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

Chapter Four: Blending Story and Message in the Drama Plot 51
Combining Message and Story in an
Enter-Educate Plot
The success of a radio serial for development purposes
depends more on creating an exciting, emotional story than
on the repeated presentation of didactic messages. At the
same time, the message is of paramount importance. Perhaps
the biggest challenge facing the writer is successfully blending
the message with the story. From the outset, writers should
have a perfectly clear understanding of the vital points of
message information that are listed in the box. (They are
explained in detail in Chapter 2.) Writers should keep these
points in mind throughout all stages of plot and scene
development. They should not force them into the story at
the last moment.
A well-constructed story is a good story anywhere in the
world. Even though particular cultural references may not be
understood everywhere, a well-constructed story will be
enjoyed universally.
There are no hard and fast rules about how plot
development should begin. Different writers work in
different ways. Before scripting commences, however, the
writer must clearly define how the story will develop from
the first to the last episode. This must be stated in a full
narrative treatment or synopsis that shows how each plot will
develop, how the plots will interrelate, and which parts of the
message will be expressed through each plot. At the same
time, it is important that the story is fresh and new and does
not simply repeat a message that the audience has already
heard.
Vital Points of
Message Information
The writer should have a clear
understanding of:
1. The changes the overall
radio project hopes to
achieve in audience behavior
and social norms
(measurable objectives).
2. The approach to be taken to
assist the audience to reach
these goals (purpose).
3. The life style of the audience
and their current attitudes
and practices with regard to
the new behavior.
4. The overall message of the
radio serial.
5. The theme or emotional
focus of the serial.
6. The scope and sequence of
the message.
7. Glossary definitions to be
Creating Original Plots
used for specific technical
Finding a way to make a message new and compelling
terms.
presents a special challenge when the topic has already been
addressed on radio and in other media. The detailed message
content will influence the writer’s choice of conflicts, but
relying on message content alone tends to result in clichéd stories that may
bore the audience and dissuade them from listening. Family planning
messages, for instance, typically suggest a story that contains the following
situations:
• A wife is intimidated by her husband, who abuses her because she has
not given him a son;
• The old-fashioned in-laws support their son’s behavior;
• The young heroine nearly dies because she has become pregnant at
too young an age;
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