interchangeably.
Exposition and narrative are the easiest ways to deliver information, but they are also the quickest ways to stop the momentum of the story’s progression. Expositions may take the forms of descriptions, monologues, interior dialogues or self-talk or thinking to himself by a character.
Narratives tell; dialogue and action scenes show.
The worst use of exposition and narrative happens through information dump, which is giving unneeded, extra information. It also happens when the writer cuts into the flow of a story to philosophize or to push forward his personal opinions.
Red Herring
Usually utilized by mystery writers, a red herring is a false lead in solving the puzzle of the conflict to redirect or misdirect the reader’s expectations.
Voice or Writer's Voice
A writer’s individual style of telling the story that includes word choice, tone, syntax, and the balance of using dialogue versus narrative. Voice for a writer develops with practice and time. The more you write, the faster you’ll develop your own voice.
Depth or Density
A literary quality when the story elements serve more than one purpose.
I hope these definitions have been helpful. If you need other terms or story parts explained, let me know, and I’ll do my best.
Until next time… 
P.S. Please remember to participate in the contest by our very successful drama editor StephBee  . She is holding this contest in your honor and her two plus years of being a drama editor.
The contest is hosted in: The "Drama Forum" .
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Enjoy!
"The crunch of a footstep echoes against concrete walls. The pen falls from her fingers. She raises her rifle..."
"He tries to be interested, however, it's not something a non-resident of WDC can appreciate."
"She walked towards the table in a slow shuffling motion, seeing the skin, the yellow and the white of the skull."
"sometimes the words
just won’t shake free"
“Suzi! Mark! Get out of there!” He began slamming into the door with all his weight, but the heavy, wooden door would not budge."
"A smack fell on top of his head; Titus didn't try to fight back, he never won against this wrinkly old man."
"At the mention of the money, a plan began to form in Big and Nasty’s pea-sized brain."
"She pressed the button again with her chin breaking the signal. The earphones crackled to life..."
"I remember my daddy's big black Chevrolet
rolling slowly down the bumpy dirt road,"
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Contests:
Congratulations! January 23, 2009 was the seventh birthday of:
StephBee 's contest in:
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Thank you for reading our newsletters and for supplying the editors with feedback. Now, let's take a look at a tip.
 This Issue’s Tip:
For the cohesion of the story, make sure all your scenes forward the plot. Writing a scene only to reveal character brings the story to a halt. The scenes need to reveal character and to forward the plot.
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billwilcox
A very heart-felt newsletter, Joy. Write On!
Thanks, Bill. Glad you liked it.
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flex
Be it for better or for worse, some kind of transformation in the character is essential for effective drama.
Worth repeating often because of it's importance. Thank you for another insightful newsletter. One of my favorite reads/screenplays is The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, a film full of flashbacks -- necessary ones!
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056194/
Thank you, too, Felix.
Yes, character transformation for effective drama is worth repeating often. I don't remember seeing that movie, but then, I might have. I keep forgetting movie titles.  
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Just an Ordinary Boo! 
In reference to the highlighted item "One alone, Two together."
I wrote this in response to a prompt, had to leave the contest half-way. It has languished in my port since, but I had no heart to delete it. I felt it was a good effort. So, I thank for the validation, by choosing to highlight it.. It warms me, as random praise might not.
Jyo
You're welcome, Jyo.
And thank you, too, for writing to tell me that.
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larryp
Great job with this topic Joy. I think we all have experienced loneliness in some way and have a personal reservoir to draw from when writing about a lonely person. You handled the subject very well with helpful suggestions.
Larry
Thanks, Larry.
Stories about lonely people tend to create empathy in us. Like you said, each one of us has a personal reservoir of lonely moments. 
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KimChi 
Great newsletter on loneliness! I thought I'd explored the full gamut of human emotions, but I can see it isn't the case. Your words come at just the right time to help me add this missing ingredient to a story languishing in my computer. Thanks!
Thanks, Kim,
I am glad the newsletter helped your story.
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NOVAcatmando
"Those isolated in faded relationships,
solitarily pose in pictures as still life;
the forgotten, with presumed companionships."
How true as you point out in your newsletter that a person does not have to be alone to be lonely. If fact, feeling lonely when surrounded by others is a particularly painful experience because there appears to be no rational reason behind the feeling.
You're right, Nova.
Loneliness does not come from outside but from inside. Thanks for writing.
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Drama: January 28, 2009 Issue [#2839]
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