[This is something I salvaged from an old journal - Notes from a seminar with Chris Durang and Marsha Norman.]
On Writers Block:
Obviously, don’t force it – wait for an impulse. But don’t wait forever, working on the same project. Move on. The most important thing is to keep writing, but to write that which is interesting to us.
Never stop when you don’t know what the next thing is, that way you have a rolling start when you sit down to begin writing again. Write through the problem.
Skip ahead if you want to. There is no rule that says your story must be written linearly.
General, multi-disciplinary tips:
** Have your ideas, allowing them to flow organically, and then determine what medium to use to best express them. Learn to write in a variety of disciplines! Most theater writers make their money doing film and television. Learn it. **
Ask yourself why your characters do what they do. What in their history has caused them to respond the way they have. Or, conversely, shape the history beforehand and let that inform the decisions they make in the scene. Fill them in as much as possible.
Go back 10 years in your life and, barring all of the bullshit of the past, write about what still bothers you 10 years later. Something, perhaps, that really terrifies you. (After 10 years, that will have been enough time for the superficial stuff to fall away, and you can really get to the crux of what pissed you off, wounded you, saddened you, etc.)
The most interesting characters are the characters who try to solve a problem. Not wallow in it.
Specific to Playwriting (with some points relating to film and television):
When we finish a play, we are at the end of our process. But the actor is at the beginning of theirs. It is very important to be discerning when answering an actor’s questions. Some things might be unclear and should be explained, but some things (primarily character choice) should be left to them to find for themselves.
Punctuation is as important as the words themselves. We are trying to write the way our characters think, so every punctuation choice reveals something about character. Consider the following sentences. “Well, you said you were coming with me.” Versus, “Well, you said you were coming with me…” When spoken aloud, you can quite clearly hear the difference.
One of the great joys of a writer is to write for specific actors. Find individuals whose work you respect and use them.
You cannot have a “guru” in theater. No one person is right.
And, in closing…
Writing is not a simple indulgence or mere “artistry”. This is our work. This is our “role in the tribe” – to tell stories. Embrace that role, and approach it with as much seriousness and dedication as you would the job that pays the bills.
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