How to Write Stories People Will Love

Question 74: Avoiding melodrama

RavensOfOld asks: How do you write an emotional, angry outburst scene without it being melodramatic? Because when an emotional scene is melodramatic, it kills the impact and makes readers roll their eyes instead of emphasizing with the character. What can I do?

Drama is good. Melodrama is not. Melodrama is over-the-top emotion that seems blown out of proportion. It isn't believable, and can even be comical. It can ruin an important scene without you even knowing it.

In one of my earlier works, I had two side characters going through a slow burn - attracted to each other but not getting together. When they finally did, in my mind it was this huge, emotional scene because they reached this pivotal moment. A beta reader later told me it felt like a telenovela. (Telenovelas are Spanish-language soap operas on TV that are historically infamous for melodrama due to overly dramatic gestures, ridiculous crying jags, and shouting matches you can hear from the moon. They are better now, but still have that reputation from the past.)

This, of course, crushed me. Because I had no idea, and I really liked that scene! I set the story aside for several months, and when I went back to look at that scene with the beta reader's comments in mind, I could see what she was talking about. They were acting out of character in order to fit the dramatic scene that had played out in my head.

Characters Should Stay In Character

Know your character and understand his personality. Review Question 20: Staying in Character for tips on this. When a character does or says things that don't fit with their personality, readers won't find it believable.

Avoid Exaggeration

Part of the comedy of melodrama (whether intentional or not) is when gestures are overdone. When characters clutch at their chests because of their broken hearts, or rest the back of their hand against their forehead in anguish, it's too much because real people don't do those things. These types of exaggerated gestures are common in silent movies because there's no dialogue to rely on, and also in stage theater because the back of the room has to be able to see what's going on. They'll miss the small gestures. However they aren't necessary in modern movies or books.

Get an Outside Opinion

Because we wrote the scene that was in our heads, we often won't see the melodrama at all. This is why beta readers and critique partners are so important. They have the objectivity to see the things we are blind to. Because these emotional scenes tend to be closer to our hearts, we will be especially defensive about them. Resist the urge to rebuke the criticism about your scene. Just thank the reader and step back. Put your work away for at least three months to get some distance from it. The more distance you have, the more objective you can be. When you're ready, go over the critique again, then reread the scene in question. Chances are, you'll be able to see what your reader saw and fix the problem.

Avoid Caps Lock and Excessive Exclamation Points

As a final note, sometimes melodrama happens when you try too hard to convey extreme emotion though capital letters and multiple exclamation points. Occasional all-caps is fine. They have their place to convey things sometimes. But the only time I've ever seen more than one exclamation point in a sentence in traditionally published books is when the scene is portraying an email or text message. When you find yourself wanting to portray something emotional or important through typography, stop yourself and think of how it can be portrayed through body language or dialogue instead.