GojiBean
Your resident irradiated Kaiju King
Hoyo all!
Welcome to my latest tutorial!
This time it's about dramatizing the simple, and simplifying the dramatic!
What in the blazing hekk to I mean by that?
Well... This one's probably going to be a bit more complicated than my previous tutorials. So it's best we just get straight into it!
Dramatizing the simple is the easier task of the two listed.
Example: Your character is an assassin who's sitting on a catwalk between two buildings, invisible thanks to the shadows, and is observing their target as they walk the streets below. The target is paranoid and checking every corner and over their shoulder every few feet, leaving no easy opening to just jump them and end the job. Your character is going to need to keep following the target, but there's no easy way to get back up to the rooftops for the most easy traversal. And even if there was, the rooftops are shingled, which makes a lot of noise no matter how soft your steps are. So, what can you do to finish the mission?
The Goal: Follow the target
The Difficulty: Do not alert the target
Simple.
Now, to dramatize the simple!!
It requires a bit of meticulous and, some might say, over-analysis of the details you choose to utilize in your post.
But fear not!
Just the simple act of following your target without alerting them presents a lot of of opportunities for you! But it requires a bit of a delicate touch. Things need to go right, and they need to go wrong.
This alternating of things going right and things going wrong helps build tension as there are two (technically three) conflicting, but related results the audience is expecting. One is that your character reaches their target and ends the mission, and the other is that your character slips up and the targets is alerted and the mission ends either in failure, or (the "technically" third option) a desperate chase to end it successfully.
Every time something goes right, it builds the audience's expectation that something can and will, almost inevitably, go wrong very soon.
So use that. Play to it.
Have your assassin drop to the ground and make just a little too much noise by stepping on a small piece of wood they couldn't see because of how dark it is, and this sound alerts the target that something is in the alley.
"I stepped on a piece of wood" is the simple detail that's dramatized into the sequence above.
The target comes to check and your character hides behind a tipped over crate of supplies, and luckily a rat scurries through the alley which puts the target's mind at ease.
"Saved by a rat" is the simple detail that's dramatized by the sequence above.
Something went wrong, then something went right... The tension of the scene mounts as both your character and the target get closer to their respective goals, and the chase continues.
Your assassin follows the target on foot and manages to get close enough to almost strike at them, but suddenly a civilian emerges from around the corner forcing your character to duck for cover so as not to be seen. The civilian talks to your target, further delaying the desired result, and walks in your character's direction while coming dangerously close to their hiding spot. Your character is forced to hold their breath and sit as still as a statue so as not to draw the civilian's eye, even as the civilian turns their head slightly in your direction putting you in very real danger of being caught in their peripheral vision. But the civilian continues on, and your character catches their breath and looks around the corner to see the target's disappeared.
Something went right, then wrong, and then got even worse now that the target is out of view since you were forced to focus on hiding... The tension mounts yet again, and the chase continues. But now there's the added element of "can I find the target" before they get away completely?
"I was almost seen" is the simple detail that's dramatized and expanded into the sequence above.
Your character finds the target again, but they're talking to yet another civilian. The civilian notices your character and points in their direction. The target looks, but you're not there. The civilian swears they saw someone there who ducked behind the building.
"Your target is now alert" is the simple detail that's dramatized by the above.
The tension is now arguably at its highest as your character now faces an uphill battle to overcome an alert target and complete the mission without losing sight of them and letting them slip away.
How do you fix this?
Take to the rooftops? Try going through the alleys to find an alternate observing point and risk losing sight of the target again? Or stay your course and risk the target seeing you if they suddenly turn around and spot you?
However you approach it, you've just successfully dramatized the simple! And all it takes is a single idea that's expanded out by the details of the sequence.
This one's harder to accomplish than dramatizing the simple. And some would ask why we would even want to simply what's dramatic.
Well, let me explain.
Being dramatic doesn't always mean you have to go above and beyond to create the most epic, grand scale, and awesomely amazing scene you've ever written. Often times, the most dramatic things are the most simple and subtle things. The details people miss on first viewing/reading. The details that have been building up over the course of the adventure. Hints, clues, and teases foreshadowing what inevitably seems a foregone conclusion once you're able to put all the pieces together and think "Oh. Wow. It really couldn't have ended any other way!"
