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Happy writing!
Showing posts with label characters. Show all posts
Showing posts with label characters. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
Writing prompts
We're four weeks in to summer with only six weeks left before school begins again! At some point in those six weeks we will be announcing the procedural changes to the NJ Young Playwrights Festival, but you shouldn't wait for that announcement to start working on your play.
Head on over to our Pinterest page to find a wealth of links to writing prompts that may spark your imagination. I suggest free-writing based on a few of those prompts to see where your imagination might take you. You may just find yourself with a head start on your script submission!
Happy writing!
Happy writing!
Friday, December 21, 2012
So, what are you saying?
(Originally published on December 23, 2008)
Everything that is created is made for a particular purpose. When an author writes, he or she does so for a certain audience. When you write a paper for class, the audience is your teacher. When you write an email to a friend, the friend is your audience. When you are writing your play, you are writing for a particular group. Do you know who that audience is? Do you know what your play is saying to them and what they might take away from the story?
THEME
The theme of a play is the message that the audience is left with after the story. Remember our friend, Penny from a few weeks ago? Well, let's suppose that she decides to steal the money to get her mother a present and she gets caught. The theme, or message to the audience, of that story might simply be "Don't steal." What would the message be if Penny doesn't get caught?
What is the theme if Penny decides for herself that stealing is wrong and as a result, isn't able to get a present for her mother? The theme might then come from how Mom reacts to Penny's decision. Let's say that Penny's mother doesn't mind that Penny didn't get a present, but is happy that her daughter made the right decision. There might be two themes there. First, the audience learns that stealing is wrong; a second message might be "it's the thought that counts." What are some others themes that you can get from this story?
Take a look at your play. Do you know what the theme is? When the play is over, how will the audience understand that this is the theme? Is there a moment where the theme is revealed, like when Penny learns a lesson?
KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE
Knowing who the audience of a play is will help a playwright select a theme and determine how it is presented to that audience. Obviously, this does not mean that a playwright will personally know everyone in the audience for their play. What it does mean is that when writing a play, a playwright has an intended audience. Who that intended audience might be can change how a play is presented.
Again, taking Penny as our example, the way that the theme is presented to an audience of 8-year-olds will be much different than how the theme is presented to adults.
A playwright should also consider how well informed an audience might be about a particular setting in the play, or references that the characters make to certain regions, pop culture, and other things. For example, there are things that are specific to life in New Jersey that people from other parts of the country may not understand. I recently spoke with one young playwright who was writing a play that takes place at the beach. There were some terms in the play that people who don't live near a beach may not know, which could lead to confusion about what is going on. To help avoid this kind of confusion, find some friends or family members who may not be familiar with your play, or these specifics, and ask them to read the play. You can use their feedback to find creative ways to include more details in your story without making it too unnatural to the dialogue. It is difficult to do, but definitely worth the try. But the results are very exciting!
Happy writing!
Everything that is created is made for a particular purpose. When an author writes, he or she does so for a certain audience. When you write a paper for class, the audience is your teacher. When you write an email to a friend, the friend is your audience. When you are writing your play, you are writing for a particular group. Do you know who that audience is? Do you know what your play is saying to them and what they might take away from the story?
THEME
The theme of a play is the message that the audience is left with after the story. Remember our friend, Penny from a few weeks ago? Well, let's suppose that she decides to steal the money to get her mother a present and she gets caught. The theme, or message to the audience, of that story might simply be "Don't steal." What would the message be if Penny doesn't get caught?
What is the theme if Penny decides for herself that stealing is wrong and as a result, isn't able to get a present for her mother? The theme might then come from how Mom reacts to Penny's decision. Let's say that Penny's mother doesn't mind that Penny didn't get a present, but is happy that her daughter made the right decision. There might be two themes there. First, the audience learns that stealing is wrong; a second message might be "it's the thought that counts." What are some others themes that you can get from this story?
Take a look at your play. Do you know what the theme is? When the play is over, how will the audience understand that this is the theme? Is there a moment where the theme is revealed, like when Penny learns a lesson?
KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE
Knowing who the audience of a play is will help a playwright select a theme and determine how it is presented to that audience. Obviously, this does not mean that a playwright will personally know everyone in the audience for their play. What it does mean is that when writing a play, a playwright has an intended audience. Who that intended audience might be can change how a play is presented.
Again, taking Penny as our example, the way that the theme is presented to an audience of 8-year-olds will be much different than how the theme is presented to adults.
