The Best Dramatic Story Genre Elements

In drama genre there are many things called drama genre elements, that will make it more dramatic, from a surprise death to shocking secret being revealed. The key as a writer is to know what these dramatic story elements are and how to use them to your advantage in order to make your story perfect.

That’s why I’ve created this list of the best dramatic genre elements you can use in a story to add pizazz and drama.

A Scar, Either Physical or Emotional

In quite a few stories characters will have scars that link them to the problem somehow, and result in the actually wanting to join the adventure. Adding a physical scar can be a good idea for this reason, although in some cases it may not be very helpful. And remember, always feel free to make your characters deal with having such a scar in a logical way. They may hate it, and they may not.

Another type of scar that will up drama your character could have is an emotional scar. Perhaps as a child they were traumatized, or maybe it wasn’t that long ago that something happened to make them wary of certain things Whatever the case, this is sure to up drama.

A Death

In many stories, when a characters dies readers are put on the edges of their seats and biting their nails in anticipation of what comes next. By using a character death to your advantage in your story, you can get the same reactions.

I’m not saying to just go and kill everyone in it willy nilly to keep people entertained, because that won’t work. Instead, a character who is going to die needs to be explored beforehand. People need to feel like they were getting to know the character before their untimely demise. That is what will add the drama.

An Orphan

How many stories are based around an orphan? If you can name at least 10, then you’ll also know how often that idea is used. And the reason is simple; It appeals to readers and adds drama to the story that otherwise wouldn’t be there, usually because the orphan characters will also be in some way searching for their family or a family in general.

You may be thinking this idea is overused, and in a way you’d be right, but it works. It adds drama, draws people in, and if you do it right, people will wonder what happened to the orphans parents.

If the orphan character is an adult it will have a different overall effect on the story though. It won’t be the character looking for their parents, not if they’re an adult. It will probably add drama to the story in a more subtle manner.

A Ghost

Having a ghost make a sudden appearance in a story is both shocking as well as surprising. People will be scratching their heads and wondering why the ghost is there as well as if it’s there to help with anything.

Remember, not all ghosts have to be friendly too. To up the drama, use the ghost as a problem for the story to tackle, not a helpful soul. Not to say you can’t use a nice ghost, but a scary ghost adds much more surprise and drama to the story.

Always keep in mind too that a ghost, while a very good thing to add to up drama, doesn’t have to be a real ghost floating and going “Boo!” It could be a metaphorical ghost. Something about a house being filled with ghosts when it’s simple an analogy for bad memories.

A Monster

Adding a monster can be a cliche in stories, especially when you don’t know where the story is going next, that’s why if you do choose to use this method, you must be careful not to become a cliche.

The best place to add a monster into a story so it doesn’t become some cliche version of a bad horror story is either in the beginning or the middle, but not when it feels like you’ve run out of things to happen. That’s lazy writing. Instead, wait for the perfect moment with the right build up to knowing there’s something out there for the monster to be revealed.

And another thing, if you want, go in a completely unexpected direction, and make the monster nice. No one reading could ever expect that, especially if the build up all says that the monster is, well, a monster for lack of a better words

Gain of Money

If a character suddenly gains quite a bit of money, it can be a good way to add drama, as long as gaining all that money doesn’t make things any easier for the character. To have a character gain money can also make people reading feel like it’s possible to get lucky, even if it’s just a fictional character.

The gaining of money can also present new issues into the story, from people trying to convince the character to give them money to the character actually making poor financial decisions.

Another way to do this is if the character is very poor before and then they get a surprise promotion at work and are suddenly thrust to a middle class income. Earning that much more money is sure to help them without changing anything major for the overall storyline other than a few things.

Loss of Money

If you start with a character who is rich and always used to having everything served to them on a silver platter and then take away the ability for them to be given everything on a silver platter, that is sure to shock several people and add a lot of drama. It will make things harder for the character, who will have to deal with being like everyone else.

That’s not the only way to do it though. It could be that the character was average before and then they lost their job which has propelled them from comfortable to lower class.

How to Write a Classic Family Drama

The family drama, a wonderful and interesting genre to write. But how do you write a family drama? How do you make it seem interesting, and special?

well, that is what this article is for. As you read this, you will learn every step to writing an amazing family drama, all the while learning to make it interesting.

