“Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine, and, at last, you create what you will.” — George Bernard Shaw, playwright and cat lady
Making a Fist
In this time of death and grieving, I enjoyed this poem by Naomi Shihab Nye: For the first time, on the road north of Tampico,I felt the life sliding out of me,a drum in the desert, harder and harder to hear.I was seven, I lay in the carwatching palm trees swirl a sickening pattern past the glass.My stomach was a …
In Brief
Vivien Leigh on acting: “One is just an interpreter of what the playwright thinks, and therefore the greater the playwright, the more satisfying it is to act in the plays.” Well, I should HOPE so, Vivien.
Trauma (Storm)
Hurricane season 2020 is, like much of 2020, extremely destructive. Enjoy this poem by Gregory Orr: Trauma (Storm) Hunkered down, nerve-numb, in the carnal hut, the cave of self, while outside a storm rages. Huddled there, rubbing together white sticks of your own ribs, praying for sparks in that dark where tinder is heart, where tender is not.
The Myth of Writer’s Block
I really appreciate this post over at The Write Practice, which takes a bold approach to writer’s block: It doesn’t exist. Writer’s Block: there’s no such thing. We say that we have this thing called “writer’s block” and it’s the reason why we’ll never achieve our dreams. As if it’s a contracted disease. But it doesn’t exist. What we are …
What story?
How does one choose a story to dramatize? Two acclaimed screenwriters give their views: “A story worth telling is one that feels new even if it’s not new. You gotta remember, there are a lot of stories out there, and what is the urgency to tell this particular story? I think it’s not going to come out of plot; it’s …
Courage to Write
If we had to say what writing is, we would have to define it essentially as anact of courage. —Cynthia Ozick From Scott Myers: “There is always the chance audiences won’t get it.There is always the chance audiences won’t connect with it.There is always the chance audiences will reject it.Also this: There is always the chance what we write won’t …
In Brief
“Don’t make a wall of glass between your play and the people watching. Don’t forget they were once children, who enjoyed being read to, or sung to sleep.” ― Sarah Ruhl
Of Two Minds
Over at Scott Myers’ blog, I read this quote from filmmaker and screenwriter Robin Swicord (pictured). She describes my writing practice when she says: “I think that all [good] dialogue comes out of the characters themselves. What happens… there’s a kind of mystical transference that happens when you’ve done this very deep thinking and feeling about your character. You begin …
Haircut?
We’re all impatient about these coronavirus hairdos. My hair is starting to reach my shoulders, a place it hasn’t reached in decades. Sigh. Please enjoy this haircut poem. Shear by Christina Stoddard I want a haircut that can win a bar fight.I want a haircut that will throw my things on the lawn so I can finally get out of …