That's the end goal. Making it so that every resolution we provide to a character's journey, be it emotional, mental, physical, or spiritual, seems like it's the only natural conclusion.
If the resolution you provide feels like it could have been accomplished in better, or at least more refined and efficient ways, then you've done something wrong. And it likely means you tried to be too over the top with the dramatic elements of the sequence.
Let's look at an example of a story which tried too hard to make the drama big and awesome, but ultimately subverted itself and killed the true potential of the ending.
... Avengers Endgame.
MCU fans be goin' WHAAAAAAAA?! In fact, if I don't get at least one flame comment or private message, I'll honestly be surprised. XD
But yes. The climax of Avengers Endgame was a major disappointment and a waste of potential because the filmmakers and writers committed the sin of turning their back on the value of simplicity.
What they gave us was a brief 5-minute scene of just punching and kicking and blasting our way through a CGI army with little to no personal attention paid to any of the characters throughout the sequence.
Why is this a problem?
The whole purpose of this climax is to show us the culmination of everything these characters have gone through, everything they've learned, and highlight how they've changed over the course of the entire MCU films from Iron Man onward. And this scene should be a story in miniature. An entire three-act story concentrated into the single scene.
The drama could/should be simplified in order to more easily reach the audience and help to really bring home the culmination of the journey of the characters. It's not supposed to be just punch, punch, and punch some more until Tony gets the gauntlet and snaps his fingers.
The Battle of Helm's Deep in Lord of the Rings is a masterful example of this concept of simplifying the dramatic before releasing the chaos of war upon us in a way that emphasizes the characters, their struggles, and the battle itself.
We get the introduction with exposition where we get to see who every participant is, what they fight for, and why. We also get to see the layout of the battlefield, and the calm before the storm to end Act I. We have the inciting incident where one Elf accidentally fires an arrow and kills an Orc which kickstarts the battle. We get the second act leading up to the moment where the Orcs breach the walls and start flooding in. And we get the climax at the end we get Gandalf arriving with allies to split the enemy's charge and send them fleeing.
All of these are dramatic elements simplified into small, short sequences throughout the entire scene of the battle as a whole. And even though it's a much longer scene, almost worthy of being a short film in and of itself, it's a perfect representation of the simplification of the most dramatic elements.
This is what the climax of Endgame should have been. It should have been a story in miniature where we see the participants, get reacquainted with why they're here on a personal level and why they're prepared to lay it all down. The old trope of "it's what heroes do" does not apply in the MCU since all our heroes are flawed and have personal goals and reasons for being there. Dive into them! The battle should have been drawn out and a story in miniature with a first, second, and third act we could follow that not only managed to highlight the ups and downs of the battle, but the ups and downs for the characters personally as well just as they did in LOTR.
But we don't get anything like that. And in the end, the heroes win in a single move rather than being forced to truly earn it through the most grueling hardship of the entire conflict. They just restrain Thanos, take the gauntlet, and then Tony snaps his fingers and it's over.
... You f***ing WHAT, mate?!
Going back to simplifying the dramatic. The ultimate drama of Endgame is this: The heroes all come together to win.
They key part of the phrase there being... "come together."
However, there's not a single moment highlighting any of the major moments we've come to adore from throughout the journey to get here. It's just a mish mash of combat, bouncing the camera from one hero to the next as they royally own the entire army Thanos brought with him. None of them struggle. None of them do anything or say anything that highlights their personal journey or change. And none of them do anything we haven't seen them do a thousand times before.
It's the rough equivalent of a child throwing their favorite toys at one another before announcing that one side won the fight. It's action for action's sake. And never once does it focus inwards and simplify the drama of the moment by giving us actual drama to be invested in. It's just a big fight. The stakes and consequences are never in question because the heroes are owning at every turn and never truly challenged by their enemy.
THIS IS THANOS!! One of the most powerful MCU villains in the entire MC history. His army?... Chumps. Like, how? And who thought this'd be a good idea?
Battles are at their most interesting when the main characters struggle. And I know it may sound contradictory, but the fact is that progression is the key to simplifying the drama of the narrative.
Simplifying the dramatic is all about slowing things down enough to focus on the little things that matter most given the dramatic elements at play.
