The reason for this is because most people SUCK at writing tragedies. I'm not talking war or horror stories where 90% of the characters that are introduced is a red shirt and you can disconnect yourself from them. I'm talking about you suddenly find yourself looking at the wall for half an hour or more because the journey you just went through was making you question your life choices. This is what a tragedy is supposed to do to you.
In a tragedy, the characters and most importantly the main character has to be written well. The writer also needs to know the motivation of the characters and what fate has in store for them. The main character does not need to be likable, but they do need to be relatable. The reader must feel a strong connection to the struggle of the main character.
This is where the low and high points in the story become key in the story. The high points need to show the happiness of the main character. The readers have to believe in this happiness. Taking in all the good that is expressed. Now the low points can be dealt with in different ways. The main character can experience a chaotic train ride to their end. Hints of their fall increase to where it's the main character's own fault that such tragedy befell them. Or the universe decides that's it okay to ruin the life of a random person.
The events that happen in the life of the main character have to work with the laws of the universe the author has created. That doesn't mean the universe can't be expanded upon, just don't have the main character randomly be in a place they have no business being in for too long. It's very easy to side track when trying to give the main character some peace in the misfortune they suffer through. Another thing is to balance the dark and sadistic things that happen to them. While it is a tragedy there is no need for TORTURE PORN! Yes, a character going through torture, rape, and other horrible acts is a way to distress the main character, there is no reason to have the reader suffer through it for pages on end. You can have it happen but what it does to the mind state of the main character is the important part.
Now the next question is, "Why do these bad things continue to happen to the main character?" Well, one such way is the main character's Tragic Flaw. I won't go too deeply into this explanation because I want to do something more with it. But a tragic flaw is the main character's most damning personality trait. This is the reason bad things continue to happen to them. Of course, there is more to it than that, but like I said I'll tell you more at a later date. Or you can just find out for yourself and take away my fun.
The next big thing to talk about is...HOW MANY BODIES YOU'LL NEED FOR THIS TO BE A TRAGEDY! And the answer is... not a single one to the point where it can become a drinking game. Now for the no one dies part of it, the story could be about a person who ticked off the wrong person at the wrong time and as punishment they must slowly go mad and lose everything and everyone they've ever known. The drinking game body count involves creating a decent amount of characters going on a mission that is most likely going to kill them and kill them off one by one.
What will make both remarkable is how the characters go about their end. The other important thing is how the reader is affected.
- Do they see themselves and the people they know in the characters?
- Will the actions of the characters make them rethink some choices they made?
- Or is it just a morality tale?
So the biggest thing that is not really talked about is whether a tragedy needs a sad ending. And honestly, if it makes sense within the plot there could be a happy ending or happy like ending. If the main character is someone who is able to get out of all bad things that are thrown their way, an ending in which they live in peace is possible. Because all the bad things that happened to them still happen, they just managed to get through it okay. They survive the physical and mental damage they now have.
But unsurprising enough a sad ending in a tragedy is easier to pull off. That doesn't mean writers pull it off well. The story has to make sense to the reader. So when an author pulls out a random ending that doesn't fit with the plot readers get upset. Whether the ending is happy or sad the main character has to earn it. They cannot be given the happy or sad one just because the author thought it would be a nice way to end it. The ending has to feel natural. (Which you would think is obvious.)Only, remember that it's easy for an author to write them into a corner. That doesn't just apply to authors of books because everyone does it.
How a story ends is important because you have to wrap everything up in a way that makes sense. Even if the story was going to be a series, plot elements that are not going to be carried over into the next book have to be all tied up but they are not to be forgotten in the rest of the series. Balancing all these things is hard and add on a tragic story telling to top it off and you have a good chance of failing.
The important thing is to know what the story is trying to get across. The author needs to know that while writing the story and the reader needs to be able to figure it out. That being the end of the long talk, we are finally done with our first mini-series. If you haven't, I ask that you vote for the Halloween Prompt poll. The polls help with choosing what prompt I'll write next.
