Of Drama, Definitions, and Leaving Our Mark on the World…

“People comment that there is so little drama in my books.  …Even though drama sells, and it makes good press. Most people are not living dramatic lives.  …”

—Angelia Menchan, author of “Ramblings,” “Schae’s Story,” “Is No Not Clear Enough for You?, as well as publisher and author of Women’s Writes.

Definitions for the word drama range from, a prose or verse composition, especially one telling a serious story, that is intended for representation by actors impersonating the characters and performing the dialogue and action, to a serious narrative work or program for television, radio, or the cinema. (Answers.com)

This definition also includes, theatrical plays of a particular kind or period [in history.] (Answers.com)

Definition of the word, drama also refers to the art or practice of writing or producing dramatic work, the character or personality of a person, place or event.(Answers.com)

And then there are the course or order of even that result from and take place within the midst of human actions and interactions.

Drama also includes those events and occurrences in our lives that seem almost like a play or movie, revealing aspects of ourselves lying beyond our awareness, and yet discovered or acknowledged.

We feel exposed when the challenges of life bring them to the surface.

Angelia’s assertion that most people do not lead dramatic lives cuts to what some view as a banal and boring existence.

Unlike the celebrities of media and politics most of us do not live out our actions and interactions on a stage in front of viewers. Many in America consider this a curse.

Writers and authors particularly of fiction straddle the fence of self revelation and exposure through the stories we craft and the increased demand to put our selves, our faces, bodies, and thoughts–either in person or through the Internet–out among would-be readers and buyers of our work.

We cannot ignore the marketing and promotion required to achieve sales. And yet the work we do requires solitude, time alone in which we quiet the mind and listen to the drama held within the personalities of our characters and reflected through their actions.

Finding time to accomplish both the writing and crafting of our stories and then making known to the world what we have created.

Here likes the challenge of an author working in the 21st century–discerning a balance between these two competing areas of our lives, facets of the dimensions of our work that touches so much and so completely on who we are–private citizens leaving our mark on the world through the words we type and/or pen.