For example...
Not once do we see Iron Man and Captain America working together with one of them saying "just like old time, huh?", and the other chuckles and gives a physical gesture reminding us of the battle of Civil War, such as Tony tapping the new arc reactor in his suit's chest which Cap broke during their fight before leaving Tony, and his shield, behind.
Not once do we see Hulk and Black Widow have a moment together where they joke about their first meeting where Natasha was scared out of her mind when he pretended to be angry, pointing a gun at him, and talking about "making a mess."
Not once do we see Wanda and Vision embrace and recall their fear of being apart after falling in love and sharing in feelings they each never knew they even COULD share with someone else.
We should have seen things like this. We should have gotten little moments highlighting the struggles the heroes had all overcome, and the struggles that yet lay ahead in this battle. Instead, we saw the heroes kill Thanos' goons. Then we saw them kill MORE of Thanos' goons. Then we saw them kill YET MORE of Thanos' goons. Rinse and repeat, ad nauseum.
There is no tension. There's no struggle. And there's no real sense of progression.
And let me emphasize this for those who might be thinking it: The MCU heroes killing Thanos' goons over and over again is not progression.
Progression, in story telling, refers to a visible and/or implied sense of forward progression on either a personal, mental, spiritual, or physical level for the characters.
For all the fighting that takes place... Nothing is actually happening in the narrative either at a personal or macro level.
True progression would be if we saw the characters get overwhelmed individually and finally find room to breathe and start overcoming the enemy after they're joined by an ally. They would still struggle together. But it would be more manageable. Then they'd be joined by one more ally, and it'd get a little easier. And finally they all come together and are at their strongest.
THAT is progression. And that's exactly what's missing in Endgame.
The heroes occasionally group one in groups of two or three. But the problem is they were owning even before that grouping. There was no sense that they were being overwhelmed or in any way put in real danger of dying on the battlefield like the enemies they so casually slice and dice through as if they're made of wet cardboard.
And when your scenes devolve to the point where there's no sense of progression, and no actual story happening despite a lot of things being visible going on... You dun fugged up.
I had to put a break there because things are turning from a tutorial to a rant that was slowly starting to veer a little off course despite my attempts to course correct. Lol.
The point of all that stuff above is this: They could have simplified the drama of the final battle by focusing inward on the characters and touch on their history together while also showing us the growth they've undergone, and continue to undergo as the battle progresses. And in so doing they would have given us a more dignified three act structure and story in miniature like the Battle of Helm's Deep did. And if they'd done that, the climax of Endgame would have hit all audiences much, much harder in many, many ways.
Simplifying the drama means focusing on the little things that matter most, and using them to their utmost potential to achieve a desired effect.
For example, if your character is a dark loner who distances themselves from everyone around them (a trope I DESPISE with a fiery passion, btw), and you want to dramatize this aspect of their personality, you could simply have the character's first interaction with the rest of the cast go something like this:
Your character arrives in the group and stands against the wall, arms crossed, and seemingly paying no attention. Some of the others get annoyed and come over to confront your character about not listening. Your character leans away a bit more as they get closer while speaking. And when they're done your character responds by keeping their head and eyes turned away while perfectly summarizing whatever was talked about without them in a somewhat exasperated tone before glancing at the one who spoke up from out of the corner of their eye.
This simple action of your character standing at a distance but still paying attention while not looking like they are is a simplification of all of the following dramatic elements of your character's personality and presence in the scene:
* Your character doesn't like being in physically close proximity with others
* Your character doesn't like to engage in conversation if they don't have to
* Your character is pretending not to pay attention in hopes that this will keep the others from asking you to join in
* When confronted, your character will respond and engage if there's no immediate escape route
* Contrarily, if there was an escape route your character probably would have just walked away after hearing everything they felt they needed to hear
* When someone gets too close, your character shies away from the proximity demonstrating a suppressed desire to flee
* Your character is somewhat cocky, as indicated by them looking out of the corner of their eye when they were done talking instead of turning their head to look at someone directly
* Your character is exasperated during their recall of the information discussed, indicating boredom and/or a dismissive attitude towards how "important" everyone else thinks this all was
All of these details are captured in your character simply standing a certain way, keeping their head and eyes diverted, and using a certain tone of voice while speaking.
