Three Ways to Add Drama to Creative Writing

Attending The Well, a conference for Christian Creatives, got me thinking about three ways to add drama to creative writing. It’s good to write what God lays on your heart; it’s better to write it effectively. Today, we will look at making our creative writing excellent by adding drama to it.

1. Increase Intensity

At The Well conference, Cynthia Beach taught how to increase the intensity of dramatic moments by writing effective descriptions, varied sentence structures, and poetic tools.

• Effective Descriptions

A description is like a close-up in a movie, showing details and pointing an arrow at a character, object, or event, telling the reader it is important. I remember studying A Tale of Two Cities, where Charles Dickens describes Madame Defarge saying, “Her knitting was before her, but she laid it down to pick her teeth with a toothpick.” My teacher pointed out that if the author describes a character picking her teeth, it’s a key character.

Showing emotions by behaviors or body language rather than naming emotions is an idea from my developmental editor. . For example, I replaced “she was happy,” with “she had a spring in her step.” To indicate indecisiveness, I changed “he appeared unconvinced” to “he tugged his ear..” This CIPA blog discusses the benefits of editing: https://christianpublishers.net/how-joining-an-editors-association-made-me-a-better-writer/

• Varied Sentence Structures

Mixing long and short sentences can keep a reader’s attention. A two-word sentence can make the reader stop and take notice. For example, this two-word verse, “Jesus wept.” (John 11:35 CSB). It is striking partly because it is preceded by a 23-word sentence (John 11:33 CSB).

Generally, it is easier and faster to read sentences under eleven words in length, with active rather than passive voice, and with a simple structure of subject, verb, then object. The sentence “he ate the apple” is clearer and faster to read than “he was eating the apple” or “the apple was eaten.” Sometimes writers boost momentum with a run-on sentence, a sentence fragment, or unconventional punctuation. Limiting the length of each paragraph and increasing the white space also make your writing easier to read.

• Poetic Tools

Figurative language uses words in an unexpected context different to dramatically impact the reader. Use a variety of poetic tools to increase the intensity and drama of your creative writing:

• Repetition can create rhythm, emphasis, or momentum. For example, “We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall never surrender’ – Winston Churchill.
• A simile says something is like or as something else: “The devil prowls like a roaring lion” or “She was as cold as ice.”
• A metaphor compares two things by saying one is the other: “His heart was made of stone”; “You are my sunshine.”
• A personification is a form of metaphor that animates an object: “The water swallowed the garden” or “Tomorrow will worry about itself.”
• Alliteration repeats the first sound of each word: “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled pepper.”
• Paradox contrasts opposing ideas: “Less is more” or “The least in the world will be the greatest in my kingdom.”
• Hyperbole uses exaggeration for emphasis: “I’ve told you a thousand times” or “I could literally eat a horse.”

Check out this CIPA article on finding synonyms or other writing tools: https://christianpublishers.net/writing-and-marketing/

 

2. Put Readers in the Action

If you are a Christian writer or indie author, you may want to add drama to your creative writing by making your readers feel like they are part of the action.

• Set the Scene

In his Skillshare class, “Character, Conflict, Context and Craft,” Daniel Jose Older teaches about a phenomenon called the white room. It is what happens when in your reader’s mind, your characters are talking with only a white space behind them. Without world building, your characters are surrounded by a big white nothing. Like a photographer deciding what is in the frame, a storywriter decides what is inside the frame. For more about world-building, see: https://christianpublishers.net/why-fiction-and-nonfiction-novels-need-worldbuilding/

• Ground Your Story

At the Well conference, Cynthia Beach suggested grounding the story by answering the reader’s question “Where am I?” At the beginning of each new scene or chapter, clarify where they are and who is present. State when characters arrive or leave. When suddenly a character who wasn’t in the room adds to the dialogue, a reader may be frustrated or removed from the story as they figure out who is present and try to visualize a story.

• Deepening the setting

After you build your world and identify the people and objects in the scene, add drama by having your characters interact with the setting. In an early draft of my novel, Because She Was Called, there was a scene describing Stephen’s stoning. While it was meant to be from Susannah’s point of view, it was effectively from a narrator’s perspective. My editor suggested showing Susannah experiencing the sights, sounds, and smells as she interacted with the action. In the final version, I describe the drama of Susannah falling on her knees, her ears pounding, her eyes focused on the red blood splattered on a white tunic at Saul’s feet. She begs him for Stephen’s release, and Saul looks over his hooked nose and imprisons her for speaking against the death sentence.

3. Build Better Titles and Blurbs

At The Well conference, Linda Evans Shepherd taught about mastering short form writing, including blogs, articles, newsletters, and social media posts that encourage reader engagement. Creative writers can use these ideas for a better book title, sub-title, or back-cover blurb.

• Content

 

Shepherd suggested writing the content before the title and opening paragraph. Focus on three key points, with one example for each. In some cases, the key points are takeaways, applications, or the moral of the story. Shepherd often drives home her message by concluding with a Bible reference that carries a message similar to her key points. A fiction writer may write a more effective title, sub-title, and back-cover blurb after the novel is drafted.

 

• Craft a story:

If writing an article, Shepherd recommended opening with a story that illustrates the life-changing truth of your content. Use a personal short story to grab the reader’s attention and stir their curiosity. You connect with your reader when you show you have something in common or relatable to them. Shepherd suggested writing down unusual events in your day-to-day life: interesting things that you might repeat over dinner. These stories can make your content more applicable and intrigue the reader to keep reading.

For fiction writers, the back cover blurb should introduce the main character, their goal, the obstacles, and the stakes at risk if they fail. Start dramatically by setting the tone or making the reader curious. My novel, Forgotten Followers from Broken to Bold begins with, “Despite her size, no one saw her. Mara had learned the hard way how to make herself invisible… She rarely left her home. But that afternoon, Mara dropped her bread-making and went out.” The intention is to draw the reader’s curiosity: why does she want to stay hidden? What’s different that day?

• Clickable titles:

Create enticing titles for an article, email, or non-fiction by thinking about how you can help your audience or what value they’ll receive in reading your piece. Look for any keywords in the content and include these in the title and the first line of your article. When I worked as a financial advisor, it often meant offering ways to save time or money or gain peace of mind. For fiction writers, your title, sub-title, and the first line of your blurb might show your genre, trope, a main character, or their goals.

Conclusion 

Christians have a responsibility to use our gifts to the best of our ability to spread the message God gives us to share.

“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31 CSB).

To have more impact, these three things will add drama to your creative writing:

1. Add intensity through description, varied sentences, and poetic tools.
2. Put readers in the action by setting the scene and having characters interact with it.
3. Build better titles and blurbs that arouse curiosity and connect with your readers.

Elaine Ricker Kelly is an award-winning author bringing healing and hope to the marginalized. She writes about women in the Bible and history. With 20-plus years as a financial advisor, she brings a research-based approach and empathetic tone. Readers come away knowing God empowers them to speak and act boldly.  www.elainekelly.ca

Source:

CSB: The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used with permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.