Getting Started
Every writer and every play are different, so there can be no set rules for writing a play. However, we have put together a few tips that may help new writers to get started...
1. Go to the theatre
If you want to write a play then the best way to learn the craft is to go and see as much theatre as you can. Find out what is on in your area and if possible try to see both new plays and those that have stood the test of time. Seeing theatre is the best way to learn what works and what doesn’t.
2. Planning
Think about what you want to write before you start. It’s important to have a clear framework for your play, and have a strong sense of who your characters are. The dialogue is often the last thing to be written in a play.
3. Conflict/ Dramatic Action
Essentially drama is about people wanting something and obstacles standing in the way of them achieving it. Think of any story and try to apply this theory to it. Whether you start with a character; a location; an issue; a story; or an idea, it is a important that you then try and think of your play in terms of what your character(s) want and what or who stops them getting it – thus creating conflict or dramatic action.
4. Story
Think about the potential drama of the story you are telling. Typically, an incident, event or piece of new information will occur quite early on in a play, that, however large or small, will create a conflict for its characters. The play then follows the path of that conflict, and after complications and reversals, will either resolve the conflict in some way or not. Ideally, all your characters must be bound up in, or affected by, your story.
5. Character
Get to know your characters really thoroughly before you start writing. Each character in your play should have an individual voice. Ask yourselves what each character wants in the play, and what must they overcome to get it? Love all your characters, even those who do un-likeable things. You of all people need to understand them and know why they do and say what they do. Take your characters on a journey through your play that will in some way change or affect them by the end.
6. Dialogue
Dialogue should move the action forwards, and avoid being too expositional. The words each character speaks should be true to them and of the moment, so avoid dialogue where the characters tell the audience information, and give us back story.
The way that characters speak to each other can be very important, and don’t forget that you can use pauses, interruptions and silences to illustrate your characters’ interaction. Be careful about the use of monologue – ask yourself how it would further the action.
7. Setting
Think about where your play is set. There is a strong relationship between the environment and what happens to the characters. People behave differently in public spaces than at home. Ask yourself, how does the location affect your story, and how does the audience know where the location is? Remember, while film can juxtapose many different locations easily, theatre works more metaphorically. Often a location can be evoked in the theatre through a simple use of a sound or lighting effect, or prop.
8. Physical life
Theatre is a visual medium, and all good plays have strong visual life as well as great dialogue. So much can be said about characters without them speaking; in the way they move, what they look like, what they might consume in the play, what objects they relate to, if and how they touch other characters. Remember, you should show us not tell us! Keep your stage directions simple and functional, in clear, uncluttered language.
9. Drafting
Good writers rewrite. When you have completed your first draft, it’s often a good idea to get someone else to read it and give you feedback that you can work into a second draft.
Download a printer friendly version of "Getting Started" here
Every writer and every play are different, so there can be no set rules for writing a play. However, we have put together a few tips that may help new writers to get started...
1. Go to the theatre
If you want to write a play then the best way to learn the craft is to go and see as much theatre as you can. Find out what is on in your area and if possible try to see both new plays and those that have stood the test of time. Seeing theatre is the best way to learn what works and what doesn’t.
2. Planning
Think about what you want to write before you start. It’s important to have a clear framework for your play, and have a strong sense of who your characters are. The dialogue is often the last thing to be written in a play.
3. Conflict/ Dramatic Action
Essentially drama is about people wanting something and obstacles standing in the way of them achieving it. Think of any story and try to apply this theory to it. Whether you start with a character; a location; an issue; a story; or an idea, it is a important that you then try and think of your play in terms of what your character(s) want and what or who stops them getting it – thus creating conflict or dramatic action.
4. Story
Think about the potential drama of the story you are telling. Typically, an incident, event or piece of new information will occur quite early on in a play, that, however large or small, will create a conflict for its characters. The play then follows the path of that conflict, and after complications and reversals, will either resolve the conflict in some way or not. Ideally, all your characters must be bound up in, or affected by, your story.
5. Character
Get to know your characters really thoroughly before you start writing. Each character in your play should have an individual voice. Ask yourselves what each character wants in the play, and what must they overcome to get it? Love all your characters, even those who do un-likeable things. You of all people need to understand them and know why they do and say what they do. Take your characters on a journey through your play that will in some way change or affect them by the end.
6. Dialogue
Dialogue should move the action forwards, and avoid being too expositional. The words each character speaks should be true to them and of the moment, so avoid dialogue where the characters tell the audience information, and give us back story.
The way that characters speak to each other can be very important, and don’t forget that you can use pauses, interruptions and silences to illustrate your characters’ interaction. Be careful about the use of monologue – ask yourself how it would further the action.
7. Setting
Think about where your play is set. There is a strong relationship between the environment and what happens to the characters. People behave differently in public spaces than at home. Ask yourself, how does the location affect your story, and how does the audience know where the location is? Remember, while film can juxtapose many different locations easily, theatre works more metaphorically. Often a location can be evoked in the theatre through a simple use of a sound or lighting effect, or prop.
8. Physical life
Theatre is a visual medium, and all good plays have strong visual life as well as great dialogue. So much can be said about characters without them speaking; in the way they move, what they look like, what they might consume in the play, what objects they relate to, if and how they touch other characters. Remember, you should show us not tell us! Keep your stage directions simple and functional, in clear, uncluttered language.
9. Drafting
Good writers rewrite. When you have completed your first draft, it’s often a good idea to get someone else to read it and give you feedback that you can work into a second draft.
Download a printer friendly version of "Getting Started" here
