Dear Writer – How to Be a Writer – All You Must Know
Good art in general, and good writing in particular, is nothing more than the meeting point of three elements: Talent, Craft, and Culture. When these three elements come together, you can truly become a writer.
Dear Writer Book consists of four parts:
1- Basics of Arts – History of Drama – Basics of Writing Drama.
2- The Dramatic Hero’s Journey – Introduction to History.
3- Dramatic Character – Introduction to Psychology and Philosophy.
4- Writing Texts – Introduction to the English Language.
Part one is on Mido Writes for FREE!
* * *
Part one:
Basics of Arts – History of Drama – Basics of Writing Drama.
How to Discover Your Writing Talent?
The talent for writing, like other talents, can only be discovered through experience, and experience comes after passion. When you find yourself interested in writing, you receive it differently from ordinary audiences; you rewatch movies and reread novels repeatedly, trying to understand what happens behind the scenes. If you notice what others do not notice, and if you feel that there is something inside you that you want to say, then try writing and observe the effect of the experience on you. Were you enjoying it despite its difficulty? Share your writing with others and listen to their opinions. By balancing your personal feelings toward the experience with the reactions of others to its results, you may eventually reach an answer.
* * *
First: Culture
Writing a story is a kind of art – so the writer must first know: What is the definition and types of art?
Arts fall under the category of the humanities, which are concerned with studying humans in terms of culture, thought, expression, and values. They seek to understand the human experience throughout the ages, often relying on critical and interpretive analysis.
The concept of art is when a creator structures a group of elements in an aesthetic way to express an idea or a feeling. For example, a painter gathers and structures shapes and colors in an aesthetic manner to express a specific idea or feeling, and a writer gathers characters and incidents, arranging and connecting them in a certain way to convey a particular idea or emotion.
In the past, the arts were divided into seven branches: Architecture, Sculpture, Visual Arts, Music, Literature, Performing Arts, and Cinema. However, in the modern era, the arts have become classified into:
1- Plastic Arts (Fine Arts) and Their Relation to How to Be a Writer
Plastic arts are among the oldest and richest forms of artistic expression. They are arts built in the form of tangible visual works: a painting, a statue, or a photograph. They are called “plastic” or “formative” because they shape and mold different raw materials, such as clay, stone, color, and wood, to bring forth an artistic idea or emotion. Plastic arts are those that are seen with the eye and felt through the imagination, such as Drawing and Painting, Sculpture, Photography, Arabic Calligraphy, Conceptual Art, and Street Art.
- The Importance of Plastic Arts in How to Be a Writer
To be a good writer, you can use plastic arts to build a visual sense, as they enhance the ability to describe places, colors, objects, and scenes. Furthermore, visual arts are full of symbols, which helps the writer develop literary symbolism. Plastic arts serve as a window to understanding the human psyche, individuals, and society. When a writer looks at a painting or a statue through the lens of art, they do not just see a shape; they hear a story and feel an emotion.
2- Literary Arts and Their Relation to How to Be a Writer
Literary arts are arts that rely on language as the primary medium of expression. Language alone carries out narration, description, and symbolism. They differ from cinema and theater because the latter rely on actors and a production team to embody the written text, whereas literary texts rely on the text alone, which the writer uses for depiction and embodiment. Recently, shifts have occurred in the field of literary arts due to technology and digital transformation, leading to the emergence of blogs, platforms, and creative writing through artificial intelligence. Literary arts include the Novel, Short Story, Poetry, Essay, and Children’s and Young Adult Literature.
- The Importance of Literary Arts in How to Be a Writer
To be a good writer, you can use the literary arts to expand your expressive tools; becoming acquainted with different types of texts aids experimentation and style development. Literary arts also reinforce the value of language for the writer; they teach how to make every single word deliberate and impactful.
3- Performing Arts and Their Relation to How to Be a Writer
Performing arts are arts that rely on live performance using the body, voice, movement, and emotion. They blend sound, image, text, and movement. They differ from plastic and literary arts because those arts can be produced and consumed in isolation, while performing arts require a live show and direct interaction between the artist and the audience. Performing arts include Theater, Dance, Singing and Live Musical Performances, Storytelling, and Performance Art.
- The Importance of Performing Arts in How to Be a Writer
Performing arts help you become a good writer when you learn to visualize precise details in dialogue, movement, and space. They strengthen the specific performance of each character and expand communication between the writer and the actors through the written text, as well as communication between the writer and the audience, enabling the writer to sense how the recipient interacts with every moment in the text. Furthermore, performing arts enhance the writer’s understanding of pacing, as they are characterized by the honesty and reality of every single moment.
4- Auditory Arts and Their Relation to How to Be a Writer
Auditory arts are arts that use sound as a medium of expression. The audience receives these arts through hearing alone, and they can be either recorded or live. Auditory arts include Music, Literary Auditory Works (Audio Literature), Sound Art, and Singing.
