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How To Make Your Writing More Dramatic

By on April 27, 2017
How To Make Your Writing More Dramatic - Writer's Life.org

Injecting drama into your writing is so important. If you don’t you are simply telling your readers about a sequence of events where perhaps nothing really happens - there is no excitement, there are no surprises.

Dramatic writing engages your reader and immerses them in the story, and makes them want to keep on turning those pages in order to find out what happens next.

So how can you inject some drama into your writing?

Create suspense

Creating suspense in your novel is an easy way to inject some drama into your writing. If a reader feels tense and on edge, and can’t wait, but also can’t bear, to find out what happens next, you are heightening the tension and the drama which - both of which will make your book all the more enjoyable and give it that 'unputdownable' edge.

Have a twist

A good twist near the end of your book is a great way to get those readers hearts racing. If you suddenly turn the story on its head, or reveal something about a character that changes everything your story immediately becomes more exciting and thrilling.

Write in real time

If we are not careful sometimes our books can read like a report of a series of events rather than an intriguing and exciting story. Readers don’t need to know what happens in your book step by step, they need to feel as though events are unravelling in real time, this makes everything seem more immediate and fast-paced.

Make sure there is lots of action

Action is key to any story. Let’s face it there is nothing worse than pages and pages of text where nothing really happens. Always make sure that your story is moving forward and there are lots happening, otherwise, it’s easy for your writing to become stagnant and for readers to lose interest.

Use lots of dialogue

Conversations between characters can really move your story forwards and can be used to heighten the drama too. Use your characters conversations to reveal secrets, to have heated arguments, to demonstrate how your characters are feeling and the dynamics between them without having to spell it out to the reader. When it comes to dialogue it’s not just what your characters say, but the way that they say it that can really heighten the drama in your book.

Use vivid descriptions

When you describe scenes, emotions, and characters try to be clever, unique and interesting when it comes to your descriptions. Using vivid descriptions sets the scene and creates a backdrop against which your action will take place. Arresting descriptions will make your readers sit up and take notice of what’s going on and by doing so will feel more alert to the dramatic events that unfold when they do.

All good books have riveting, stirring, and animated plots that take the reader on a journey. Creating drama is a huge part of any novel, so next time you sit down to write make sure that you are injecting enough drama in your novel to keep those readers hooked!

Bethany Cadman -author of 'Doctor Vanilla's Sunflowers'

Bethany Cadman -author of 'Doctor Vanilla's Sunflowers'

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