Learn from the Soaps

One soap opera has left the air: All My Children. Another his disappearing this week: One Life to Live. No matter how much folks malign soap operas—events too melodramatic—characters are always coming back from the dead—the writers have been doing something right all these years to keep millions of viewers interested for decades.

The main characters in the soaps are never wimps; they are strong characters with clear-cut goals, and the goals are always clearly stated in every scene so the viewer can root for the character or hope that she fails. The writers always hurl their characters into the worst trouble ever and let the beleaguered characters fight their way out of impossible situations. The writers always allow viewers to get into the characters' heads and know what those characters are thinking, thus making the characters' motivations clear. The writers always follow the principles of good scene writing: A character knows exactly what she wants, is met with opposing forces—which produce a tense conflict—a fierce struggle—and generally meets with defeat, a turning of the tables that makes things worse for the character. Next follows a sequel in which the character discusses her defeat with friends, sometimes, opponents, and decides on a new course of action. The soap opera writers also use dramatic irony very well: a situation in which the audience knows the truth but the characters in the story are unaware or believe the opposite is true. For example: John is holding Martha's baby in his arms, not realizing the baby is actually his, not Martha's husband's. And lastly, the soap opera writers are great at producing cliffhangers before every commercial break and at the end of every episode, especially on Friday—just as a fiction writer should try to end most of her chapters with a cliffhanger to keep the reader turning pages.

Yes, two soap operas are disappearing, but as a fiction writer, you would do well to utilize the proven story-telling techniques soap opera writers use to keep viewers glued to the TV screen.