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

54 Chapter Four: Blending Story and Message in the Drama Plot
• a family taking out a small government-sponsored loan in order
to start their own business;
• the near failure of a small business;
• a young couple making the decision—against traditional
beliefs—to delay the birth of their first child;
• a family installing a tile floor in their home as a sign of their new
prosperity;
• a miscarriage;
• a couple seeking advice about side effects of a contraceptive
method;
• a family celebrating their ability to buy new clothes for the first
time in many years; and
• a midwife in heated disagreement with the senior health worker
in the village.
A close examination of that list indicates that one plot—over the
course of 52 episodes—could cover (a) and (b). Another plot could cover
(c) and (d). A third plot (perhaps the main plot) could involve the strong
male community member (g) and the headstrong one (f). The midwife
could be the central uniting character who would appear in and link all
the plots.
An event list like this assists the writer to determine:
• how much of the message will be covered by the main plot;
• how many sub-plots will be needed;
• what part of the message will be covered by the main plot and
how much by each sub-plot;
• the major character(s) required for each plot, and the dominant
personality characteristics of each of the major characters;
• the central dramatic conflict of each plot;
• the predominant theme or emotion for each plot;
• the time that will elapse in the overall story between the first and
the last episodes.
The order in which the events occur usually is determined by the scope
and sequence listed in the Writer’s Brief.
2. Think up a story that is likely to appeal to the chosen audience and be
exciting and enjoyable to write, and then see how the various events that
can display the message can blend into it naturally. This approach
generally works better than trying to concoct a story around the message,
forcing the characters and actions into place.
For example: For the Indonesian serial, Grains of Sand in the Sea, the
writer began with the idea of a young man determined that he was not
going to live the poverty-stricken life that his parents had led. He runs
away from his village and the girl he hopes to marry in order to seek his
fortune in the big city. Throughout the serial, the young man experiences
many adventures: some frightening, some dangerous, some amusing, and
some rewarding. This story idea appealed to the writer because it