 Drama: February 17, 2016 Issue [#7479] |
  Drama
This week: Compensation for Lack of Villain Edited by: Cinn  
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I came to explore the wreck.
The words are purposes.
The words are maps.
I came to see the damage that was done
and the treasures that prevail.
I stroke the beam of my lamp
slowly along the flank
of something more permanent
than fish or weed
the thing I came for:
the wreck and not the story of the wreck
the thing itself and not the myth
the drowned face always staring
toward the sun
the evidence of damage
worn by salt and sway into this threadbare beauty
the ribs of the disaster
curving their assertion
among the tentative haunters.
~Excerpt from "Diving into the Wreck" by Adrienne Rich
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When toying with topics for this newsletter, I found myself returning again and again to conflict and villains. Stories in the drama genre don't always have a villain. Rather, the conflict is between the protagonist and a situation. Illness, financial troubles, and any number of other crises may not require a "bad guy". Other times, the only villain is also the protagonist, and the conflict is entirely internal.
The more I thought about it, the more I came to realize that many of the novels and stories that I stop reading are of this variety. The protagonist is not fighting against a person. Instead, they are fighting against a set of circumstances that seem insurmountable and out of their control. Though these scenarios are fraught with drama, they tend to make me uncomfortable, which turns into an unenjoyable reading experience. I am sure that this is not true for everyone, but for those of us who have 'control freak' tendencies, reading about the inner struggle of someone who has no control can be just... sickening.
The good news is: They don't have to be. I can think of a number of very enjoyable stories and novels that derive conflict from a situation rather than a person. What makes them more fun to read than those lonely half-read books? Secondary conflict.
I think that it is a natural reaction when things are beyond our control to focus on a person. For instance, a patient in a hospital might argue with their doctor or nurse because all of the anger he or she feels feels over the situation needs a concrete target. This happens frequently when financial troubles cause the conflict as well. How many times have you seen a loan officer at a bank vilified? A landlord who needs that three months of back rent? The loan officer and landlord are not the problem, but if the character needs to lash out, it will be at these perceived "bad guys".
This is one of the functions of secondary conflict. It gives the reader an outlet, just as it gives the character an outlet. Sometimes, it is too difficult to read about a single mother struggling to beat cancer without intermittently seeing her fight with a doctor or a worker from child services. It gives the reader time to regroup and focus some of the tension and anger on another aspect of the story, something over which the character has more control.
So, is it necessary for a drama story to have a villain? Yes and no. The primary conflict does not need to be a person at all, let alone a villain. However, you can still throw in a villain on the side to serve as an emotional punching bag for both the protagonist and the reader. For your trouble, you might end up with a richer and more complete story as well.
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What makes you uncomfortable when reading a dramatic story?  Who is your fondest drama villain?
 
For last Action/Adventure newsletter I edited, the topic was writing about tears without all the cliches. It seems that you were not a chatty bunch that week, but at least I got one comment:
Wonderful. That would force me to think harder next time I describe somebody crying...
When someone is nervous or holding back tears, I shiver the characters lips. Man, it feels yucky and excessive drama but I gulp down my pride and use it anyway  From Kanish ~ we got this! 
 Well, for what it's worth, I have read a whole lot of your stories (thanks to the 30 Day Image Prompt Contest), and you are a creative sort. With 30 stories, up against over 10 contestants, you still managed to do something entirely unexpected and different from your competitors on a regular basis. So... if a cliched phrases pops up now and then, people's heads might be spinning too fast to even notice it.  Thanks for writing in, and I'm glad that you enjoyed my mad ramblings!
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