 Drama: June 20, 2012 Issue [#5108] |
  Drama
This week: Conflicted Edited by: Kate - Writing & Reading  
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Welcome to this week's edition of the WDC Drama Newsletter. I'm honored to be your guest host for this exploration of dramatic writing
Don't tell me the moon is shining;
show me the glint of light on broken glass.
Anton Chekhov
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I'd like to explore what it is that makes a story or poem "dramatic"? If we consider what makes a story 'dramatic' we find that it's conflict.
So conflict, external and internal, is the essence of drama. Be it a mystery, romance, fantasy, spiritual, or non genre-specific. Conflict weaves together the other elements of a dramatic story or poem.
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Example: Jack was just trying to take a picture, but now felt trapped in the upper limbs of the maple..
Where's the drama? - the interest?
* * *
Example: Although he'd been cautioned to stay on the trail and in his car, Jack had to get the cool close-up. He saw no immediate danger, but left the car in neutral, just in case, and approached the little critters slowly, not wanting to distract them as he framed them in the camera lens reaching for the sap seeping from the maple. He didn't turn back at the sudden roar behind him, but instinctively ran forward and scrambled up the tree just ahead of mama bear, losing only a shoe and a piece of pant to the reaching claws. Jack released the breath he had been holding and answered her roars with a high-pitched scream. "Hellllp!!!"
Here's the drama! First, Jack steps out of the car, but leaves it in neutral, in response to the warning. = Subtle internal conflict.
Next, he runs from the charging bear ~ ascared. = External conflict - not subtle here.
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The first example shows Jack in a tree as a result of trying to take a picture. So what? Did he just climb too high trying to get a better angle? Do you care?
The second example shows Jack taking precautions in response to a warning, while making the choice to disregard said warning. Then the overt physical conflict that ensued running from the bear and being treed. These are off-the-cuff examples, tell vs. show, that I think define drama in writing prose and/or verse.
 Internal conflict is what the character feels inside and its impact on that character. Internal conflicts involve or arouse an emotion in people, whether it's an inner need, desire, belief, or turmoil. The resolution of this confrontation, whether it's constructive, destructive, successful or not, allows us to see into the character's mindset. As the story unfolds, the character learns from or grows as a result of that conflict.
An external conflict involves an antagonist, whether it be a sentient being or another form of life, or a physical obstacle (i.e., a swirling rapid, a firestorm, a blinding blizzard). Engaging and either running from or surmounting the obstacle drives the story.
Internal conflict adds meaning and complexity to the external conflict, but it's the external conflict that forces a character to make internal choices and changes. And the key to a story's tension is that a character has choices to make. Which will it be? What will be the fallout? For readers to care about a story the choices and the resolution must have consequences for character
In general, I think the need of having an antagonist is really the main character's need of something to force him or her to make choices. Characters, like ourselves, don't easily take difficult paths. If we're not forced to, we don't. 
So we force our character into choices by developing an antagonist to reach into the character's internal conflict with an opposing goal, even if your character is unaware of the goal. Remember, the 'antagonist' doesn't have to be an outlaw with a body-carving sized meat cleaver, it can be a storm or society or a new job or a crazed sparrow.
While trying to reach his goal, your character encounters a series of conflicts or obstacles that would prevent him/her from reaching it. For example, if you have a bad guy these conflicts often result from run ins with the antagonist or his minions. Each external mini-conflict or bump must drive down to the root of a character's internal conflict, slowly teaching the character a life lesson or providing an opportunity to change.
At each mini-conflict there's a choice, with doubts about making the choice. The character's decision then proceeds from choosing among conflicting alternatives so we read with empathy, not just curiosity. We are intrigued by a character's actions largely in light of the actions rejected and the stresses endured as a result.
We show the conflict by instilling emotion, tension and conflict into every conversation, in each scene, chapter, verse.
Dramatic conflict, up close. Consider when we deal with people in life with whom we have a conflict. Do we tell everything we think and feel? I think not, for one reason or another. But feelings get through in subtle ways, i.e., off-hand remarks, body language, and through the very mood of our actions. This creates an underlying dialogue that's more effective and compelling than the character blurting out everything he/she thinks and observes. The situations within the story are more complicated, both internally and externally.
Now, my examples were off-the-cuff, but I think they make a point - drama is created through conflict and the choices the character makes to resolve that conflict, whether to his/her benefit, or detriment.
Write On
Kate
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I invite you now to read some dramatic works in prose and, yes, verse, created by members of our Community. I'm certain you will find their writing more adept than my ersatz examples and let them know it with a review perchance
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Thank you for sharing this exploration with me in your virtual home. As a guest, I don't have an ask and answer, so I will close with my wish :
though the conflicts in your stories and poems may at times yield negative results
your personal conflicts yield only positive resolution ~
while you have fun weaving your dramatic literary creations
Write On
Kate
Kate - Writing & Reading
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