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I have 2 big projects—plays—that've taken too long. My goal is to finish both by May. So far so good. My strategy was to focus on A for a month then swap to B then back. But the jump from A to B was disorienting. I felt untethered. Recently written material felt jarring. Anyone else done this?

submitted 15 minutes ago • 0 comments

I pre-reject myself. No matter how much work went into an application, how how far in the process I've gotten, I assume—know—that I won't get it. So I never get bad news: only the rare excellent surprise. #writingcommunity @amwriting #writingsky

submitted 10 hours ago • 0 comments

Split the antagonist in your two-character scene into two. Now you have three people in the scene but, since two of them want the same thing, it’s effectively still a two-character scene cleverly disguised. One advantage: your protagonist is now the clear underdog.

submitted 1 day ago • 0 comments

What jogging can teach you about a writing habit #authorlife #writerslife #writeitdown #amwriting #writingcommunity #writerreality

submitted 1 day ago • 1 comment

Bird by Bird, by @annelamott.bsky.social Writing Down the Bones, by Natalie Goldberg. Backwards and Forwards, by David Ball. Three excellent books about writing that you can read instead of writing. #writingcommunity #playwright #playwriting #writing #theatre

submitted 2 days ago • 0 comments

Yup. My Sunday morning writing truth …

submitted 6 days ago • 0 comments

A so-useful idea from the playwright/screenwriter Eleanor Burgess: "What percent of your main character’s problems are their own fault? Personally, I think it should be around 50%." #amwriting #screenwriting #playwriting #writersky #theatersky #writingcommunity

submitted 2 days ago • 0 comments

Once your the main question has been answered, get out, get out, get out. Otherwise, your play will seem long, even if it's ten minutes. #theatersky #writersky #amwriting

submitted 2 days ago • 0 comments

Teaching theatre is a crazy hard job: instructor, director, leader. One secret to a high school play’s success is that the kids love the script. The manager’s job is easier when the workers are happy. #schooltheater #playwriting #amwriting

submitted 3 days ago • 0 comments

If you're stuck—bereft of ideas for what to write next—find a play you like, and start to retype it. At the end of 20 minutes, you'll at least have learned something about someone else's craft. Or: You'll change the names and start "fixing" it. #writingcommunity #playwright #playwriting

submitted 3 days ago • 0 comments

"Playwriting" but "playwright." Long ago, playwrights weren't thought of as writers but as "wrights," people who make things. Over time, playwriting was misspelled, and the words split. But it's useful to remember: you don't just write a play. You make it. Pound it into shape. You're a wright.

submitted 3 days ago • 0 comments

Alas, you wrote an infodump: a scene that tells tons of story so the play can proceed. It's bad first draft but a good opportunity. How can you weaponize the exposition? (Have characters bludgeon each other with facts.) Or tease it? Make us desperate to know what they blurted? #writingcommunity

submitted 4 days ago • 0 comments

A story is "who wants what, why can't they get it, why do I care." A story can be about someone who thinks they want a thing, only to discover that they don't really want what they think they wanted. "Why they can't get it" is their personal flaw -- they don't understand themselves yet.

submitted 4 days ago • 0 comments

In the 1st draft slog, you make choices. Later, the choices connect in unforeseen ways. You think “lucky!" But that wasn't luck. You earned it. #amwriting #playwriting #writingcommunity #writetip #playwright

submitted 4 days ago • 0 comments

When you're writing something you love, pause to bask. The happiness isn't the future success you're dreaming of. It's this moment of being a writer. #Indieauthor #authorsky #writersky #writingcommunity #playwright #authorsofsky #booksky #WritingBlueSky #WritersofBlueSky #screenwriting

submitted 5 days ago • 1 comment

Courageous self-awareness is, I think, a key to productive writing. You have to recognize where you’re not great, but be brave enough to carry on. #writingcommunity

submitted 9 days ago • 0 comments

8:00 Fix typo. Productive at the start of the day! 9 This scene is bad. 10 This scene is sooo bad I'm gonna move to the next one. 10:45 Actual panic attack as I realize I have no idea how to write the next scene. (No more coffee.) My process is not copyrighted. #writingcommunity #amwriting

submitted 5 days ago • 1 comment

More and more I'm convinced that the secret to dialogue—really to all playwriting—is to weaponize your exposition. Turn bits of information into blows. The aud doesn't mind/notice exposition if it's used to attack, defend or deflect. They watch the battle but learn the world. #writingcommunity

submitted 6 days ago • 0 comments

A theater teacher rule: no student should have their first kiss on stage. When writing for schools, don't have your characters kiss. It's awkward for the actors and uncomfortable for the audience. #schooltheater #playwriting #amwriting #writingcommunity

submitted 7 days ago • 0 comments

The idea that there are no bad ideas is itself a bad idea, but there's no idea so bad that it can't lead to a better one. Write the bad idea. #amwriting #writingcommunity #playwright #playwriting

submitted 9 days ago • 0 comments

We need to root for our protagonist. That doesn't mean she has to be "likable." It means she has a clear goal that overmatches her, and that she's relentlessly active in attaining it. #writingcommunity #authorsky #WritingBlueSky #WritersofBlueSky #playwriting #playwright #theater #amwriting