This is simplifying the dramatic.
You take all of the dramatic elements of the moment and simplify them down into their most basic forms for presentation in your posts.
You don't have to go all out in dialogue. You don't have to go all out in physical motion or actions. You don't have to go over the top in how dramatic everything looks. And you don't have to worry about trying to make everything as long and epic as you can possibly make it.
As I said before, it's often the small details everyone misses on a first viewing/reading that make the biggest impression when a resolution finally comes around.
For instance, in the list I provided above did you also know that the character's physical reaction to when they're approached could also be indicative of emotional trauma rather than just a desire for distance? It could be a now instinctive reaction to close physical proximity due to an abusive past. And just the fact that your character only leaned away as opposed to actually physically leaving is proof that they've at least made a few tiny steps of progress on their own, but they're still trapped in that world where physical closeness equals pain.
Did you also notice that your character's exasperated attitude could also be indicative of hyper intelligence, indicating they likely already thought of everything the others suggested in their conversation and that, to your character, this is boring because the plan everyone came up with should be obvious from the get go, and that talking for as long as they did was a waste of time?
Did you also notice that your character choosing to showcase that they paid attention means there's a part of them that wants to engage? A part that, however deeply buried, wants to receive recognition for being the team player that they aren't consciously aware they're capable of being?
There are so many tiny details that can slip by in the writing process and be capitalized on later that it's honestly quite ridiculous. Contrarily, when you make everything like Endgame where it's just action for action's sake and you doing your best to showcase the biggest, baddest, and most epic/awesome moments possible... There's no chance for that anymore.
Hopefully this tutorial-turned-rant-turned-tutorial-again was able to help you understand the essence of both dramatizing the simple, and simplifying the dramatic.
Apologies for the ranty bits in the second part. XD
By combining these two approaches of writing your scenes and characters, you'll be able to make deeper, more meaningful posts and create deeper and more profound characters with a lot more chances for growth and development beyond the basic tropes everyone else relies on because it's easier to do.
Cheers!
- GojiBean
Welcome to my latest tutorial!
This time it's about dramatizing the simple, and simplifying the dramatic!
What in the blazing hekk to I mean by that?
Well... This one's probably going to be a bit more complicated than my previous tutorials. So it's best we just get straight into it!
Dramatizing The Simple
Dramatizing the simple is the easier task of the two listed.
Example: Your character is an assassin who's sitting on a catwalk between two buildings, invisible thanks to the shadows, and is observing their target as they walk the streets below. The target is paranoid and checking every corner and over their shoulder every few feet, leaving no easy opening to just jump them and end the job. Your character is going to need to keep following the target, but there's no easy way to get back up to the rooftops for the most easy traversal. And even if there was, the rooftops are shingled, which makes a lot of noise no matter how soft your steps are. So, what can you do to finish the mission?
The Goal: Follow the target
The Difficulty: Do not alert the target
Simple.
Now, to dramatize the simple!!
It requires a bit of meticulous and, some might say, over-analysis of the details you choose to utilize in your post.
But fear not!
Just the simple act of following your target without alerting them presents a lot of of opportunities for you! But it requires a bit of a delicate touch. Things need to go right, and they need to go wrong.
This alternating of things going right and things going wrong helps build tension as there are two (technically three) conflicting, but related results the audience is expecting. One is that your character reaches their target and ends the mission, and the other is that your character slips up and the targets is alerted and the mission ends either in failure, or (the "technically" third option) a desperate chase to end it successfully.
Every time something goes right, it builds the audience's expectation that something can and will, almost inevitably, go wrong very soon.
So use that. Play to it.
Have your assassin drop to the ground and make just a little too much noise by stepping on a small piece of wood they couldn't see because of how dark it is, and this sound alerts the target that something is in the alley.
"I stepped on a piece of wood" is the simple detail that's dramatized into the sequence above.
The target comes to check and your character hides behind a tipped over crate of supplies, and luckily a rat scurries through the alley which puts the target's mind at ease.
"Saved by a rat" is the simple detail that's dramatized by the sequence above.
Something went wrong, then something went right... The tension of the scene mounts as both your character and the target get closer to their respective goals, and the chase continues.
