 Drama: September 28, 2011 Issue [#4639] |
  Drama
This week: Emotion Should Be Embraced Edited by: Kitti the Red-Nosed Feline  
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To become a better writer, sometimes you might need to face up to things that make you feel uncomfortable. In my case, I should probably invest in a box of tissues.
This week's Drama Newsletter is about embracing emotion.
kittiara |
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As your guest editor this week, I feel that I have to be honest with you. I tend to avoid the drama genre. At least, I have avoided it for a few years now. Drama confronts me with the reality of human nature, with its beauty and its darkness, with all the pain, and fear, and love, and passion that are part of daily life. And sometimes I can’t bring myself to deal with that.
Why, then, did I want to write this newsletter? The reason I’m here is that I think it’s time for a change. As a reader, it’s good to try out different genres. As a writer it’s important to experiment. As a person, it’s interesting to analyze why I shy away from drama. To say that I don’t want to read a book or watch a movie just because I think it will make me cry is simply not a good enough reason. I can always invest in a box of tissues. So what is it about drama that’s so daunting?
I remember reading The Green Mile by Stephen King. Though Stephen King tends to write horror novels, I think The Green Mile crosses over into the drama genre. I spent the entire final chapter in tears and I am not ashamed to admit it. The Chamber by John Grisham had a similar effect on me. And don’t get me started on movies – from E.T. to Forrest Gump to The Lion King, I soon turn into a crying wreck. I’m the only person I know who thought Happy Feet was utterly depressing.
I tend to avoid movies with animal characters because there appears to be a trend that something terrible will happen to them. I won’t go anywhere near Marley and Me. I still remember watching Ben, because for several hours afterwards I felt distraught.
I think it’s fair to say that I’m a wuss. That’s why there came a point when I decided that to maintain some dignity I should stick with nice, easy, happy, funny movies and novels because it’s safer that way. I wouldn’t embarrass myself in company and wouldn’t have to explain why, when all I’m doing is reading a book, my face happens to be scrunched up and my eyes are all puffy.
The thing is that when you avoid drama, you are, in a way, avoiding an important aspect of life. Drama is all about emotion, from true joy to deep, utter despair. Drama taps into reality, and reality isn’t always cute and cuddly. It isn’t always happy and bouncy. To try and deny this might work for some, but not when you want to be a writer. Writers have to understand these things if they’re ever going to create believable characters. Readers need to be able to relate.
To be a writer you have to be able to tackle topics and issues that you might not be comfortable with. In fact, if something does make you uncomfortable, it helps to gain an understanding why this is so, because then you can draw from the experience. The more you learn, the more you grow, the more you analyse the world around you and the world within, the better the writer you can become.
Good drama writers understand this. They know exactly how to trigger emotions and pull on the heartstrings. That’s what makes their work effective. If their story makes people shrug their shoulders and leaves them cold, they’ll soon be without an audience.
I realise that the majority of the movies and books I mentioned are not actually classed as your typical drama story. They only contain aspects of the genre but then again, a blend of genres is quite common. I guess I haven’t merely been avoiding drama, but anything that I suspected of triggering certain feelings. If a movie or novel defined itself as a drama, I definitely gave it a miss. I’ve been a bit silly.
You can’t escape emotion, no matter how you try. And why should tears be embarrassing anyway? If drama mirrors life, and life consists of laughter and tears, darkness and hope, bring it on.
Drama writers, I salute you.
kittiara
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As I am only a guess editor, I have no questions to answer or feedback to respond to for this newsletter. However, I would like to remind you that comments are always welcome!  So please, don't hesitate to write in.
Wishing you a week filled with inspiration,
The Drama Newsletter Team:
Joy  , Fyn-elf  , NickiD89  and guest editor kittiara
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