 Drama: November 09, 2005 Issue [#708] |
  Drama
This week: Edited by: InkyShadows  
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Drama occurs all around us each and every day in our ordinary lives. What we do with that drama makes all the difference in the world. As writers, we should be filling notebooks with ideas for stories based on real life happenings that we have witnessed. Then, we need to look back at those notes and mold and blend them into wonderful works of fiction for all the world to read
~InkyShadows~ |
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As I was thinking about what to write about in this newsletter, I found myself observing both real people and story characters in a variety of situations that could be called dramatic. What I found was that it is the mental processes and the human motives that drive people and characters to action that provide the drama and make a person and his/her story interesting.
Let's take the case of the school bully who for years has terrorized his/her fellow classmates and then one day does something nice for a kid he/she was particularly rough on. What made the bully do an about face where this kid was concerned? Maybe the kid stopped by the bully's house to say how sorry he was that the bully's mother was in the hospital. Or maybe the bully took a beating at the hands of his/her father or older sibling and realized that he/she had been treating the kid in a similar way and decided to change his/her ways. Seeing the light of goodness or getting the taste of one's own medicine can certainly have motivated the bully into changing. However, maybe it was something else, something unexpected that did the trick. Could the bully possibly have been struck by a car, or watched someone else he/she is close to get maimed or even killed in a freak accident and felt the effects of the tragedy? Or maybe the bully lost a sibling to a terrible disease and learns that the kid is going through the same thing, and the situational similarity rings a bell and brings about the change that we notice. This would certainly make the story more interesting than if we learn that the bully changed because his/her mommy laid down the law and said, "You have to change your ways."
On the other hand, we may see a total weakling suddenly find the strength to dig someone out from under the rubble of a building that collapsed during a tornado. What chain of events gave the weakling the courage to act in such an out-of-character manner? Has he/she had dreams about being buried alive and hoped that someone would be there to provide rescue? Has he/she ever been trapped in a small, tight space and needed rescuing and maybe vowed to help someone else if he/she was allowed to survive the situation? Certainly these choices of motivation would be better than having a bully show up and push him/her into acting like a hero.
It is important for us, as writers, to be aware of what motivates our characters and causes them to change in unexpected ways. This is why it would be a good thing to brainstorm about our character before even starting to write a story. We need to be sure of what would motivate our character into doing something totally out of character, and would provide us with insight into what that change would make our character feel and how it would cause him/her to react when it was all over. A brainstorming character journal can be quite useful in helping us to get to know our characters inside and out, their weaknesses and their strengths, their hopes and their fears. All of this can lead to us writing much more dramatic stories that will grip the reader and not let go until the final words of our stories have been read and devoured.
Enjoy writing your dramatic stories, poems and novels! And, bring your characters and stories to fuller life through getting to know your characters up close and personal before starting to put your story ideas down on paper. Let your characters guide you through your story ideas and take you to the places that make the most sense for them.
Till next time, this is InkyShadows , siging off... |
Here are a few pieces that were submitted for highlighting here in my newsletter:
Bill tells me that not everything he learned in school is scary [ends with scary laughter]; however, everything I teach frightens someone! (What do you expect...after all, I do teach 8th grade math!)
Hi Inky!
Thanks for including my short story, "John" in this week's newsletter. Also, I read your newsletter with even more interest than usual because I too am a schoolteacher, a 10th-grade math teacher in what equates to an inner-city school district. I've seen first-hand a lot of the same problems you're talking about, and I'm sure that there would be plenty of material from my school experiences to write about if I could just separate myself from them enough. Unfortunately, I'm not quite there yet (I'm just too immersed in them at the moment to see the forest through the trees), but hopefully someday I will be.
Also, I'd like to highlight another one of my short stories for inclusion in a future newsletter, if you see so fit. I'd imagine it would fit well into any newsletter that covers the topics of travel, abortion, and several other areas that could be inspiration for drama. Thanks again for an entertaining read, and have a great day!
Ed Dobbins
You know who the killer is, but just how does his mind work?
Here are a few more pieces for your dramatic reading enjoyment...don't forget to rate and review:
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Have an opinion on what you've read here today? Then send the Editor feedback! Find an item that you think would be perfect for showcasing here? Submit it for consideration in the newsletter!
https://www.Writing.Com/go/nl_form
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seleneyue
Submitted Comment:
What school are you talking about? I'v gone to high schools in Oklahoma, New York, and Missouri, and I've never heard of any of those mandatory tests or that kind of a system. We've always done placement based on class grades; if you did bad last year, you're in regular this year, but if you do well, you can still move up.
New York has its Regents Exams. New Jersey has the NJ Ask 3 and 4 as well as the GEPA and the HSPA. I know that Florida, Massachusetts, Virginia and other states have similar exams in place...in fact, the New Jersey tests are based on those given in Massachusetts, and more states are adding them in every year and testing more and more grades as time goes by to guarantee that their children will be competitive in the job market.
scribbler
Submitted Comment:
I'm glad you eventually saw that students also have it hard. I am not american so I am not sure how your school systems work, but in Canada we also have such tests. One in gr 4, 6 9 and 10 for math and english. (the gr 10 one being a literacy test that must be passed in order to finish high school) what I'm trying to get at is that I feel these test do not help students but teachers and school. We spend all year preparing to pass these tests only so it will reflect well on the school we attend. And the literacy test does not determine whether you are literate, but rather, if you can follow directions properly. Is it the same way in the states?
In a way, you are right. Teachers and school systems do want to look good in the state ratings reports, so they push hard to prepare the students for the tests they are mandated to take. However, the material covered in the tests, at least in most states, does reflect the kind of thinking and work that students will be required to do in later life and in the work place. Although I'd like to say that the tests are designed to help students, I can't guarantee that that is the case. That truly was the goal of the original test makers, but depending upon the teachers and their ability to get the material across to students in a meaningful way, students get a wide variety of benefit, or the lack thereof, as their education progresses. |
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