Your assassin follows the target on foot and manages to get close enough to almost strike at them, but suddenly a civilian emerges from around the corner forcing your character to duck for cover so as not to be seen. The civilian talks to your target, further delaying the desired result, and walks in your character's direction while coming dangerously close to their hiding spot. Your character is forced to hold their breath and sit as still as a statue so as not to draw the civilian's eye, even as the civilian turns their head slightly in your direction putting you in very real danger of being caught in their peripheral vision. But the civilian continues on, and your character catches their breath and looks around the corner to see the target's disappeared.
Something went right, then wrong, and then got even worse now that the target is out of view since you were forced to focus on hiding... The tension mounts yet again, and the chase continues. But now there's the added element of "can I find the target" before they get away completely?
"I was almost seen" is the simple detail that's dramatized and expanded into the sequence above.
Your character finds the target again, but they're talking to yet another civilian. The civilian notices your character and points in their direction. The target looks, but you're not there. The civilian swears they saw someone there who ducked behind the building.
"Your target is now alert" is the simple detail that's dramatized by the above.
The tension is now arguably at its highest as your character now faces an uphill battle to overcome an alert target and complete the mission without losing sight of them and letting them slip away.
How do you fix this?
Take to the rooftops? Try going through the alleys to find an alternate observing point and risk losing sight of the target again? Or stay your course and risk the target seeing you if they suddenly turn around and spot you?
However you approach it, you've just successfully dramatized the simple! And all it takes is a single idea that's expanded out by the details of the sequence.
Simplifying the Dramatic
This one's harder to accomplish than dramatizing the simple. And some would ask why we would even want to simply what's dramatic.
Well, let me explain.
Being dramatic doesn't always mean you have to go above and beyond to create the most epic, grand scale, and awesomely amazing scene you've ever written. Often times, the most dramatic things are the most simple and subtle things. The details people miss on first viewing/reading. The details that have been building up over the course of the adventure. Hints, clues, and teases foreshadowing what inevitably seems a foregone conclusion once you're able to put all the pieces together and think "Oh. Wow. It really couldn't have ended any other way!"
That's the end goal. Making it so that every resolution we provide to a character's journey, be it emotional, mental, physical, or spiritual, seems like it's the only natural conclusion.
If the resolution you provide feels like it could have been accomplished in better, or at least more refined and efficient ways, then you've done something wrong. And it likely means you tried to be too over the top with the dramatic elements of the sequence.
Let's look at an example of a story which tried too hard to make the drama big and awesome, but ultimately subverted itself and killed the true potential of the ending.
... Avengers Endgame.
MCU fans be goin' WHAAAAAAAA?! In fact, if I don't get at least one flame comment or private message, I'll honestly be surprised. XD
But yes. The climax of Avengers Endgame was a major disappointment and a waste of potential because the filmmakers and writers committed the sin of turning their back on the value of simplicity.
What they gave us was a brief 5-minute scene of just punching and kicking and blasting our way through a CGI army with little to no personal attention paid to any of the characters throughout the sequence.
Why is this a problem?
The whole purpose of this climax is to show us the culmination of everything these characters have gone through, everything they've learned, and highlight how they've changed over the course of the entire MCU films from Iron Man onward. And this scene should be a story in miniature. An entire three-act story concentrated into the single scene.
The drama could/should be simplified in order to more easily reach the audience and help to really bring home the culmination of the journey of the characters. It's not supposed to be just punch, punch, and punch some more until Tony gets the gauntlet and snaps his fingers.
The Battle of Helm's Deep in Lord of the Rings is a masterful example of this concept of simplifying the dramatic before releasing the chaos of war upon us in a way that emphasizes the characters, their struggles, and the battle itself.
We get the introduction with exposition where we get to see who every participant is, what they fight for, and why. We also get to see the layout of the battlefield, and the calm before the storm to end Act I. We have the inciting incident where one Elf accidentally fires an arrow and kills an Orc which kickstarts the battle. We get the second act leading up to the moment where the Orcs breach the walls and start flooding in. And we get the climax at the end we get Gandalf arriving with allies to split the enemy's charge and send them fleeing.
