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Printed from https://writing.com/main/newsletters/action/archives/id/4875-Love-and-Conflict.html
Drama: February 15, 2012 Issue [#4875]

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Drama


 This week: Love and Conflict
  Edited by: JACE 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

Hi, I'm JACE Author Icon, your guest editor for this week's Drama issue. I hope my words offer a little food for thought.


A talent for drama is not a talent for writing, but is an ability to articulate human relationships.
         --Gore Vidal.

In every marriage more than a week old, there are grounds for divorce. The trick is to find, and continue to find, grounds for marriage.
         --Robert Anderson


Word from our sponsor



Letter from the editor

Love and Conflict: The Makings of Good Drama


Valentine's Day. A day that brings love to the forefront of our thinking ... and action. Of course, our creative and amorous talents shouldn't be confined to just one day a year; we should be extolling the virtues of and professing our love for our mate year 'round. Easier said than done, isn't it?

Let's face it--love is hard work. Maybe I should say relationships are hard work. As a man who is firmly entrenched in my 34th year of marriage, I can safely say that love is the easy part of our marriage. Day to day interaction is the difficult part, and I think it's safe to say we each add a significant amount of drama to the world. Not that you'd particularly care about our brand of drama, I suppose, but I submit your relationships with your loved ones, and even with your friends and acquaintances are fraught with drama.

A lot of effort is expended in our writing to create and expand the conflict between our protagonist and antagonist. According to Melanie Anne Phillips, creator of the story development software, StoryWeaver :

"In our own minds, we survey our environment and consider whether or not we could improve things by taking action to change them. The struggle between the Protagonist and Antagonist represents this inner argument: is it better to leave things the way they are or to try and rearrange them? ... In a sense, Protagonist is the irresistible force and Antagonist is the immovable object."


Maybe drama doesn't have to exist only between the hero and the villain. Do you remember the last argument you had with your mate, or with your best friend? I do ... and it was quite unsettling. Emotions run high, and reason doesn't always prevail. Perhaps the height of a disagreement is not the best time to analyze your feelings or motives. Then again, such analysis may help you through those troubled times.

I've never been a great verbal communicator; I seldom do well in 'fiery debates' with my wife. But I am a decent writer. During a recent altercation with her--the details of which I will omit here--I followed a technique I often use and wrote down my feelings and thoughts, ostensibly to prepare some kind of rebuttal remarks. While tensions mounted, I discovered during my introspection that our motives were very similar, parallel, if you will. Emotions were clouding our ability to see beyond the issue at hand.

Draw from your experiences and use them to make your writing real. Friends don't always agree, and a little conflict among the 'good guys' may add a bit of realism and interest to your story.

And yes, we did work things out. *Delight*




Editor's Picks

Take a few minutes and check out these stories. I'm sure you'll enjoy them as I did.

 
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Exiled Open in new Window. (E)
Flash Fiction - Assignment on Perspective
#1431484 by MD Maurice Author IconMail Icon

Expressions of love Open in new Window. (18+)
What makes special occasions special?Small, yet powerful expressions of love...
#1845617 by lochinver Author IconMail Icon

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#1537171 by Not Available.

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#1774768 by Not Available.

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This item number is not valid.
#1846284 by Not Available.

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This item number is not valid.
#1847529 by Not Available.

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This item number is not valid.
#1805892 by Not Available.


 
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Ask & Answer

Since this is my first Drama newsletter, I have no feedback to highlight. Let me know how I did--perhaps they may ask me to return for an encore. *Wink*


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