Hello kind reader! Having just spent a month completing the first draft of my pro-wrestling novel, and so reaching an even deeper understanding of my work, I thought I would have another bash at writing a short synopsis. What follows below the asterisk is just that! Any feedback would be kindly received – even if it’s just to let me know this idea appeals to you.
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When UK pro-wrestler Donnie ’the Greek Alpha’ Coates cheats on fellow performer Hera Psych, it sets off a chain of chaotic events, both in and out of the ring, that changes Hera’s life forever. From messy efforts to re-tell Donnie’s infidelity on-screen, to assaulting fans, to fleeing to South America, to a disastrous appearance on reality TV, Hera’s long-term goal of stardom in the biggest North American promotions slips through her fingertips. Her only remaining hope of being recognised as an artist lies in her latest idea: Donnie writing her life story as an act of penance. And though she dies before work on the book is complete, Donnie’s mission remains – to turn career-long ‘heel’ Hera, a master at provoking the crowd’s hatred, into a sympathetic ‘babyface’. But below the surface, is Donnie more concerned with painting himself as sympathetic, and thus furthering a potential new career as a writer?
This fictitious biography explores the power dynamics of pro-wrestling’s co-constructed narrative between promotor, performer and audience. Namely, by using dual narrative voices, the text calls into question whether Coates and Psych are complicit, or in competition. Ultimately, this work adopts a realist form to illustrate how metafictional structures – in this case, kayfabe – can adversely affect performer wellbeing.
Work Shoot Confessional 
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