  Drama
This week: I Shouldn't Be Alive Edited by: NickiD89  
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| Like many of you, I've considered myself a writer my whole life. But in 2007, I shifted out of hobbyist mode, started writing for an audience, and embarked on the exciting journey towards publication. As I continue on that path and delve ever deeper into the craft, I feed an insatiable appetite for creative writing theory. I seek out how-to books and workshop experiences to augment and amplify whatever talent I possess. For those of you like me, here's a little theory to appease your hunger. |
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 Two scuba divers surface in open ocean to find the dive boat has left them behind, miles from shore. ~~ On a ski vacation, a father and his eight-year-old son are caught in an alpine storm and find themselves miles off course, somewhere in the Sierra Nevada wilderness. ~~ A cinematic photographer and his crew are filming footage of an active volcano when their helicopter crash lands in the crater. ~~ A married couple in their late sixties becomes stranded in the mountainous Mexican dessert when their jeep overturns.
The scenarios above share several common denominators: They are all true stories. Each was immortalized as an episode of the reality television series I Shouldn't Be Alive. They each possess elements of an exciting Action/Adventure plot. And -- (writers take note) -- they epitomize the drama of the human experience when victims are faced with their own mortality.
For anyone unfamiliar with I Shouldn't Be Alive, a typical episode takes viewers through that fateful adventure when the spotlighted victim(s) nearly lost their lives. Beginning with the morning of Day 1, actors reenact the victims' movements leading up to a cataclysmic event, during the chaos as all hell breaks loose, and through the long days of survival and despair that follow until finally, mere moments before rasping their final breaths, they are rescued. Intermittent with the action are snippets of testimony by the real-life victims, stoic yet teary-eyed, which hammers home for viewers the realization that harrowing events like these could happen to anyone. Even you.
Now that's drama.
I'm a reality survival show addict. And yes, it's a bit embarrassing to admit it. So, to rationalize my dedicated viewership, let me tell you what I observe in every episode that relates (thank God) to writing.
Every episode contains the following:
 The inciting incident, usually an accident involving a combination of human and mechanical failure, terrorizes the victims and sets off this chain of emotional responses: Blinding Fear (We're gonna die!)  Euphoric Relief (We're still alive!) Cautionary Optimism (They're looking for us; we'll just tend to these wounds, sit tight, and wait.) Utter Dismay (They'll never find us; we're out of water; I think this is infected...) Courageous Resolve (I have a plan...) Abject Despair (I'm out of ideas. My God, this is it. This is really it.) Exhausted Elation (We're saved. Oh God, it's really over.)
As the events unravel, we observe absolute proof that human beings are resilient creatures. With every step forward the victim takes to reverse his perilous situation, he inevitably falls three steps back. For example, in the episode with the helicopter crash in the volcano crater, the radio was damaged and the photographers realized their only chance of survival was climbing out of the crater. They made it pretty far up the crater wall. (GOOD). The air was less toxic and easier to breath higher up (GOOD). The crater wall was unstable and tiny shards of volcanic glass sliced their hands each time they slid down in the ash (BAD). Unable to continue up or go back down, they became stuck under the crater lip, out of view of rescue choppers (BAD). One guy made it back to the crash site and repaired the radio (GOOD). Alerted rescue chopper couldn't approach due to sudden inclement weather (BAD). And on, and on, and on.
At one point in every episode, the least injured or fittest victim must make the decision to leave the hurt or weaker person behind and try to find help. This is an excruciating choice to make, never more poignant than in the story of the father and his eight year old son. The dad made sure his boy was tucked into a tiny cave, out of the elements. Still, frostbite had already stiffened the boy's feet, and the wilderness surrounding him was home to hungry wolves and bears. The dad knew it could be days before he returned with help, meaning his young son would be alone, without food, those long days and nights. And there were no guarantees the dad would make it out, at all. Heartbreaking!
Almost every victim reaches a moment when they are resolved to the futility of their predicament. They will likely die, in a few hours, in a few days. With this acceptance comes the need to express themselves to those they will leave behind, so they write a letter to their loved ones. Last words of endearment, final requests, apologies. Their words are beautiful and emotional. Just thinking about writing a letter like that inspires stories in my mind.
Fiction writers can take plenty of notes on the craft while watching survival shows like I Shouldn't Be Alive. There are a couple other reality series like it, such as I Survived which focuses more on victims of violent crimes than man verses wilderness stories, and When Vacations Attack which is all about life-or-death crises that happen to people while on vacation. Each of these series showcases again and again the resilient human spirit in the most dangerous of circumstances. For me, it's the drama within the action/adventure that makes it so impossible to turn off.
Question For Next Time: What's your television addiction? Tell me how your TV guilty pleasure impacts your ability to write stories.
