WRITING THE SHORT DRAMATIC DIALOGUE: BEYOND THE WORDS ON THE PAGE, MAKE IT ABOUT WHAT YOUR CHARACTERS DESIRE

At the start of this module I mentioned that plays are about characters, conflicts and emotions. Yes, setting and theme, props and costumes are also essential; but without these three fundamentals you run the risk of your dramatic work falling apart, or even worse, being boring, and we’ve discussed how good writers are never boring. While I will not require you to compose a complete ten-minute play, the purpose of this assignment is to give you a taste of the dramatic in order for you to see your characters dramatized and in three dimensions, rather than simply rendering them through prose.

It’s important to remember that in all drama, characters desire. Desire is not enough, however. When characters desire something from each other, this is what is called CONFLICT. Let’s examine some of the plays in the anthology to illustrate what I’m talking about here. In Trash Anthem, Woman desires to know the truth, while Boots desires to tell the truth in his own unique way. In Love on the B-Line, Marie desires a special kind of freedom; Robbie desires her (motherly) affection. In Bone China, Lainie desires to comprehend her terminal illness and its impact on her family; Mary desires to comfort her sister, no matter if Lainie feels patronized. In Proxima b, Judy desires recognition and respect. As you can see, in each play, every single character desires something. Each desire, in turn, conflicts with the other in order to create those dramatic moments that engage us in each of these plays. In the dialogue you compose for this assignment, beyond the words you place in your characters’ mouths, make sure to determine what each of your characters desire from each other. Without this driving force, there will be no conflict, and I’ll say it once more: conflict is essential in any piece of dramatic writing. I would suggest using the characters you created for your short-short fiction assignment, especially since you’ve worked with them already. If you don’t want to use those same characters, you’re more than welcome to create two new characters for this assignment. Click HERE to use the Character Sheet I introduced in Module 3.