A playwright should also consider how well informed an audience might be about a particular setting in the play, or references that the characters make to certain regions, pop culture, and other things. For example, there are things that are specific to life in New Jersey that people from other parts of the country may not understand. I recently spoke with one young playwright who was writing a play that takes place at the beach. There were some terms in the play that people who don't live near a beach may not know, which could lead to confusion about what is going on. To help avoid this kind of confusion, find some friends or family members who may not be familiar with your play, or these specifics, and ask them to read the play. You can use their feedback to find creative ways to include more details in your story without making it too unnatural to the dialogue. It is difficult to do, but definitely worth the try. But the results are very exciting!
Happy writing!
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
"Silence is golden."
You’ve probably heard the phrase above before. The saying has
ancient roots and can mean different things depending on the context in which
it is spoken. Often I hear it used with the meaning that being silent is better
than speaking. That may or may not be true under certain circumstances and is
an interesting idea to consider when writing your play.
Each character in your play should speak with a unique voice.
That means individual speech patterns, favorite phrases, and things like that.
They way in which a character talks can say a lot about that character’s
emotions, thoughts, ideas, and relationships with others. What might it mean
when a character speaks in longer sentences? What about shorter – perhaps one
word – phrases? What about one who takes a lot of pauses as opposed to a
character who speaks quickly and without much stopping… or thinking? These
qualities of speech help to form individual personalities for each of your
characters, but also provide actors and directors with a number of cues about
how to portray the people of your play, as well as the tone of the scene, etc.
I am drawn to characters who don’t say much. By this I mean
those who don’t speak a lot in the play (don’t have many lines), or who answer
in short sentences. To me, when a character doesn’t speak it means that he or
she is thinking and that those thoughts may or may not always come out for the
audience to hear. Much like the unopened door, the unspoken line can be quite
powerful and bring the audience into the play.
As you go through a draft of your play and you find sections
where there may be a lot of talking, or that are in need of some intrigue and
excitement, see how silence might influence it.
Happy writing!
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Making characters into people
(portions of this post were originally published on November 11, 2008)
Characters should function in the world of your play as a real person, or being, inside that world. They have certain ways of moving, thinking, and interaction with other people or beings, just as we all do in “reality.” Giving a character a name is a simple way to begin fleshing them out.
A few years ago, I led a playwriting workshop for teachers at the NJEA Convention in Atlantic City. Each of the participants completed a Self-Questionnaire similar to the one in the previous blog post. After that, I asked everyone to take their own name and recreate themselves as a new character by changing at least their last name… some changed both. (I learned this activity during a workshop run by Young Playwrights, Inc., an organization that runs an excellent national contest for young playwrights. I would encourage you to submit your play there, too - http://www.youngplaywrights.org/.) If you are stuck for a character idea, or a character name at least, this is a simple way to get started. Some of the names the Atlantic City group came up with were:
Jean Mercedes
Nicole Moodie
Fran Active
Fresca Visions
Calliope Sky
These names give a sense of something specific about the character. It could be a characteristic, a favorite color, an environment, and on and on... Do you have an idea of what some of these characters might be like? How old are each of these characters? What do they do for fun? Do they work? What kind of work might they do? What does each character want in life?
Another way to get deeper into a character is to use a Character Biography Sheet. In his book The Playwrights Process, Buzz McLaughlin provides samples of mini-form and long-form biographies. At Playwrights Theatre, we use an adaptation of his Mini-form biography that asks a playwright to consider the character's dreams, secrets, fears, and conflicts. These are all great places that might spark an interesting story idea.
I’ve often found that when I can envision my character I have an easier time writing for him or her. Then I write a description, or even a short (very short) story, to place that person in a location and to get a sense of how they move, think, and interact with others. This doesn’t need to be something that becomes part of the play, but just something that I can use to get a clearer sense of who the story is about and how they function. Once that is set, its time to give them something to want and a problem to face. More about that in a few days.
Happy writing!
Characters should function in the world of your play as a real person, or being, inside that world. They have certain ways of moving, thinking, and interaction with other people or beings, just as we all do in “reality.” Giving a character a name is a simple way to begin fleshing them out.
