  Drama
This week: Edited by: Joy  
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"I made some mistakes in drama. I thought the drama was when the actors cried. But drama is when the audience cries."
Frank Capra
"Write your first draft with your heart. Re-write with your head."
From the movie Finding Forrester
"If you haven't surprised yourself, you haven't written."
Eudora Welty
"Good novels are not written, they are rewritten. Great novels are diamonds mined from layered rewrites."
Piers Paul Read
Hello, I am Joy , this week's drama editor. I had my first experience with NaNo in November 2009, and I am so glad I did. The experience itself has been dramatic enough, let alone the drama a novel can contain. So this issue, let's attend to what might follow our dramatic first drafts.
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Welcome to the Drama newsletter
When I started to write the welcome to this newsletter, my wayward typing turned drama into darma. Now that I think about it, I say why not? Darma is the flawed spelling of Dharma, meaning Achara or good conduct in Hindu ethics. Since we have just finished the NaNoWriMo month of November, for those of us who are into our December revisions and for those of us who want to look over our other existing stories, the dharma of revision can be just what the doctor ordered.
Here are a few pointers for charging up that first draft regardless of the genre:
 After the first draft, the first thing to do is to read the story from beginning to end as if for the first time and as if someone else wrote it. If you decide to do this to the best of your ability, you'll see the story's flaws better than any reviewer can. As for me, I'm still working on this one. Objectivity does not come easily to any writer, even if he thinks he is highly critical of his own work.
Then, take the overall story. What is its message? Is a theme hiding inside it somewhere or can you easily point to the theme or the central message? Central message or the theme (such as love, forgiveness, resilience, truth) is important because it holds the story together and creates depth.
How does the story start? Does it start with a bang then fizzle down or does it start simply but with an attention-grabbing first sentence, paragraph, or chapter to keep the reader reading and then begin to bring on the complexities? One thing to keep in mind is that most successful novels and long stories start simply, giving the reader a preliminary goal to keep track of, before the hard knocks. So the main character will be introduced properly, and after he finds his normal life turned upside down, he will have time enough to go through the changes.
Where does the story start? Is the starting point the beginning of the story you are telling or have you started by telling the backstory?
Does the storyline show an episodic plot or is the plot a climactic one? An episodic plot is a general story that is composed of episodes. Each of these episodes can stand alone on its own even though it is related to a central idea with the same characters, as in Sandra Cisneros's The House on Mango Street or in the TV sitcoms.
A climactic plot is the one that has a definite story arc rising to a climax toward the end. If you have the climactic plot, and chances are you do, check if you have advanced the story through scenes that build up the dramatic tension. Then, check each scene to see if it has a clear goal and if it leaves the reader wondering what will happen next.
The Viewpoint:
Ask yourself if the story is told through the viewpoint of the right character for it or if the story would be better off if any other character told it. For example, if Moby Dick were to be told by Captain Ahab, the story would be very different, even though Ahab is the protagonist. Instead, Ishmael did a fantastic job in telling the story. The same is true of Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, which could only be brought to life through Nick Carraway's words.
The Protagonist:
Check your protagonist no matter how well you think you portrayed him.
Does he or she have a clear-cut goal that only he can reach through his own initiative, even if the goal is not evident to the protagonist in the beginning of the story?
Is your main character deep enough? Did you have a character sheet for him, and if not, can you make one now so that his persona and the changes he has gone through fits with it?
Is your character dramatic enough? A character who acts to resolve some life issue or challenge despite being in pain is a dramatic character. A character's need to act while he is hurt --and as the result of his actions may even hurt more-- will draw empathy or some kind of an emotion from the readers.
Have you implied at or revealed an unresolved problem from the protagonist's past that fits well with the theme and has a direct impact on the story?
Then, what does the protagonist do at the darkest hour? And when does his darkest hour come? One thing to keep in mind: the darkest hour is before the dawn could apply to the protagonist and the story arc.
Adorn the story.
Add in sight, sound, touch, smell, and taste as much as possible to the descriptions and the scenes.
Find the "telling" parts of the story. Ask yourself if telling in any one part is appropriate or would the story be better off if you used showing instead. A rule of the thumb is 80% showing versus 20% telling.
Then, find the passive verbs (forms of to be, seem, appear, make etc.) and decide if they are necessary or if an active verb would make the story more exciting. The desired ratio by most editors is active verbs 98% to passive verbs 2%.
Now is the time to proofread the story for sentence structure, punctuation, spelling, and other aspects of mechanics and grammar.
For the novelists: If you already have an outline or a working synopsis, make improvements to it to change it into a three-page marketing synopsis. If you don't have it, write one. Then draft a query letter and you are good to go. 
Best of luck with all your writing projects. :-}
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A sampling of 2009 NaNowrimo works highlighted with permission from their authors since this type of work may be in its raw form:
An annoying mist mixed with the rising moisture from other cars on the road frustrated Chad. The worn windshield wipers on his Crime Scene Search van smeared streaks of muddy water at each swipe of the glass.
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“Don’t leave me behind. Take me with you!” This horrified shriek came from Izzy, the vicious crone hated and feared by all the gods’ concubines.
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“Patient 1138,” a voice spoke to the others, its sound reaching into the silence of the room. “She’s unresponsive and drifting further into a comatose state.”
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I tell you, if wizards don’t begin moderating their magic use, global warming will ruin us all,” said the stout greasy man on the stage. His face was wrinkled like gnarled tree roots. White hair fell to his shoulders and over one hollow eye.
Tim had a dream, he only needed the means to see it materialize.
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A few helpful items on revising and publishing novels and other writings:
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Drama: December 02, 2009 Issue [#3388]
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