- The Importance of Auditory Arts in How to Be a Writer
Auditory arts help you become a good writer by developing your sense of internal rhythm, much like poetry; rhythm determines the flow of sentences, pauses, and the overall tone of the text. When writing dialogue or an audio story, a sentence must be “heard” as if it is being performed, through an understanding of vocal delivery, rhythm, and intonations.
5- Contemporary Visual Arts and Their Relation to How to Be a Writer
Contemporary visual arts are arts that rely on the moving image as an essential element of storytelling, alongside editing, music, actors, and visual and sound effects. They are displayed through screens or digital media. Contemporary visual arts include Cinema, Television, Animation and Anime, and Video Art.
- The Importance of Visual Arts in How to Be a Writer
Understanding and appreciating visual arts help the novelist create a world that can be seen and heard through written text, and fundamentally assist the screenwriter in expressing ideas through images with accuracy and effectiveness.
6- Digital Arts and Their Relation to How to Be a Writer
Digital arts are arts that rely on using computers or technology as a tool to create artistic works. They encompass a wide range of forms, such as Digital Drawings and Paintings, Interactive Art, Digital Animation, 3D Art, Virtual Reality (VR), and Augmented Reality (AR).
- The Importance of Digital Arts in How to Be a Writer
Writing screenplays or stories that incorporate multimedia, such as images, sound, and video, opens wide horizons for the writer.
7- Applied Arts and Their Relation to How to Be a Writer
Applied arts are arts that focus on the practical application of artistic concepts to create objects that can be used in daily life. They include a wide range of fields such as Industrial Design, Pottery, Fashion Design, Architecture, Graphic Design, and Decoration and Ornamentation (Artistic Crafts).
- The Importance of Applied Arts in How to Be a Writer
To be a good writer, you can integrate applied arts into stories by describing furniture, clothing, or even buildings that reflect the characters or the atmosphere of the place. Writers can also use artistic description skills for everyday objects to provide an integrated picture of the setting and characters in the story. Studying applied arts provides the writer with a method to connect aesthetic values with practical daily life, achieving a balance between beauty and function in story building.
8- Experimental Arts and Their Relation to How to Be a Writer
Experimental art is an art form that does not follow traditional or familiar methods; instead, it aims to explore and experiment with mediums and subjects. Experimental art relies on innovation and new or unfamiliar techniques in handling themes and ideas. It breaks down old artistic rules to find new pathways that might be incomprehensible or unconventional for the general public. Experimental arts include Automatism (Automatic Art), Experimental Digital Art, Experimental Poetry, Experimental Music, and Experimental Theater.
- The Importance of Experimental Arts in How to Be a Writer
Experimental arts encourage you to be a creative writer; they teach the writer that art is not bound by rules, but is rather an opportunity for innovation and freedom.
* * *
Stories, films, novels, and TV shows are all considered forms of drama – so what is the definition the history of drama that the writer must know?
Now, let us focus on a specific type of art: drama. Drama is everything that falls within the framework of a performed or imagined story, whether performed through an audiovisual medium like cinema or through a written literary text like a novel.
Accordingly, dramatic or fictional films differ from documentaries. Fictional films rely on performing the story in front of the camera as if it does not exist, whereas documentaries rely on speaking directly to the camera. Sometimes, an actor in fictional films looks directly into the camera in what is known as breaking the fourth wall. The viewer sees the actor between three walls, and the fourth wall is the camera that films what is happening as reality, creating the illusion of reality. When the actor looks directly at the camera, this is called breaking the illusion of reality or breaking the fourth wall.
Finally, drama is a group of closely interconnected events created by the writer that lead toward a central idea, and these events are the result of character interaction, primarily due to the actions of the story’s hero or protagonist. Drama includes movies, novels, series, and more.
* * *
History of Drama that the Writer Must Know
1- History of Drama in Ancient Egypt (3000 BC)
The history of drama begins in Ancient Egypt. No theatrical scripts have been found, as theater did not exist in their society in its traditional form. Instead, there was something akin to ritualistic plays, performed in temples using memorized texts, physical or dance performances, specialized attire, and string and percussion music.
One of the most famous ritual plays in Ancient Egypt is the Drama of Isis and Osiris, which was held annually in Abydos. It was performed by priests, and it is highly likely that the ruling king embodied the role of the god Osiris. The general public sometimes participated by weeping during specific parts or chanting certain phrases.
2- History of Drama in Ancient Greece (600 BC)
Greek drama is the first true drama known to humanity. The Greeks were the first to build theaters and organize events to showcase plays. The source of Greek drama was religious rituals associated with the worship of the god Dionysus, much like in Ancient Egypt. The practice later evolved into theatrical festivals where writers competed with their works.
Initially, the play consisted of a collective chant performed by the chorus, known as the Dithyramb. Later, actors emerged and stepped ahead of the chanting chorus. In the beginning, acting was limited to one single actor who swapped masks for each character while changing the tone of voice, before a second actor emerged, and the concept of acting gradually evolved from there.
Drama in Ancient Greece developed into three forms: Tragedy: The story of noble figures whose flaws plunge them into misfortune. Comedy: The story of people who face ridiculous mistakes due to their shortcomings. Satyr: A mixture of tragedy and comedy.
