A word: Lachrymose

"Many works of drama, if we look more closely, prove to be simply melodramas in disguise. Not because they are lachrymose, but because their protagonists have few if any internal obstacles, let alone a tragic flaw, and have to face a hostile world."

Yves Lavandier in Writing Drama

Lachrymose – show sorrow. From Latin “lacrima”, “tear” and ending “-osus” meaning “-full”, tearful.

Not much more to say about that.

But I have something to say about the text where I found the word.

I can’t help feeling that the writer’s views about genre are out of date. “Tragedy” and “melodrama” are terms that make me think of Shakespeare or pompous opera, not about Indiana Jones or Star Wars.

And when I sit there with my story it is such problem to put a label on it. It always feels like a combination of more than one.

I think the late Blake Snyder’s view upon genre felt much more spot on. “A quest of a golden fleece” or “a fool’s story” feels not only like an accurate label, it is also a label that rules on its own; you don’t combine two types of story. I also believe it is a tool to help me work with the story.

What kind of labels do you put on your stories?

Sources:
WordWeb
Wiktionary

Filmography links and data courtesy of
The Internet Movie Database.