Dramatic scenes are sometimes hard to pull off.

There’s a delicate balance between bringing a scene to the emotional brim, and spilling over the top into melodrama.

Drama invites the reader to feel with the character.

Melodrama tries to convince the reader to feel for the character.

So, how do we write dramatic scenes that don’t spill over the top? How do we avoid melodrama?

On today’s episode of Writer Unleashed, I share 3 techniques to avoid melodrama, plus a writing exercise to bring it all home.

Download as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as.”

On today’s episode of Writer Unleashed, we’ll explore:

The power of restraint
How to avoid chasing your reader into a corner with your character’s most explosive emotions
The near death experience approach to tragedy in story
How to use objects to carry character emotion

Worthy Read