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Printed from https://writing.com/main/newsletters/action/archives/id/9721
Drama: September 04, 2019 Issue [#9721]




 This week: There is a Bomb Under the Table!
  Edited by: NaNoNette 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

Dear writers and readers of dramatic and suspenseful fiction, I am NaNoNette Author Icon and I will be your guest editor for today.


Word from our sponsor

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Letter from the editor

There is a Bomb Under the Table!


Hitchcockian Suspense versus Mindless Action


Picture this scene: There are five people in a room, sitting around a table. The room blows up.

Now what? The room is destroyed. The people are dead or maimed. So much action. So little pay off for the reader.

Picture this scene: There are five people in a room with a bomb under the table. The countdown is ticking away. You, the reader, know about the bomb. The people in the room don't know about the bomb. You, the reader are riveted to the page. The conversation happening at the table is keeping you breathless. How much longer can they talk? Why don't they leave the room? When will the bomb blow? One of the characters gets up and appears to get ready to leave. You're almost ready to breathe a sigh of relief for this character, but now there was a change of heart. The character sits back down. They are all going to die. Are they all going to die? Whatever IS GOING ON with the bomb?

See what I did there? I told you to be scared. And you were scared. I didn't even show you what could/will happen. Yet, the fate of those characters, the suspense whether they will blow up or not is where the story happens. Once the room blows up - people in it or not, a fact has been created that is static and there was at least one casualty: Suspense died the instant the bomb blew up.

In your writing, don't blow it by blowing up stuff too soon.


Editor's Picks

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#2192790 by Not Available.

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#2118053 by Not Available.

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Michael's Best Friend Open in new Window. (13+)
The base where Bradley was quarantined was overrun in the chaos; Bradley went missing.
#2023616 by Bikerider Author IconMail Icon

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#2135997 by Not Available.

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The Beautiful Maiden & The Child Open in new Window. (18+)
March 10, 1945. A B 29 napalm bombing raid destroyed Tokyo. Includes eyewitness accounts.
#1310921 by Kotaro Author IconMail Icon

 
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Apollo Open in new Window. (13+)
There's no time to be angry. I'd rather be angry than scared but I still have to get out.
#1331553 by Tileira Author IconMail Icon

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Christmas in Warsaw Open in new Window. (13+)
It all started with the bombing at Warsaw ... a young couple's life takes a drastic turn.
#1503916 by iKïyå§ama Author IconMail Icon

Interview with an Innocent Man Open in new Window. (18+)
A reporter interviews a man on death row.
#1242930 by Leger~ Author IconMail Icon

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#2086842 by Not Available.

 
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After the Bomb Open in new Window. (13+)
All dialogue: Ricky and Nella are contemplating life just beyond their fallout shelter.
#2086837 by Than Pence Author IconMail Icon

 
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Word from Writing.Com

Have an opinion on what you've read here today? Then send the Editor feedback! Find an item that you think would be perfect for showcasing here? Submit it for consideration in the newsletter!
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Ask & Answer

I received these replies to my last Drama newsletter "Nobody Cares!" Open in new Window.

Elycia Lee ☮ Author Icon wrote: I absolutely love this quote: “The best writer takes a reader by the hand and leads them into a story where neither writer nor reader are visible.“ Very well said.

Thank you so very much for this kind comment! *Delight*

Quick-Quill Author Icon wrote: I love movies and look at them from a writer's POV. Was I entertained? Did the story progress the way it would if on "paper." How well did the writer craft the drama, the plot the conflicts? Some of my favorite well crafted Books-to-movies or even just a movie are Shooter, Devil, HUGO, Green Mile. There was an HBO series called Carnevalle The first seasons were intriguing and the characters fascinated me. Then, like many others, the challenge to lengthen the story breaks down and it goes off the rails. I found that true in Grimm. I loved the first 4 seasons then 5 began the downhill spiral and 6 fell off the edge. Mostly due to the fact they had to tie up loose ends. I would rather they end it and maybe write the next season in a book form. Still would like to take that storyline up.

I too watch movies and TV shows from a writer's point of view. That's probably an occupational hazard for us. *Laugh* Just how I read all books with an editor's eye from reading like a reviewer here on Writing.Com. So, these two things can make movies and TV shows, or books and articles somewhat more difficult to enjoy. However, a well crafted bit of story telling will still sweep me off my feet and carry me off into imagination. That's where my aversion to stories about the writing process (or creative process) come from. I'd rather be entertained than "edutained" unless I specifically wanted to seek out knowledge.

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