Re: Welcome

Greetings to the IDrama folks!

Dan said:

> The further we can make them look back, and the stronger the revelation
> that shows them the meaning for their misdirected expectations, the more
> satisfying the story is. 

When you say we need to make them look back, I agree and I am compelled to say 
that the "further" must refer to something other than the length of an event 
sequence.  And I would link that something with the stronger revelation that 
shows them the meaning, etc.  You seem to be talking about another dimension 
here.  I would like to think that this other dimension does in fact concern 
character development.  A character has behaved in a way the audience didn't 
expect.  Their expectation is of course based on their estimation of that 
character.  What I draw from all this is:

1. When you suggest that the audience rarely asks about the characters but 
instead about what happens next, you mean that the action takes the foreground.  
This does not mean that there is no background character development going on, 
but that it is illustrated through the action, rather than being presented 
directly.  I would hope that the characters gradually become more transparent, 
and their souls more exposed, with the telling of the story.  Especially if you 
are interested in creating romance stories that sell, I don't think you can 
possibly escape the necessity of this revelation of character.

2. When you say that "character driven story doesn't sell" I hope you are 
talking about the extreme case you described as a common mistake of new 
writers.  You are surely not saying that people prefer stories full of random 
acts of nature or other events that have nothing to do with motivation.  
Understanding what moves a character is a central task of the audience, I 
believe.  As they learn more about the motivations of a story's characters, and 
as the story reveals the various quirky ways these character movements come 
together, the audience is satisfied.  And as you say, all the more so if 
motivations come together in unexpected ways.

Now that I have attributed all sorts of things to you, I must say that these 
are simply my impressions, and I look forward to finding out what you really 
think about all this.  Not to mention, what others think.

Kyle Pierce



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