Thanks for reading!
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| |  | The Hunted (ASR)
What started out as a business trip detour ends up as a desparate fight for survival.
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Question For Next Time: What's your television addiction? Tell me how your TV guilty pleasure impacts your ability to write stories.
Last Month's Question: Anne Lamott's Bird By Bird is one of my favorite books on the craft. What's yours? Here's what readers said:
BIG BAD WOLF is Merry  -- (Submitted Item: "Redwall Interactive" I can't name all my favorite authors- there'd be no room. So, I'll name my top 3.
Brian Jacques- Fantastic series in the form of Redwall. Young heroes have to go on quests to save their friends and home (normally Redwall) from a conquering villain.
Anne McCaffrey- Her Dragonriders of Pern is a series where heroes use dragon partners in an attempt to destroy a space-born organism that eats carbon-based objects. Her other series are good too- most of them being Sci-Fi in nature.
Gordon R. Dickson- His Dragon Knight series is 9 books based on a time-lost professor, who finds himself a Baron, a Magician, and a Dragon, in a Medieval world set during the 100 years war period. Now he has to save England from invasions of all sorts.
Though these aren't books on the craft of writing, I'm always glad to pass on recommended reads. Thanks for sharing these with us!
Elle - on hiatus  -- I am in the process of writing a story about my grandfathers who were both WWII veterans. Both have since passed away. One of my grandfathers has a lot of his service commemorated in books and letters. The other grandfather was in covert units (the 1st SAS and 1st SBS units in WWII) - and consequently, there is very little known of his service. When I interviewed his wife, my grandmother, for my family history records, she mentioned that he sent her letters every day while he was away in service. I rang her this weekend as I tried to write this story and asked if she had kept the letters, or could remember anything from them. She said no, but that they were 'just love letters'. I was so disappointed. Such treasures, lost forever. And my husband wonders why I keep so many of the letters I receive from relatives!!
Lost treasures, for sure. And, I can't imagine throwing away a love letter. Oh sure, I'm as bad as pack-rat as my grandmother is. Apple didn't fall far from that tree!  But even so, the sentimental corners of my soul would never allow me peace of mind, knowing I'd tossed a letter imbued with so many emotions. Good luck with the project! Your story will become a treasured family heirloom, I'm sure!
Joy  -- Thanks for another good one, Nicki.
Yes, letter writing probably helped many a writer's style during the past century. In our time, e-mail is taking the letter's place, but with no or little staying power, unfortunately.
So true! Society today has neither the patience nor attention span to write or read emails written with the flourish of a bygone era. I'd argue that overall, letters like we wrote decades ago no longer have a place of necessity in our lives. Yet their absence is surely marked by some, including myself.
Alexandra -- I am so glad I joined writing.com. There is so much information and varied writing to read and consider that I wish there were more hours in a day.
My favourite book on the craft is Stephen King's On Writing.
I couldn't agree more with your comments! There's so much to read here at WDC, and only enough time to enjoy a fraction of it. And as for On Writing, again I concur! Definitely my favorite book on the craft too. Brilliant read!
Quick-Quill  -- I really enjoyed this NL. I loved writing letters. My mother is a master and my grandmother (tho' hard to read) loved to share her life. I think letter writing is a lost art. I wish we would get back to doing it. I am the first one that in my busy life an email does it for me. But what we pour out into a letter, means more now to the receiver and the writer than many know. A friend just asked me to tell my mother thanks for the letters she sent. The friend had a surgery my mother had gone through. She shared her story and it was greatly appreciated. Maybe if we wrote a letter from our main character to the protagonist, we might learn something about our characters.
Great Job Nicki
I think you're right. We'd gain more insight into a character in one sitting by handing her a pen and asking her to write a letter, than by spending the same time trying to flesh her out in a short scene. I loved the story you shared about your mother's letters to her recovering friend. The power of words is never more evident than when delivered in a letter. Thanks for the awesome comments!
Seabreeze  -- Nick,
Enjoyed reading your newsletter and talking about the letters you received that were written by your grandfather. What a jewel you inquired. I have always thought that, due to computers (emails, chat, blogs) we have lost the art of letter writing. This is one of the reasons I decided to become a member of writing.com so that I could hopefully regain some of the art of it all.
So thank you for sharing your personal gain and I hope you truly enjoy your treasure.
Seabreeze
Thank you so much for the lovely comments! Letter writing is a lost art, but I hope people like you and I, who appreciate it still, continue to write our letters. Here at WDC, we have the perfect platform to get those creative juices flowing. Happy (letter) writing!!
See you all back here on October 31, 2012. Until then, have a great month!
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Drama: October 03, 2012 Issue [#5294]
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