Comments on: Inner Demons: Soap Opera Drama vs. Story Drama

By: The Deepest Wounds: Lies, Deception & Betrayal - Godisa

The Deepest Wounds: Lies, Deception & Betrayal - Godisa — Sat, 30 Apr 2022 15:19:16 +0000

[…] in fiction. The kissing cousins of the lie—deception and betrayal—can summon some horrible private demons. Demons so highly effective that solely the crucible of a powerful story downside can exorcise them […]

By: Transformation: Actions Speak Louder Than Words

Transformation: Actions Speak Louder Than Words — Wed, 11 Nov 2020 18:04:10 +0000

[…] Inner Demons: Soap Opera Drama vs. Story Drama […]

By: The Synopsis: Why Love Hurts & Pain Can Be Good for Our Writing

The Synopsis: Why Love Hurts & Pain Can Be Good for Our Writing — Fri, 14 Feb 2020 17:18:15 +0000

[…] or just ‘scene’ after ‘scene’ of bad situations? This is what I call ‘soap opera writing. There is no core story problem to be resolved by the end of the […]

By: ProfessionalScribbler

ProfessionalScribbler — Thu, 05 Sep 2019 14:26:00 +0000

Love the part about demons sometimes looking like strengths. That can be a very strong writing way of drawing in the reader.

By: Krista

Krista — Sun, 25 Aug 2019 10:43:04 +0000

Thank you for this post! It came at the exact right time. I’m currently writing something where, unbeknownst to what the actual slippery slope I’m trying to manage was, i now know what the trap is i need to remain aware of at all time.
My favourite soap for the longest time was Neighbours.

By: Story Genius: How to Use Brain Science to Go Beyond Outlining and Write a Riveting Novel-Goodreads Review - Debra Rieger

Thu, 15 Aug 2019 17:03:23 +0000

[…] saw a similar explanation in this blog post by Kristen Lamb. “Audiences love rooting for their favorite character to overcome his weaknesses and come out […]

By: ZeroSpace

ZeroSpace — Sat, 13 Jul 2019 07:34:54 +0000

Patrick Melrose; Ed St. Aubyn. Keeps you hooked because you want to know if he’ll pull through or wind up in a gutter. Good book to study.

By: Kristen Lamb

Kristen Lamb — Fri, 12 Jul 2019 18:30:52 +0000

In reply to G. J. Jolly. That seems very simple but it isn't. Too many writers fixate on pretty sentences and aren't telling a story. Every character is perfect and I get samples that are page after page of drinking, eating, shopping, and two characters talking about a third. The pages drone on repeating what I've already been told. The entire point of this post is that writers AREN'T telling stories. They're having bad situations and that is a soap opera,. not a novel.

By: G. J. Jolly

G. J. Jolly — Thu, 11 Jul 2019 13:00:05 +0000

Sometimes I wonder if we get too caught up in trying to keep our reader enthralled when we should be working on telling a good story. What I mean is we get thrown down by trying to show flaws, positives, and negatives, and let the story go on by itself–or not go on at all. If we just let the characters be who they are, and that does include the flaws, positives, and negatives, and get on with the story, maybe the whole thing would be fantastic.

By: Little Miss Menopause

Little Miss Menopause — Wed, 10 Jul 2019 23:13:58 +0000

Thank you for the realistic example to help me follow this lesson. (And now I need a cupcake!) DOOL fan from back in the day and I remember when Hope was just a little girl with Doug Williams as her daddy. My times change.