How to Follow Soap Operas

Fans of soap operas are an obsessive bunch. Those weekday afternoon hours are sacred to them. They know the actors like family. It's like a cult following that some don't understand. But if you wish, you can learn how to join the club and follow soap operas with the same fervor.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Schedule your time around the hour your soap opera airs. If your job gets in the way, be sure to program your VCR or DVR every day.

2. Read the soap opera magazines. They'll have lots of inside information on the shows, actors and creators. The magazines are often found on the same checkout line shelves as the tabloids.

3. Write brief synopses of each episode. This way, you can help anyone who missed a show stay up-to-date.

4. Find websites on the actors. These can be either official sites or fan-created ones. These can help you learn all there is about the top soap opera actors.

5. Find online chat rooms for soap opera fans. You can find people across the world who follow your shows and discuss topics from the actors to storylines.

6. Write fan fiction stories on your show. You might even send one in to the networks and see if it could possibly become an episode.

Tips & Warnings

• Death is not permanent in soap operas. A character that has been killed can miraculously return a few years later.
• Soap opera characters can often age quickly, going from babies to teens or teens to adults in a handful of years. This is known as Soap Opera Rapid Aging Syndrome.
• There are no marriage boundaries in soap operas. Characters will have affairs with anyone for any reason ranging from lust to a power struggle.