Category Archives: How-To’s

Get more productions: how to be a playwright that directors want to work with

Posted on 18 March 2015 by playwrightsmuse

Do you want to get your plays produced more? Well, duh, of course. Besides writing the best play you can, and finding the theaters that will love your play, you can also be a playwright that directors want to work … Continue reading →

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The science behind good plays

Posted on 18 February 2015 by playwrightsmuse

Researchers have done a lot of work in the past few years on what makes a compelling story. You can use the results of their research to help you make your plays express your passion for what you’re writing. What … Continue reading →

Posted in 1. Get Inspiration, How to Create Plots, How to Find/Create Characters | Leave a comment

Too much material? Some inspiration for you

Posted on 16 January 2015 by playwrightsmuse

Have you ever had too much story? You know, where you have so many ideas and so many great scenes, you have to cut your script because nobody does four-hour plays anymore? Or, maybe you actually have two plays, or … Continue reading →

Posted in 1. Get Inspiration, How to Edit | Leave a comment

This is what schizophrenia *really* looks like

Posted on 17 April 2014 by playwrightsmuse

There’s this video that’s gone viral, and I can see why. It’s baffling, it’s disturbing, and I watched it several times. I found a transcription of this guy’s rant, and cleaned it up a little. I’ll post that below. But … Continue reading →

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How to find theaters who will love your plays

Posted on 10 December 2013 by playwrightsmuse

Do you want to get more productions, with less heartache and less money wasted on postage and printing? Target your submissions carefully. Here’s how to do it. I’ve posted a bunch of ideas about this in the category How to … Continue reading →

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It worked! — a better scene from reading each character’s dialog

Posted on 20 November 2013 by playwrightsmuse

So, maybe you remember that I’ve been posting about a dialogue-editing technique I learned about at the Dramatists Guild conference back in August. I read through my play “How to Kill a Cactus,” and read only one character’s lines. Even … Continue reading →

Posted in 1. Get Inspiration, 2. Dealing with Writer's Block, How to work on Dialog | Leave a comment

Why waste time? Start out strong!

Posted on 13 November 2013 by playwrightsmuse

I went to a play reading the other night. The playwright has a lot of experience, has gotten awards, has gotten work produced around the country. So I was surprised at how weak the play was, given the playwright’s experience … Continue reading →

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Reading one character’s lines — it works!!!

Posted on 30 October 2013 by playwrightsmuse

Do you remember that I posted, a while back, some great tips for working on dialogue that I learned at the Dramatists Guild conference in August? Here’s the link, if you want to refresh your memory: Problems with dialogue in … Continue reading →

Posted in Dramatists Guild Conference 2013, How to work on Dialog, My play "How to Kill a Cactus" | Tagged | 1 Comment

Dream Logic — the essay by Kato McNickle

Posted on 23 October 2013 by playwrightsmuse

Kato McNickle, one of the presenters at the “Dream Logic” talk at the Dramatists Guild conference in August, wrote an essay based on her research on dream logic. “I woke myself up laughing. Laughing out loud at a play that … Continue reading →

Posted in 1. Get Inspiration, How to Create Plots | Tagged | 1 Comment

Dream Logic — exercises

Posted on 16 October 2013 by playwrightsmuse

At that “Dream Logic” talk at the Dramatists Guild conference in August, the presenters passed out a booklet with an essay about dream logic, and two exercises.  Kato McNickle gave me permission to post them here. The exercises were developed … Continue reading →

Posted in 1. Get Inspiration, Dramatists Guild Conference 2013, How to Create Plots | Tagged | 2 Comments