This morning I read an interview on one of the writer's blogs I get in my inbox. I don't have time to read them all, but today I took a moment to check out the interview.

There was a comment by the author interviewed about drama and how important it is. I'd like to plug the author; though I haven't read her books. Her name is Barbara Kyle. In fact, you might want to read it for yourself.
http://sugarpeach.wordpress.com/2011/...

In the interview Kyle states (this is a quote):

I’d say that the author’s job is to maximize the drama by throwing characters into situations of tremendous pressure, forcing them to make hard decisions. Readers respond to this empathetically, making us ask ourselves, What would I do in that situation? Drama? Bring it on!
(end of quote).

I do agree that every good story needs drama. It is the glue that keeps us forgetting the words we are watching as we read. I pondered about this for a minute thinking about one of my favorite authors, Elizabeth Berg, and another, Paulo Coehlo. Their books have drama but not the kind that shoots you with a cannon, but instead a beebee gun and sometimes a strong breeze. Drama can be physical as in the CSI shows on TV; it can be soft, for instance, as in moral dramas but still wreck havoc in our minds. Drama can be funny as in Anne Lammot's books, I especially loved Rosie. There were sentences in that book that had me laughing and crying at the same time as the young girl, Rosie, has to find ways to live with her alcoholic mother. Whatever the drama is, readers need it in order to want to turn the page.

So whatever your story is about, whatever the characters are doing or not doing, whatever you want the reader to feel,think or know, when they close your book and put it back on the shelf, you want your story remembered for its drama.

Until next time,