How to Write a Radio Serial Drama for Social Development- PDF

96 Chapter Six: Developing the Setting
Based on the map, the writer can decide questions such as:
• How long would it take the main character, Ogidigi, to walk to the
main road
• Could people in the clinic hear a child in trouble in the pond
• Could someone in the clinic hear a car going up the village road
• Could someone creep up on Dr. Mandus’s bungalow without being
seen by anyone in the village
• Could Auntie Katie see someone arriving at the clinic from her
house
Without the map and a clear understanding of the village layout, the
writer easily could confuse the placement of the buildings in the village or
contradict something from one episode to the next. When the writer is
confused, so is the audience.
Sometimes one plot in a radio drama will be set in a location distant
from the rest, even though characters from other plots may visit it. In such
cases, the writer should keep a special set of notes on travel to and from the
distant location. The writer should consider:
• How far away is the distant location from each of the others in the
serial (One kilometer or 100 kilometers)
• What method of transport do the people in the story use to get to
this place (Bus, train, bicycle, or foot) What does public
transportation cost
• Is travel ever restricted because of weather conditions Is transport
available on a restricted basis, only on Tuesdays, for example, or only
when the local store owner drives his truck to town to collect
supplies
• How long does it take to get from this place to each of the others
(Hours, days, weeks)
• Where do people stay when they visit this location
• What sound(s) do people immediately hear on arriving in this place
(City traffic, farm animals, or bird song in the forest)
• How does the geography, climate, social life, and economy of the
distant location differ from those in other settings
Conveying Location to the Radio Audience
While the writer can look at sketches and maps of the setting, the audience
cannot. Graphic details of the settings must be conveyed to listeners through
the medium of sound alone; this includes dialogue, sound effects, narration,
and music.
Dialogue is the most reliable source of details about the setting. In fact,
some settings, such as the room sketch on page 92, cannot be conveyed
through sound effects or music. Here the writer must rely on dialogue,
allowing the characters to reveal the picture of their surroundings as a natural
part of their conversation.
The following 14 lines of dialogue open a scene located in the room
sketched on page 92. (The term “line” in radio drama refers to the whole