Tragedies have traditionally been written and performed as plays. This dates back to the earliest tragedies, which were part of a Dionysian ceremony in which performers dressed as goats to reenact a hero's suffering or death. However, tragedies can also be written for a reading audience instead of a performance audience, which means novels/novellas and even young-adult fiction can all be classified as works of tragedy.  Which mode of storytelling you choose will depend on both your areas of strength/comfort as a writer and the nature of the story you'll be telling. If you're equally experienced (or equally inexperienced) in both fiction and drama, try to choose a mode that fits your desired story. It may be easier to devise a storyline first without imposing the format of a play or a novel on your idea. Once you have a firm grasp on the nature of tragedies and their basic structural components, you'll need to create a basic outline of your plot. The plot of your tragedy will be the basic events and occurrences which will take place in your work. It should be about some basic idea, though ultimately the idea should come across through plot and character, rather than being simply "about" that idea. In other words, your story should mean something without coming right out and telling the audience what the story literally means.  If you are basing your tragedy on an existing myth, you'll be somewhat bound to the events of that myth, and will not be able to significantly deviate from the main plot points within that myth without your audience losing interest. You may, however, be able to radically reinterpret a myth whose outcome is vague or ambiguous.  Alternately, you may wish to create your own storyline from scratch, in which case you will not be bound by any canonical characters or events. Choose a plot that will help you tell the story you feel compelled to write. Don't think of the plot as a restriction. Instead, think of it as a lens through which you can write about some struggle or aspect of humanity. . Once you have a basic story idea, you'll need to outline the plot for that story. The easiest way to do this is to write out a few basic aspects of your story, so that you can further develop those aspects and arrange them into a coherent storyline. A good place to begin is by outlining the following parts of your tragedy:  motivation - why the protagonist and antagonist do what they do in the story basic structure - the overall events that make up your story, and the sequence in which those events occur and/or initiate other events that will take place outcome - what will ultimately happen to resolve your story subplots - any sub-story lines you'd like to complicate your story or further challenge your characters . Now that you've come up with a story and mapped out the basic structure of your plot, you'll want to create the characters who will act out your tragedy. You'll need the basic characters found in most tragedies, including a protagonist, antagonist, foil characters, and stock characters. At this point, you won't need to actually write dialogue for the characters, but you should be thinking about how they will play out on the page or on stage. You can keep track of these ideas by writing out a few sentences or a paragraph of notes on each major character.  Think about what kinds of characters would fill the roles created by your story. Consider the relationships between each character. If they interact at all, or have any kind of knowledge of one another, they should have a clear and unambiguous relationship with one another. Common relationships typically fall into romantic, parent/child, sibling, friends, aggressor/victim, rival/adversary, boss/employee, or caregiver/receiver dynamics.  Remember to include a tragic hero. At this point you should decide what his general downfall will be, and what choices he will make that will lead him to his fate.  Consider making the characters question themselves, others, or their relationships with one another. You may also want to give them strong opinions, and use those opinions to further develop each character's personality and role.  Your characters should be realistic and human enough to be likable and relatable, but because you're writing a tragedy, you may want to make one or more of the characters somehow superior to humans. This can take the shape of exceptional heroism, great wealth/power, or it could mean that one or more characters are actually super-human (gods/goddesses, magicians, etc.).

Summary: Choose a mode of storytelling. Come up with a story. Outline your plot Create characters


When selling a used mattress, you are likely to net a much lower price than the original retail value—even if the mattress is in new or like-new condition. People looking to buy a used mattress are hoping to get a good deal, so they will not be willing to shell out retail prices. However, determining the original retail value can provide a good starting point for figuring out the market value of your mattress. If your mattress is in new or nearly new condition, try selling it for roughly 70-80% of the original retail price. If you are unable to sell it for that much, you may need to reduce the price even further. Do some research on websites like Craigslist and eBay to get an idea of the typical price range for used mattresses like yours. Look at mattresses of roughly the same size, age, brand, and condition. This will give you a realistic idea of what you can expect to get for your mattress. Age and wear will have a significant impact on the value of your mattress. If your mattress is more than a couple years old or has any obvious stains or damage, you will likely not be able to get very much for it. A mattress that has been slept on every night may also sell for less than a barely-used mattress from a guest bedroom. Used furniture calculators can help you get a ballpark idea of how much your mattress may be worth on the resale market. These calculators take into account factors such as the condition, brand, age, and original price of your item. While you ultimately may not be able to sell your mattress for the price suggested by the calculator, these calculations can provide a helpful starting point for setting a reasonable price. Try a calculator like Bluebookfurniture.com or the Aptdeco.com furniture calculator. Once you have an idea of the average resale price range for mattresses like yours, decide on the minimum you are willing to accept. For example, if mattresses similar to yours sell for between $250 and $400 on eBay, set your minimum price at $250. If you are unable to sell your mattress for the price range you settled on, you may need to reassess your minimum and go lower.


Summary: Look at the original retail value of your mattress. Compare your mattress to similar used mattresses for sale online. Take your mattress’s age and condition into account. Use an online furniture value calculator to get a ballpark figure. Decide on a minimum price.