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Genre question!

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amgeorgiou View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote amgeorgiou Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Genre question!
    Posted: 18 Oct 2020 at 5:30am
I have the prompts Drama / Audition/ Keyboard which I'm finding very difficult to navigate.

I am wondering whether drama must be entirely 'realistic'. There seems to be a lot of emphasis on realism in the definition but I wonder whether, for example, it could be set somewhere otherworldly/ supernatural, bearing in mind the characters will be human and will be grappling with real-life human issues?

Any help would be massively appreciated, thank you!!


For ref, here is drama definition:

A story that relies on the emotional and relational development of realistic characters. Themes are often drawn from intense, real life issues such as addiction, infidelity, race and class tension, disease, and corruption to name a few. Conflict, which is a central component, may arise internally, within the main character, or may exist among multiple characters.  Common elements: realistic characters, emotional themes, depth, moral grappling, conflict. Drama books include John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath and Jhumpa Lahiri’s Interpreter of Maladies. Drama films include My Left Foot (1989) and The Wrestler (2008).

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote ZoeLou Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Oct 2020 at 6:12am
I’m no expert, but I do have a habit of bending my genre rules as much as possible!

My challenge 2 story was assigned action/adventure, and yet I wrote a suspenseful drama about a fantasy creature, that happened to have a somewhat action-y chase and fight. I wouldn’t recommend being that loose with it since I freaked myself out convinced I’d be DQ’d but in the end it landed me 13 points.

I’d say it’s fine to combine genres and mix in different elements - feel free to show your creative interpretation of the prompts, just make sure your assigned genre is clearly there.

Hope that helps!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote OnyxLily Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Oct 2020 at 7:04am
Drama is one of the broader ones. I've read drama/fantasy and drama/sci fi mashups that have done well in a drama heat, so I think you're fine to take it speculative rather than stick with realism.
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Alexis_H View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Alexis_H Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Oct 2020 at 7:13am
It should be fine to do a mash-up, provided the drama is the main focus of the story and you go lighter on the sci-fi aspects.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote ash101_49 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Oct 2020 at 11:57am
Hey, I'm in Group 1 too!

While mine is entirely set in reality, it definitely is more of a dramedy than a straight-up drama, and I play on the comedy pretty heavily. I have always done some genre-bending, though, and so far it has helped me a lot and still hasn't hurt me. One day I'll go too far, I'm sure, and get a DQ, but as a general rule, I say bend as much as you can! 
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