The Right To Write

Drama.

Drama is essential, where would we without it. Please note a few things before you dive into it.

Never overdo it. I recently read through my novel, and realized I put far too many dramatic scenes, way too soon. Emotional and heartbreaking scenes should be saved for the right moment. If you have a wildly dramatic scene in the second chapter, then you're in for a pool of tears the rest of the novel long. Reserve the emotions for the harsh times and turning points in your story. Which brings me on to the next;

Reserve the peaks for the climax. The climax the characters breaking or near-breaking point. You want all the emotion and drama there, when everything is at its worst. Reserving drama for the climax also affects it greatly, since it hadn't been displayed beforehand.

Keep it believable and motivated. You don't want your character weeping for trivial and absurd reasons just for the sake of it existing. 

"Why did you do it?" She asked in a weakened voice. She looked at the man she had once trusted, her former best friend.

"I had to.." he said, his voice only seconds away from tears.

She burst into a loud cry. "Why did you steal my lollipop, Michael!" Rivers of tears carved craters through her tan complexion.

Get my point? Always make sure your emotion and exchanges are relevant to the topic's subject. Put yourself in their shoes. How would you react to Michael stealing a lollipop? What about Michael being the murderer of your brother?

Cut down on the punctuation action. You need to bring out the varied punctuation once and a while, but keep it at that. Punctuation doesn't always determine the drama. In fact, periods really bring out the subtle emotion, not exclamation marks. And please, no "!!" Put your texting days behind you. This is book-writing. 

Underline the emotion and build up to it. If you really do want an effective scene between your characters, don't begin with it. Build up to it. Readers don't want to see your characters exploding into the scene without the initial tension. Readers don't want to see this stuck in their faces: nuclear bomb, then boom, smaller bomb, then boom and boom. Where's all the fun in that. Start off with a mild discussion that displays some tense body language and slightly unusual speaking; bring out those periods. Then piece on some more tension, and slowly rising emotions. Then boom. Release the nuclear bomb.