All of these are dramatic elements simplified into small, short sequences throughout the entire scene of the battle as a whole. And even though it's a much longer scene, almost worthy of being a short film in and of itself, it's a perfect representation of the simplification of the most dramatic elements.
This is what the climax of Endgame should have been. It should have been a story in miniature where we see the participants, get reacquainted with why they're here on a personal level and why they're prepared to lay it all down. The old trope of "it's what heroes do" does not apply in the MCU since all our heroes are flawed and have personal goals and reasons for being there. Dive into them! The battle should have been drawn out and a story in miniature with a first, second, and third act we could follow that not only managed to highlight the ups and downs of the battle, but the ups and downs for the characters personally as well just as they did in LOTR.
But we don't get anything like that. And in the end, the heroes win in a single move rather than being forced to truly earn it through the most grueling hardship of the entire conflict. They just restrain Thanos, take the gauntlet, and then Tony snaps his fingers and it's over.
... You f***ing WHAT, mate?!
Going back to simplifying the dramatic. The ultimate drama of Endgame is this: The heroes all come together to win.
They key part of the phrase there being... "come together."
However, there's not a single moment highlighting any of the major moments we've come to adore from throughout the journey to get here. It's just a mish mash of combat, bouncing the camera from one hero to the next as they royally own the entire army Thanos brought with him. None of them struggle. None of them do anything or say anything that highlights their personal journey or change. And none of them do anything we haven't seen them do a thousand times before.
It's the rough equivalent of a child throwing their favorite toys at one another before announcing that one side won the fight. It's action for action's sake. And never once does it focus inwards and simplify the drama of the moment by giving us actual drama to be invested in. It's just a big fight. The stakes and consequences are never in question because the heroes are owning at every turn and never truly challenged by their enemy.
THIS IS THANOS!! One of the most powerful MCU villains in the entire MC history. His army?... Chumps. Like, how? And who thought this'd be a good idea?
Battles are at their most interesting when the main characters struggle. And I know it may sound contradictory, but the fact is that progression is the key to simplifying the drama of the narrative.
Simplifying the dramatic is all about slowing things down enough to focus on the little things that matter most given the dramatic elements at play.
For example...
Not once do we see Iron Man and Captain America working together with one of them saying "just like old time, huh?", and the other chuckles and gives a physical gesture reminding us of the battle of Civil War, such as Tony tapping the new arc reactor in his suit's chest which Cap broke during their fight before leaving Tony, and his shield, behind.
Not once do we see Hulk and Black Widow have a moment together where they joke about their first meeting where Natasha was scared out of her mind when he pretended to be angry, pointing a gun at him, and talking about "making a mess."
Not once do we see Wanda and Vision embrace and recall their fear of being apart after falling in love and sharing in feelings they each never knew they even COULD share with someone else.
We should have seen things like this. We should have gotten little moments highlighting the struggles the heroes had all overcome, and the struggles that yet lay ahead in this battle. Instead, we saw the heroes kill Thanos' goons. Then we saw them kill MORE of Thanos' goons. Then we saw them kill YET MORE of Thanos' goons. Rinse and repeat, ad nauseum.
There is no tension. There's no struggle. And there's no real sense of progression.
And let me emphasize this for those who might be thinking it: The MCU heroes killing Thanos' goons over and over again is not progression.
Progression, in story telling, refers to a visible and/or implied sense of forward progression on either a personal, mental, spiritual, or physical level for the characters.
For all the fighting that takes place... Nothing is actually happening in the narrative either at a personal or macro level.
True progression would be if we saw the characters get overwhelmed individually and finally find room to breathe and start overcoming the enemy after they're joined by an ally. They would still struggle together. But it would be more manageable. Then they'd be joined by one more ally, and it'd get a little easier. And finally they all come together and are at their strongest.
THAT is progression. And that's exactly what's missing in Endgame.
The heroes occasionally group one in groups of two or three. But the problem is they were owning even before that grouping. There was no sense that they were being overwhelmed or in any way put in real danger of dying on the battlefield like the enemies they so casually slice and dice through as if they're made of wet cardboard.
And when your scenes devolve to the point where there's no sense of progression, and no actual story happening despite a lot of things being visible going on... You dun fugged up.
