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Drama: May 11, 2016 Issue [#7639]

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Drama


 This week: Life's Little Dramas
  Edited by: NaNoKit Author IconMail Icon
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Table of Contents

1. About this Newsletter
2. A Word from our Sponsor
3. Letter from the Editor
4. Editor's Picks
5. A Word from Writing.Com
6. Ask & Answer
7. Removal instructions

About This Newsletter

The little dramas of life can help the reader relate to your characters. From a bad hairdo, to getting splashed by a car, to all those times when everything goes wrong at the worst possible moment, I think it's fair to say that we've all been there. Or most of us will have been there, at one time or another.

This week's Drama Newsletter, then, may be a trip down those stressful, cringe-worthy moments that we'd rather forget, but that are so helpful to a writer.

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Word from our sponsor



Letter from the editor

Have you ever had a dream in which you were back in school, and the moment you step into the classroom, you realise there's a test... a test you haven't prepared for? I've had that dream. Not sure why, because I was a pretty good student, but I guess exam stress is a universal phenomenon.

I am currently preparing for an economics exam, which doesn't help. Four essays in three hours. Must include diagrams. It's one of those times when I question my decision to return to education – I'd escaped all that! For years there weren't any exams to worry about! Yet, here I am again, revising for the next chance for my mind to go blank, just when I could do with it firing on all cylinders.

Exams are a setting for one of life's little dramas. They're instantly recognisable – most of us aren't a Hermione Granger, who'd enjoy the challenge. Being so recognisable, they can easily be worked into a story, invoking sympathy in your readers.

Daily life is full of these scenarios that can help your audience relate to your characters. A visit to the dentist, for example. Some people don't mind going, but there are plenty of people, like me, who'd rather clean an endless pile of dishes than sit in that chair.

There's the harsh light in the shop where you're trying on new clothes, exposing all your flaws. The time when your optician tells you it's time to consider reading glasses. The realisation that trying out that new hairdresser was a bad, bad idea – especially when you have an important meeting the next day, which is why you went for a haircut in the first place.

It's the morning of the day of your first date and you notice a big spot, right next to your nose. You've put on a few pounds, or lost a few pounds, and the nice clothes you wanted to wear don't fit anymore. You need to go somewhere, but you're running late and the traffic is moving at a snail's pace. You're walking towards a job interview, and it's raining, and a car splashes through a puddle right next to you, covering you in water and dirt.

You desperately need sleep, but the baby won't stop crying. Your dog ate your homework, literally, ad who would believe that? An important letter got lost in the mail. What are the odds? You're trying out a new recipe, and guests are coming over, and it's inedible. Or maybe you've missed out a key ingredient, and you don't realise it until it's already served and people are tucking in.

You want to make a good impression, but you stumble over your words, or say exactly the wrong thing. Later, when the moment has passed, you think of what you should have said instead.

That's being human. Those little dramas make life more like a comedy movie than I'd like to admit sometimes, and they certainly aren't funny at the time, but it's because we recognise all the many things that can go wrong, that we laugh. It's also because we know what it's like, that we cry, if the writer phrases it in a way to enable those tears to flow.

I certainly don't think I'll be laughing on the day of my exam. Later, perhaps, if I am safe in the knowledge that I didn't mess up, I will wonder why I was stressed. When I am clutching a good grade, I might laugh at how easy it turned out to be. Bet that dream will still pop up, though, when I least expect it. Our minds never forget the horrors of a quiet exam hall, and that clock that appears to be moving at an unnaturally fast pace...


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Editor's Picks

Here are some of the latest additions to the Drama genre:

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#2083333 by Not Available.


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#2083706 by Not Available.


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#2083356 by Not Available.


 Green Eyes Open in new Window. (E)
A poem about a street kid, Isaac, that I befriended.
#2083518 by mariamentor Author IconMail Icon


Some contests that might inspire you:

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IN & OUT
The 4 Controversies Contest Open in new Window. (18+)
OPINIONS? Groovy! The 4C's is a 3X Quill Winner! Enter Your Non-Fiction Next in ?
#2083509 by Whata SpoonStealer Author IconMail Icon


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The Dialogue 500 Open in new Window. (18+)
Dialogues of 500 words or less.
#941862 by W.D.Wilcox Author IconMail Icon


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Long, Long, Long Open in new Window. (18+)
Prompt-free contest for stories of the lengthier variety. New round May 2024!
#1782293 by Turkey DrumStik Author IconMail Icon


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#1966417 by Not Available.

 
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Ask & Answer

The Drama Newsletter Team welcomes any and all questions, suggestions, thoughts and feedback, so please don't hesitate to write in! *Smile*

Wishing you a week filled with inspiration,

The Drama Newsletter Team

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