I will also be giving examples of different family drama movies to strive to make your story on that level.

So, without further ado, the steps to writing an amazing family drama that is realistic and fun.

The Family Dynamic

In a family drama story, the family dynamic is important. After all, it isn’t really a family if they don’t have connections.

A good place to start is planning the family dynamic. Create the characters, figure out their relationships to each other, and work on their personalities.

A good place to start in terms of personalities is to start with the children or younger members of a family. Figure out their interests, where they like to spend time, if they are dating someone, where they go to school, what grade their in, and finally, their grades in school.

Now, you may not use this information, but having it helps you to remember what they are like, and helps you to keep them in character later.

Repeat those questions for the adults, but replace the questions about school and boyfriends with these questions: If they have a job, where they work, and what they do for their job.

Repeat these questions anytime a new character is introduced, although if it’s a minor character, don’t worry to much about answering those questions. Chances are there won’t be a point.

The Acceptable Drama

In a family drama, it’s important to include drama, as the name implies. Before you start writing, plan out a few moments that fit into the category of drama.

It’s important to have each main character have some of their own drama. Let’s say there is a family of four. A mom, dad, daughter, and son. The daughter’s drama is revealed first in the story. She has a secret boyfriend.

Then it’s the son’s turn. His hidden drama is he’s stolen some stuff.

Next the dad goes. His drama is that he’s selling company secrets from where he works to a rival company.

Last but not least, the mom. Her hidden drama is a secret bank account she keeps money for herself in.

Now, obviously any revealed drama doesn’t have to be that big. It can be multiple small things, or just one big thing. Also remember, the story should end with the family becoming closer to each other, and not keeping anymore secrets.

This is the whole point of a family drama. It is drama where the family becomes closer together at the end.

Amazing Characters

The characters need to be realistic, and built up in a way where they aren’t just brats. They need to have interesting personalities, but not bad ones. They need to have a logical reason for keeping secrets, and for doing things in the first place.

A good way to create these personalities is to observe people in real life. Not in a strange way, just take note of people’s personalities. You can then use that to create realistic characters.

It’s also a good way to learn what people spend their days doing, and you can use that to write too.

Inspiration From Real Life

As I’ve said above, observe interactions between people and use that to help you understand where the characters need to go and what they need to act like.

That’s not all though. Use real life situations, like people going to a coffee shop, and learn how they interact with each other there. Also, consider your own family. How do you act around them?

You can use this as well in your character building.

Movie Examples

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial: This is a family drama movie that many of us have fond memories of. We loved E.T. and we loved Elliott. But what can we learn about writing family drama from it?

First of all, we can learn to create characters with empathy and courage. Elliott saved E.T. and helped him get home.

Second, we can learn about writing friendship. Elliott’s friends are wonderful, and gives us a way to strive to write friendship.

Third, we learn about integrity. Elliott is willing to risk his own life to save E.T. and isn’t afraid of what might happen to him.

Mrs. Doubtfire: This is a family drama filled with laughs and fun. It is about a man who wants to see his children more, so he dresses up as an old lady and becomes their nanny.

First, we can learn to write humor. This movie is very funny, and sure to improve your writing of comedy and humor.

Second we’ll learn about a father’s love for his children and how far it extends, even into doing. something ridiculous just to see them more.

Third, we learn about mistakes. Mrs. Doubtfire wants to get rid of his ex-wife’s new boyfriend, and he puts pepper on the man’s food, which he is severely allergic to. Then the boyfriend starts to choke, and Mrs. Doubtfire saves him, but he reveals his identity as the children’s father.

Mary Poppins: This is a family drama movie that nearly everyone has seen. It focuses on two little children and what their lives become like when Mary Poppins enters them.

First of all, this teaches us about sibling love. The two siblings are together almost all the time, and very rare is it when they are mean to each other.

Second, we learn about happiness. Mary Poppins helps the children to be very happy.

Third is imagination. The whole movie is filled with singing and penguins and singing chimney sweeps, it’s awfully hard not to learn a thing or two about using your imagination.