Introduction
I created this journal/workbook to encourage other playwrights to pursue their dreams. It doesn’t matter that you are just beginning your
journey as a writer. Whatever your level of writing may be I have tried to create a journal for the playwright inside all of us. Perhaps you have been journaling for years and want to try your hand at a stage script. Or you are a more experienced writer and need a little inspiration to get you started on your next project. Regardless of your experience, I hope you find this journal encouraging and a safe place to store your characters, your story outlines, and your private ideas for future plays.
Only when I began to write seriously did I come to realize that I had been writing my entire adult life. But back then I considered it just ‘scribbling’.
A thought I didn’t want to forget, or a feeling I had to capture. Or a phrase that I was inspired by. I have written over fifty plays of all lengths. 30 of these are short, often ten minute, plays for teens in the classroom. No sets, no props, no costumes. Being an actor and then a director (in a past life) I have read hundreds of scripts and I urge you to do the same. It’s great research on being a better playwright.
But most important, have fun. Stop to enjoy the process. You will stumble and fall. If you write something that is bad, remember, that’s what re-writes are for!
Table of Contents
Section 1…How to Begin…
Section 2…How to Write a Play…
Section 3…Creating Rich Characters…
Section 4…Story Telling
Section 5… Protagonist, Antagonist, Conflict
Section 6… How to Block…
Section 7… Snappy Dialogue…
Section 8… Set Design…
Section 9… Formatting your Play…
Section 10.… Terminology…
“The difference between the right word and the nearly right word is the same as that between lightning and the lightning bug.
Mark Twain
How to Begin
To stare at a blank page or screen this is the scariest thing of all and sometimes causes a writer to give up before they have begun. Ray Bradbury said, “Writing is supposed to be difficult, agonizing, a dreadful exercise, a terrible occupation.” Forget for a moment about writing a Tony award winning stage play. Begin with the first outline of your story. Don’t let people tell you it starts with the first word that’s just silly. Practice writing that first piece of dialogue. For example:
SAM. (Pulling the stranger out of the street.) Watch out! Didn’t you see that bus bearing down on you?
JANE. (Clinging to his arm.) No. I wasn’t thinking I didn’t see thank you.
And…
BILL. (Sitting at the steel table.) What the hell am I doing here? What was I thinking visiting a convicted killer?’
And…
VIOLET. (Laughing and clinging to the hand strap.) Slow down, Al! You’re gonna kill us. BUTCH. Shut your pie-hole, Vi. That Sheriff is hot on my bumper.
And…
BRITTANY. (Sitting in a waiting room and muttering.) My first audition since I hit Hollywood and what if I fail?
BRET. (Standing in the doorway.) Ms. Jones? We’re ready for you.
And…
TONY. (Cringing behind his desk.) Don’t read that, Mr. Nelson. The poem’s not finished. JOANIE. (Sighing, murmurs to herself.) He’s so handsome. He doesn’t even see me. I wish I was as pretty as Mary Jane.
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You have an idea for a play in your mind. Write down the first idea. Write two ideas that are different. Now choose the one that is your best idea. Ideally, the first few lines of a play should capture the audience from the first utterance. This will launch your writing and your play.
Be certain that the main characters are well developed before you get too far into the dialogue (See Section 3.)
This is the chapter for ‘character building and character analysis. Use this chapter to not only develop your characters but to jot down your observations of real people that you’ve seen and heard.
Listen to people. Notice how they speak; the cadence of their speech, the slang that they use.
I can only tell you how my stories come to me. I’m certain it’s different for everyone.
An idea will pop into my mind. For several days it will germinate and then it starts to write itself. When my brain is full of ideas, dialogue, and people I have to sit down at my keyboard and transfer it.
Do not feel as though you must have a whole script ready to write. I’d never get anything written if I put that kind of pressure on myself. My hope is that you find this work book/ journal helpful in that way.
Now, write the first few lines of dialogue for your first or newest script here:
“A will finds a way.” Orison Swett Marden
Following each section are blank, lined pages for you to write on, experiment with ideas, and practice dialogue. Each blank page is embedded with a famous quote to inspire you on the road to becoming a playwright.
“When I’m hungry, I eat. When I’m thirsty, I drink. When I feel like saying something, I say it.” Madonna
“An actor without a playwright is like a hole without a
doughnut.” George Jean Nathan
To See More Pages, Click Here
There’s another journal/handbook for creative writers, covering fiction, playwriting, poetry and much more.
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Maybe you journal and are looking for a simple, easy to use journal for your daily entries. Blank, lined pages with inspiring quotes from famous people to keep you writing.
Look Inside
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Available NOW: How To Write a 10 Minute Play ~~ Journal and Handbook