The most famous Greek dramatic writers include Aeschylus, Euripides, Aristophanes, and Sophocles, who wrote the famous play Oedipus Rex.
3- History of Drama in Ancient Rome (240 BC)
Theater in Ancient Rome was a means of entertaining the public and pacifying social unrest. The Romans did not invent new forms of theater; rather, they adopted the Greek model and introduced modifications. They focused heavily on audiovisual effects, to the extent that some scenes of violence were executed realistically rather than through acting.
Among the most famous Roman dramatic writers are Terence, Seneca, and Plautus, who wrote the famous comedy play Miles Gloriosus: The Braggart Soldier.
4- History of Drama in the Middle Ages (470 AD)
Christianity initially considered theater a remnant of paganism and banned it before later utilizing it to serve religion and education. This was done through plays portraying the life of Christ, the miracles of saints, and stories from the Holy Bible during holiday seasons and religious celebrations, such as the play The Prophet Daniel.
5- History of Drama in the Era of the Islamic State (600 AD)
Due to apprehension toward personification, alongside the reliance of Arabic culture on oral storytelling, Muslims did not focus on theater. However, folk arts compensated for this, giving rise to other forms of drama, including Shadow Play (Khayal al-Zill), a visual art that relies on moving puppets behind a screen, and Folk Epics (Siyar Sha'biya), which was a kind of poets used to recite in cafés and marketplaces.
Among the most famous tales are The Arabian Nights (One Thousand Nights), including the stories of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves and Aladdin and the Magic Lamp.
6- History of Drama in the European Renaissance (1400 AD)
Drama began to evolve in Italy, leading to the emergence of Commedia dell’arte, which was a popular improvised theater where actors interacted directly with the audience. This Italian comedy inspired French theater, leading to the rise of Molière, and similarly inspired England, giving rise to William Shakespeare, who wrote timeless masterpieces such as Hamlet, Othello, and King Lear.
7- History of Modern Drama (Approx. 1900 AD)
Modern writers leaned toward realism, portraying the conventional daily lives of people while steering away from grand fantasy worlds or the lives of noble or base heroes, as was the case in classical tragedy and comedy. Henrik Ibsen emerged, who wrote A Doll’s House, as did Anton Chekhov, who wrote The Cherry Orchard. The novel also emerged as a major form of modern drama, followed later by cinema and television.
With the occurrence of the two World Wars in the twentieth century, the rise of Darwin’s theories on human origins, and Freud’s theories in psychoanalysis, drama writers began to pivot toward alienation and absurdity. Brecht’s epic theater emerged, based primarily on breaking the illusion of reality, indicating a strong tendency toward alienation. Similarly, Kafka, who wrote The Metamorphosis, Dostoevsky, and others emerged with dramatic works carrying a dark and somber nature, investigating the essence of human existence, the extent of its complexity, humanity’s inability to understand itself, and the profound impact of modern industrial society.
* * *
Second: Craft
Six Stages for Writing a Dramatic Text:
1- The Idea or the Logline: The whole story in approximately three lines.
2- The Synopsis: The whole story in approximately three pages.
3- Designing Characters: The characters’ profiles.
4- The Dramatic Treatment: The story in approximately thirty pages.
5- The Sequences: Breaking down the treatment into sequences and scenes.
6- The Text.
1- How to Write an Idea or a Logline for a Dramatic Story?
We agreed that drama is based on characters. Therefore, the first thing needed to write a dramatic story is a main character, a hero or protagonist around whom the events center. The second thing is a main event that this protagonist experiences. This main character must have a dramatic description that is either connected to or colliding with the main event.
- Léon: The Professional: A professional hitman becomes responsible for a young girl whose family was murdered; she works with him and asks for his help in avenging her family against the officer who killed them. Here, the fact that the protagonist is a professional hitman collides with his responsibility toward a young girl and their working relationship, not to mention the development of their bond into an emotional relationship.
(Read: The Professionalism As a Framework - Reading Léon: The Professional)
- Inception: A skilled extractor of secrets who uses a dream-sharing device to extract ideas from people's subconscious minds is asked to perform an inception by planting an idea. Here, a conflict arises for the protagonist, who usually extracts ideas, when he is asked to plant one instead, which is the exact opposite of what he normally does.
- Black Swan: A ballet dancer obsessed with perfection is asked to play the role of an evil Black Swan. Here, a conflict arises between the character’s main flaw, her obsession with perfection, and what is required of her: the inciting incident that plunges her into conflict.
- The Importance of Having One Main Incident in How to Be a Writer
The inciting incident, or the main event, is the core subject of the film or novel that the protagonist navigates, and as soon as this event ends, the film or novel ends. Your imagination might be crowded with many events and conflicts that you want to write about, which might make you resist the idea of having a single main incident. However, you must understand that having one main incident helps you write the remaining events and create the deeper layers you wish to craft. The movie or novel must first center around one main plot through which the remaining subplots are addressed.
Join the conversation