Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been tagged as “writing”
London Playwrights directed me to this fun writing prompt YouTube channel, with new prompts every Monday and Friday morning. The embedded video is focused on “tension,” but there are many others. “Start your mornings on the right creative foot with a dynamic writing activity facilitated by playwright and dramaturg Jesse Stong!” Find them all at the channel, here.
Playwright John Logan, author of the Tony Award-winning RED, wrote: Allow me share the single best piece of advice I ever got about being a writer, courtesy of my friend Scott Berg, the great biographer: “Keep your head down and do your work.” Meaning, do not be distracted by anything but your writing. Don’t worry about reviews, press, your career …
Simon Stephens, playwright from Royal Exchange Theatre in London, conducts a playwriting workshop with playwrights interested in submitting for the Bruntwood Prize, 2015. I really enjoyed some of the prompts he uses in this workshop. For example, he suggests one write for five minutes straight, a series of sentences all beginning with “I remember …”
I’m a big advocate of the Pomodoro (tomato, in Italian) Method for writing. It’s called “Pomodoro” because its inventor used a tomato timer to put it to use. Fun fact: I also use a tomato timer. It helps you keep energy levels high and “forcing” you to take regular breaks. Breaks are super important! This revolutionary time management system is …
It’s almost the New Year, and almost a new decade, so of course I’m thinking about how to be successful and improve my life (have I mentioned I’m a USian?). Leo Babauta has devised a three-step process for this. It’s very simple, and it improves with practice. Here’s Babauta’s simple (not always easy) method: Create a space. Put aside all …
Playscripts is a play licensing service, which has published playwriting advice from some of their writers, as follows: “Don’t be afraid to let your play suck. Let the play stink up the joint. Let it be miles from perfect. Then, very systemically, go about the business of fixing it all.” —Michael Mejias “The most important thing for playwrights starting out …
What is #WrAP2020? WrAP (or write a play) is the annual January playwriting challenge put on by London Playwrights. Those who take part receive inspiration and support directly to their inbox throughout the month of January, with the aim of creating a first draft within a month. You can find out all about it here. Who can take part? Anyone …
Winter Miller is a playwright, writer, activist, and Dramatists Guild Representative for New York City. Her plays include No One is Forgotten and In Darfur. I really like her advice regarding an important aspect of playwriting: “It’s important to breathe as you write. When you hold your breath, you hold back your feelings. Think about it—when you’re terrified, you hold …
I’ve been trying to be diligent about posting, often reposting items of interest from my favorite playwrights and other creative people, plus my struggles and triumphs with playwriting. I’m pretty proud of my blog output since I switched over to my new website. However. I’m off to a writing residency at Vermont Studio Center. If all goes well, I’ll be …
Sometimes I think it’s a miracle I get anything done at all, what with this voice in my head telling me I can’t do it, I shouldn’t do it … and if I somehow manage to do it, it will be shitty. How about you? Jessica Hagy, amazing illustrator and author, writes, “You hear a voice like this too. It’s …