Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been tagged as “writing”
Found over at the Bruntwood Prize is this list of questions from Amongst the Reeds playwright Chinonyerem Odimba. I find them provocative and inspiring in my own work. How to find the driving question(s) of your play Ask yourself questions about why you are telling this story. What excites you, the playwright, about the possibilities of the story? What moves …
In doing research for “Bystanders,” I’ve come across some interesting thought pieces. Consider the question: How can a first person shooter consider himself a victim? That topic is addressed over on Aeon, and I’m republishing the essay with permission here: A lot of terrible things happen to video-game characters. In the early days of the form, Italian plumbers were squashed …
As I finish up my latest draft of The Law of Attraction, I’ve been thinking a lot about comedy. Here is a list of almost a dozen ways to be funny, culled from UnCabaret Free Range Comedy in Southern California: 1) JOKES – Jokes are great if your mind works that way. But if it doesn’t, don’t panic. There are …
“I don’t believe in it (writer’s block). All writing is difficult. The most you can hope for is a day when it goes reasonably easily. Plumbers don’t get plumber’s block, and doctors don’t get doctor’s block; why should writers be the only profession that gives a special name to the difficulty of working, and then expects sympathy for it?” ~Philip …
I recently came across a wonderful Dramatists Guild Fund interview with Paula Vogel on Youtube. Paula’s 15 plays have been produced all over the US and the world. She was the director of the Brown University playwriting program for more than 20 years and also taught at Yale University, concurrent with her stint as the playwright in residence at Yale …
For Debbie Millman, work is not drudgery, or even labor. It’s a privilege. Debbie is an author, host of Design Matters podcast, and editorial director of Print magazine. For 20 years, she was president of the design division at Sterling Brands – and today she feels like she’s just getting started. “I’ve worked for a really long time to get …
In the 21st Century Voices interview of playwright Alyson Mead, I came across this solid nugget of advice: “I’m surprised how many students I meet don’t go to theatre performances, or read plays. Go see a lot of stuff. Read a lot of stuff (get plays from the library if you don’t have a lot of money). And live a …
Back to my favorite topic! Walking helps writers get unstuck. Whether facing writer’s block, or just needing to develop some new ideas, taking a walk can help. “Nothing like a nighttime stroll to give you ideas,” said J.K. Rowling. Pyschology Today draws a parallel between the REM dream state and the meditative-like state attained by exercise. Rhythmic exercises like walking …
One of my favorite inspirational sayings is: “You don’t have to go fast. You just have to go.” I recently read that poet William Wordsworth composed most of his poems while walking through meadows, moors, and mountains. He rambled in every kind of weather and all over Europe. In fact, a friend calculated that he had walked 180,000 miles in …
I’ve begun reading a paper called “Hamlet’s Blackberry,” by William Powers. In it, Powers tackles the current illusion of importance we all maintain by remaining very busy. He points out the dilemma we face: busyness doesn’t create happiness. “We tend to think of life in outward terms, as a series of events that unfold in the physical world we all …