submitted 9 days ago • 0 comments

The first ten minutes are so important. In those minutes the audience learns the play's genre, the protagonist's goal, and the playwright's skill. #writingcommunity #amwriting #playwright #playwriting

submitted 10 days ago • 0 comments

Just searched for "I think" in the 1st draft of my new play. 19 times. Yikes! That's a lot of wishy-washy. Do a hunt for verbal hedges ("in my opinion" etc.) and excise them. Hedges are more useful in your life than in your characters. Theatre wants bold. (I think.) #amwriting

submitted 10 days ago • 0 comments

An enthusiastic teacher. A tiny success. A production. A fan. Keep going. The signs point clearly though, alas, they're not evenly spaced. #authorsky #writersky #writingcommunity #authorsofsky #booksky #WritingBlueSky #WritersofBlueSky #writing #playwright #theatre

submitted 10 days ago • 0 comments

One way to design a character is to work backward. What character would be least suited for all the things she's about to go through?

submitted 10 days ago • 0 comments

Having a subplot gives you a superpower: the ability to manipulate time. A subplot gives you something to cut away to, which allows you to skip over the dull parts of your main story and come back just when it's getting exciting again. #amwriting #playwriting #writetip #writingcommunity

submitted 11 days ago • 1 comment

#Writers #amwriting #Writersofbluesky

submitted 11 days ago • 1 comment

You never forget the first person who declares herself a fan of your writing. Make sure you remember to be that person for someone else. #writingcommunity #authorsky #writersky #authorsofsky #WritingBlueSky #WritersofBlueSky #playwriting #playwright #theater #amwriting

submitted 11 days ago • 0 comments

When I'm writing a play, I jump to the good stuff that's fun to write. After a while, I realize I don't know much about the protagonist. I figure out her out. Then into the story to adjust for the new her. Back and forth. The play gets written from the outside in, the way a pancake cooks.

submitted 11 days ago • 0 comments

One of the greatest Playwrights of all time. Dead by 44. But what a legacy. ANTON CHEKHOV (1860-1904)

submitted 43 days ago • 2 comments

Writing is hard. Sitting down to write -- is harder. Getting out of the way -- out of Self -- is the hardest. C'est la vie. C'est la guerre.

submitted 39 days ago • 0 comments

Shakespeare wrote in five acts, Ibsen in four. The major American 50's dramatists used three acts. Plays since the 70's mostly have two. You see where this is going. #authorsky #writersky #writingcommunity #authorsofsky #WritingBlueSky #WritersofBlueSky #playwriting #playwright

submitted 13 days ago • 1 comment

If your scene has become a muddle of aimless conversation, step back. Take the strongest declaration of want that the protagonist has and make that the first line. Keep only the lines that further the character's agendas. Authorial cleverness? Lose it. Exposition? Adios.

submitted 14 days ago • 0 comments

Some characters are hard to identify with. Here's a trick: You know the angry but so articulate dressing down that you give to someone who's wronged you? The speech that's uninterrupted because it's imaginary? Give such a speech to the character. Fury can get you inside their head. #writersky

submitted 15 days ago • 0 comments

You never forget the first person who declares themself a fan of your writing. Make sure you remember to be that person for someone else. #writingcommunity #authorsky #writersky #authorsofsky #WritingBlueSky #WritersofBlueSky #playwriting #playwright #theater #amwriting

submitted 15 days ago • 1 comment

Teach screenwriters playwriting so they’ll understand character. Teach playwrights screenwriting so they’ll understand story. #writingcommunity #amwriting

submitted 16 days ago • 0 comments

A good 2-character scene is like a boxing match. You know what they don't have in boxing? This: "Hey, my names's George." "Hi, I'm Muhammed Ali. Nice to meet you." No. There's just a bell. Then one of them taps his gloves together. The other one starts to dance. #playwriting #writingcommunity

submitted 16 days ago • 0 comments

It's natural, writing for high schools, to lean into low-tech, easy to produce. But schools welcome challenges. They'll stage a stampede or a drowning: manage to show a character flying even without Foy. They'll find the tuba player you requested, or swap in a trombone. #writingcommunity

submitted 17 days ago • 0 comments

I enjoyed Tony's take on how to think about scenes in a screenplay... practical.substack.com/p/the-shape-... #screenwriting #screenwriter #substack #TonyTost

submitted 44 days ago • 0 comments

Making your own outlines of scripts you admire teaches you technical things that classes miss, like how much time to spend with a subplot. #amwriting #writetip #screenwriting #playwriting

submitted 17 days ago • 0 comments

Pit in your stomach; you're about to write something bad. Better than: depression 20 years later, because you never did. Write badly now. #writingcommunity #amwriting #FiveAmWritingClub

submitted 18 days ago • 0 comments

Writers are relentless: Day job. Write. Family and friendships. Write. Struggles and worries. Write. Housework. Write. Early morning. Write. Late at night. Writers gonna write. #5amwritersclub #Writingcommunity #books #amwriting #booksky #poetry #Bookchallenge #writers #art

submitted 19 days ago • 6 comments

Excellent advice!

submitted 18 days ago • 0 comments

If you end a scene with characters going off to rest, you lose hard-earned momentum. Your play has to caffeinate and ramp up all over again. Find a way to bang into the next scene, to jump from juicy part to juicy part. #amwriting #writetip #playwriting #writingcommunity

submitted 18 days ago • 0 comments