  Drama
This week: The Appeal of the Familiar Edited by: Kitti the Red-Nosed Feline  
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Drama can take place anywhere. The sky is definitely not the limit. From alternate realities to a galaxy far, far away, the boundaries are set only by the writer's imagination.
Whilst being creative and original, though, do make sure you don't alienate your readers completely!
This week's Drama Newsletter is all about the appeal of the familiar.
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A friend of mine recommended some movies and series to me recently. Amongst those series was Dawson’s Creek. I decided to check it out, not thinking that it would do anything for me because I missed it when I was of the age to appreciate it, and I am now quite a bit older than the group of characters the plot revolves around. I was wrong. I’m actually enjoying it. My guess is that it’s because of the appeal of the familiar.
I remember my days in high school. I remember the complicated friendships, those first crushes that completely consume you, and all those new situations that you are suddenly dealing with that remind you that you are not a child any longer... but not an adult yet. You don’t have the experience to take things in your stride, so you’re trying to figure it out as you go along.
It made me realise that in novels, it’s the familiar aspects that comfort you. A story can be set on a faraway planet and the characters can have seven arms and one leg and who knows how many eyes, but if there is something about their personality, their relationships, their experiences that you are able to recognise, that you can relate to, the unfamiliar aspects are no hindrance to your enjoyment.
I have put aside books that I could not get into because everything was too unfamiliar. I struggled to visualise what was going on. I struggled to relate. Perhaps more intellectual readers than I are able to overcome such obstacles, but for me, it was too much hard work. It is a shame that the author couldn’t have offered me a helping hand familiarising me with his universe.
I can understand the need to be different. I can also relate to an active imagination. It may well be that I am not original enough, that it is a flaw in me to require that comfort if I am to enjoy someone’s work. Then again, bestselling novels offer exactly that. Look at J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, for example. We have a school of wizardry. She invented a whole new sport. There was a lot of creativity going on there, but it was easy to explore Harry Potter’s world because through all of that ran the familiar – the friendships, the struggle of the outcasts, the battle between good and evil. Watership Down has sold some 50 million copies and it is about bunnies. Still, we can relate to those bunnies and their problems because of the very same reasons we could relate to Harry, Hermione, and friends. The Lord of the Rings has sold approximately 150 million copies, and it’s the same thing again. We can fit into a world that is different, but not too different. Sadly, some worlds only work in the author’s mind.
That does not mean that those stories should not be written. I think that every story has its place, and perhaps its time. Can you imagine what would have happened if the Twilight series had been written two or three hundred years ago? Sure, Gothic novels became popular around that time, and that era has left us with works like Frankenstein and, a bit later, Dracula. But a girl choosing between a vampire and a werewolf? With no hero to rescue her from either of these “fiends”? I don’t think that would have gone down well. Bella did not even freak out when she discovered that Edward had been in her bedroom at night, uninvited, watching her sleep! I am pretty certain that a novel or series like that would have met with more than mild mockery. And I don't think it would have become a bestseller.
Drama has evolved through the ages. Though the core aspects of it are lasting, and comfortingly familiar, settings, obstacles, and even species are more varied these days. A drama novel can include bunnies, vampires, werewolves, elves, witches and wizards, and they can even be sympathetic characters. Drama can take place in a galaxy far, far, away. For a writer of drama, the sky is definitely not the limit. Be inventive. Be creative. Be original. Just make sure to not alienate your readers completely.
kittiara
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The Drama Newsletter welcomes any and all questions, suggestions, thoughts and feedback, so please don't hesitate to write in!
Seamus Leo  - The dialogue as animals acting in a human sense is a facinating topic to write on. I love A Watership Down.
I love it as well . Have you ever read Solo's Journey by Joy Smith Aiken? It's about cats. And there's a book I once read about a mountain hare and an eagle owl, but I can't remember the title, now. Which is a shame as it was a good read...
~~~
Fyn-elf  - Great newsletter!! And the quotes you used within it were priceless!!!
Curious--have you watched any of the Discworld movies?
Thank you, Fyn! Glad you enjoyed it  .
I have tried to watch one or two of them, but to my disappointment I didn't enjoy them. I think that a good part of what I love about Pratchett's work is the way it is written. His style is so unique and witty, he can turn a single sentence into a piece of art. And that doesn't come across on the screen. That is just my opinion, though. Did you watch and enjoy them?
By the way, you once suggested I check out those 50 Shades. I am glad I did. Thank you  .
~~~
Wishing you a week filled with inspiration,
The Drama Newsletter Team
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Drama: April 10, 2013 Issue [#5611]
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