In Conclusion
I had to put a break there because things are turning from a tutorial to a rant that was slowly starting to veer a little off course despite my attempts to course correct. Lol.
The point of all that stuff above is this: They could have simplified the drama of the final battle by focusing inward on the characters and touch on their history together while also showing us the growth they've undergone, and continue to undergo as the battle progresses. And in so doing they would have given us a more dignified three act structure and story in miniature like the Battle of Helm's Deep did. And if they'd done that, the climax of Endgame would have hit all audiences much, much harder in many, many ways.
Simplifying the drama means focusing on the little things that matter most, and using them to their utmost potential to achieve a desired effect.
For example, if your character is a dark loner who distances themselves from everyone around them (a trope I DESPISE with a fiery passion, btw), and you want to dramatize this aspect of their personality, you could simply have the character's first interaction with the rest of the cast go something like this:
Your character arrives in the group and stands against the wall, arms crossed, and seemingly paying no attention. Some of the others get annoyed and come over to confront your character about not listening. Your character leans away a bit more as they get closer while speaking. And when they're done your character responds by keeping their head and eyes turned away while perfectly summarizing whatever was talked about without them in a somewhat exasperated tone before glancing at the one who spoke up from out of the corner of their eye.
This simple action of your character standing at a distance but still paying attention while not looking like they are is a simplification of all of the following dramatic elements of your character's personality and presence in the scene:
* Your character doesn't like being in physically close proximity with others
* Your character doesn't like to engage in conversation if they don't have to
* Your character is pretending not to pay attention in hopes that this will keep the others from asking you to join in
* When confronted, your character will respond and engage if there's no immediate escape route
* Contrarily, if there was an escape route your character probably would have just walked away after hearing everything they felt they needed to hear
* When someone gets too close, your character shies away from the proximity demonstrating a suppressed desire to flee
* Your character is somewhat cocky, as indicated by them looking out of the corner of their eye when they were done talking instead of turning their head to look at someone directly
* Your character is exasperated during their recall of the information discussed, indicating boredom and/or a dismissive attitude towards how "important" everyone else thinks this all was
All of these details are captured in your character simply standing a certain way, keeping their head and eyes diverted, and using a certain tone of voice while speaking.
This is simplifying the dramatic.
You take all of the dramatic elements of the moment and simplify them down into their most basic forms for presentation in your posts.
You don't have to go all out in dialogue. You don't have to go all out in physical motion or actions. You don't have to go over the top in how dramatic everything looks. And you don't have to worry about trying to make everything as long and epic as you can possibly make it.
As I said before, it's often the small details everyone misses on a first viewing/reading that make the biggest impression when a resolution finally comes around.
For instance, in the list I provided above did you also know that the character's physical reaction to when they're approached could also be indicative of emotional trauma rather than just a desire for distance? It could be a now instinctive reaction to close physical proximity due to an abusive past. And just the fact that your character only leaned away as opposed to actually physically leaving is proof that they've at least made a few tiny steps of progress on their own, but they're still trapped in that world where physical closeness equals pain.
Did you also notice that your character's exasperated attitude could also be indicative of hyper intelligence, indicating they likely already thought of everything the others suggested in their conversation and that, to your character, this is boring because the plan everyone came up with should be obvious from the get go, and that talking for as long as they did was a waste of time?
Did you also notice that your character choosing to showcase that they paid attention means there's a part of them that wants to engage? A part that, however deeply buried, wants to receive recognition for being the team player that they aren't consciously aware they're capable of being?
There are so many tiny details that can slip by in the writing process and be capitalized on later that it's honestly quite ridiculous. Contrarily, when you make everything like Endgame where it's just action for action's sake and you doing your best to showcase the biggest, baddest, and most epic/awesome moments possible... There's no chance for that anymore.
Hopefully this tutorial-turned-rant-turned-tutorial-again was able to help you understand the essence of both dramatizing the simple, and simplifying the dramatic.
Apologies for the ranty bits in the second part. XD
By combining these two approaches of writing your scenes and characters, you'll be able to make deeper, more meaningful posts and create deeper and more profound characters with a lot more chances for growth and development beyond the basic tropes everyone else relies on because it's easier to do.
Cheers!
- GojiBean