Melodrama makes people think of bad
soap operas. In fact, melodrama is about emphasising the emotional aspect of a
story, but when you do that you can very easily tip over into hysterical
characters who overreact to every little thing.
It’s a bit like overacting in a movie;
a big performance can be enthralling if done right, and ridiculous if pushed
too far. Melodramatic stories suffer a similar problem, although, like bad
acting, they can still be entertaining when preposterous.
However, emotions are important in all
stories. You want the reader to feel connected to the character and to
empathise with their plight. And there are a number of techniques used in melodrama
that can be applied (in moderation) to your story and help those feels reach
your readers.
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