Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been tagged as “writing”
I’m thinking of doing an adaptation featuring E.W. Hornung’s characters, Raffles the master jewel thief and Bunny Manders, his sidekick. The stories are clever and elegant, and there’s a sly critique of the class system built into each one. The Raffles stories were written at the same time as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories, and were a kind …
The Latin phrase “Solvitur Ambulando” means “It is solved by walking,” and is attributed to Diogenes. Walking? “What problems have ever been solved by walking?” you may ask. Walking is decidedly low-tech and not particularly glamorous. Nothing could be more simple for those of us lucky enough to be ambulatory. Walking is so boring that the word for a person …
Sometimes there are time sucks that get in the way of my playwriting. When this occurs, I feel frustrated at my own lack of productivity. I may sometimes go down the rabbit hole into Twitter (I have quit Facebook), especially on a big news day. Other times, I’m surfing the internet, telling myself I’m doing research. HA! Freedom is a …
A truism we writers already know! Much research has been completed that demonstrates the link between an active mind and an active body. The simplest effect is that during exercise, blood flow increases to the brain. But according to an in-depth article from Ferris Jabr in The New Yorker, there’s much more going on when we’re walking. “Walking on a regular …
Here’s a little nudge from Noel Coward (Private Lives, Blithe Spirit) to encourage you to keep writing. “Work hard, do the best you can, don’t ever lose faith in yourself and take no notice of what other people say about you … Work is much more fun than fun.” (Photo: Gertrude Lawrence and Noel Coward in the Broadway production of …
Have you ever had an idea for a play (or any fictional story) that seemed workable, with a lot of promise … but you just couldn’t keep it going past the first two-dozen pages? I have. But I don’t like to get stuck in that situation, losing days or weeks writing something that doesn’t pan out. I’ve learned that I …
I’ve been refining my Artistic Statement as I prepare to apply for residencies for Summer 2020. Here’s a draft: While the truth is often elusive and difficult to uncover, I have found the theatre to be an ideal place to explore truth’s various facets, layers, and its terrible implications. I have so many questions! I know that stories wield immense …
This year, I’ve been trying to make the move from being deadline-driven to being self-disciplined. My nature is to rely on external cues, like deadlines, for accountability. So my three-year play commission, which I believe I could have written in a year, is taking the entire three years. Why? The (outer, external) deadline hasn’t arrived. Here’s another example: I work …