EVERY WRITER MUST KNOW AND USE THESE SIX DRAMATIC TECHNIQUES!
Conflict: Every scene must have conflict and these should express the central conflict of the story. The main conflict of the story most often is a back and forth escalating struggle between Character A and Character B.
Suspense: What will happen next? Develop a main suspense line based on the big values, goals and problem of your protagonist.
Mystery: What doesn’t the audience (and most often a character) know that they are anxious to learn and which is important to the story?
Deception: The disguise, lie, secret, con or betrayal of a major character that the audience often knows so it enjoys all the consequent irony and humour.
Twists: Big surprises that are shocking but logical (set up and believable). Often employed at the end of sequences/acts and which send the story into a new direction.
Dramatic Irony/Superior Position: When the audience knows more than a major character and so sees irony, humour and danger where the character does not.
If you use these dramatic devices, and imaginatively, your story will be much more effective and seductive.
Any questions?
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Former producer Scott McConnell is now a story coach
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Scott McConnell Thanks Scott
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You can also address to power dynamic. A scene that involves two people there is nearly always a struggle of power. This can be subtle, such as a child not telling a parent something. The parent wants to be able to get the child to talk, to have that power. A scene should have a change in status for a character, they gain more power, they lose power. But of everything is the same at the end as it was in the start the scene may not be needed.
Then there is motivation. Characters act out of three motivations Suffering, Jealousy and dissatisfaction. If a person is happy with life they will defend it, not work to change it. There are two types of pressures that act as triggers in these motivations, vitamins and medicines. A vitamin is an action taken to prevent a bad thing happening, medicine it a cure to a bad things.
The underlying thing is that people are resistant to change. They will strive to get back to what they know for a sense of comfort. This is a base desire. If that is destroyed (through a change in belief or the death star) they will try and find the new thing to tie themselves, a new group of friends, a club, a gang, a belief system.
It is my belief that stories are made up of people. If you understand people your stories will take the right shape and the right things will happen.
Thanks all, much appreciated.
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...MUST?
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I avoid the use of MUST. It is used a lot by people seeking to establish authority.
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I must-have a drink after reading all the "must" comments. LOL Great tips! Sounds like a blog post. Maybe consider chatting with Taylor to see what she thinks! :)
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Rashika I think the purpose of the post is in the last sentence when Scott talks about himself in the third person (another claw at credibility) and tells us he is a “Story Coach” hint hint.
Thanks Scott very informative post
Good point, but there are great movies that you can watch over and over again, because their story, characters and drama/art are so attractive and layered. We can look at the Mona Lisa many times and enjoy it and see new things with each viewing, for example.