A few years ago, I led a playwriting workshop for teachers at the NJEA Convention in Atlantic City. Each of the participants completed a Self-Questionnaire similar to the one in the previous blog post. After that, I asked everyone to take their own name and recreate themselves as a new character by changing at least their last name… some changed both. (I learned this activity during a workshop run by Young Playwrights, Inc., an organization that runs an excellent national contest for young playwrights. I would encourage you to submit your play there, too - http://www.youngplaywrights.org/.) If you are stuck for a character idea, or a character name at least, this is a simple way to get started. Some of the names the Atlantic City group came up with were:
Jean Mercedes
Nicole Moodie
Fran Active
Fresca Visions
Calliope Sky
These names give a sense of something specific about the character. It could be a characteristic, a favorite color, an environment, and on and on... Do you have an idea of what some of these characters might be like? How old are each of these characters? What do they do for fun? Do they work? What kind of work might they do? What does each character want in life?
Another way to get deeper into a character is to use a Character Biography Sheet. In his book The Playwrights Process, Buzz McLaughlin provides samples of mini-form and long-form biographies. At Playwrights Theatre, we use an adaptation of his Mini-form biography that asks a playwright to consider the character's dreams, secrets, fears, and conflicts. These are all great places that might spark an interesting story idea.
I’ve often found that when I can envision my character I have an easier time writing for him or her. Then I write a description, or even a short (very short) story, to place that person in a location and to get a sense of how they move, think, and interact with others. This doesn’t need to be something that becomes part of the play, but just something that I can use to get a clearer sense of who the story is about and how they function. Once that is set, its time to give them something to want and a problem to face. More about that in a few days.
Happy writing!
Monday, August 27, 2012
"Write what you know"
(Originally posted October 20, 2008)
"Children want to write. They want to write the first day they attend school. This is no accident. Before they went to school they marked up walls, pavements, newspapers with crayons, chalk, pens or pencils... anything that makes a mark. The child's marks say, 'I am.'"
You may have heard people say that you should only "write what you know." What does that mean exactly? A lot of young writers get intimidated by this idea and believe that they don't know enough to write about whatever it is that interests them. That is simply not true. While it is important to know something about what you are writing, you will ultimately need to use your creativity and imagination to create the world in which the character lives and breathes. So, don't be afraid to write about that issue, that event, or that feeling that you are itching to get out. Writing is a way for you to tell the world what you're thinking and how you feel.
Strong writing is inspired by things that you are passionate about. Once you have identified an idea that you feel strongly about, draw from your experience and imagination to create a character and a world for that character to inhabit. Send them on a journey to accomplish something and see what happens. You can always go back later to do research about any experiences, time periods, or other facts that you are unsure about. These will be included in your revisions. But for now, to help you get started in generating story ideas, take a look at the following "Self-Questionnaire." This was adapted from a worksheet created by Dominique Cieri-Moore, a teaching artist with Playwrights Theatre.
SELF-QUESTIONNAIRE
Answer each of the questions about you. Be sure to include as much detail as possible.
Have fun writing!
"Children want to write. They want to write the first day they attend school. This is no accident. Before they went to school they marked up walls, pavements, newspapers with crayons, chalk, pens or pencils... anything that makes a mark. The child's marks say, 'I am.'"
- from Writing: Teachers and Children at Work by Donald H. Graves
You may have heard people say that you should only "write what you know." What does that mean exactly? A lot of young writers get intimidated by this idea and believe that they don't know enough to write about whatever it is that interests them. That is simply not true. While it is important to know something about what you are writing, you will ultimately need to use your creativity and imagination to create the world in which the character lives and breathes. So, don't be afraid to write about that issue, that event, or that feeling that you are itching to get out. Writing is a way for you to tell the world what you're thinking and how you feel.
Strong writing is inspired by things that you are passionate about. Once you have identified an idea that you feel strongly about, draw from your experience and imagination to create a character and a world for that character to inhabit. Send them on a journey to accomplish something and see what happens. You can always go back later to do research about any experiences, time periods, or other facts that you are unsure about. These will be included in your revisions. But for now, to help you get started in generating story ideas, take a look at the following "Self-Questionnaire." This was adapted from a worksheet created by Dominique Cieri-Moore, a teaching artist with Playwrights Theatre.
SELF-QUESTIONNAIRE
Answer each of the questions about you. Be sure to include as much detail as possible.
- What is your full name?
- What are some nicknames you have? Who calls you these names?
- Where were you born?
- Is there a story about your birthday?
- Mother’s full name (including her Maiden name, if you know it)
- Father’s full name
- One grandparent’s full name
- Do you call anyone by a nickname? Who are these people? What do you call them? Why?
- Who do people tell you that you look like? (family member, someone famous?)
- What is important to you? What would you stand up and fight for?
- What gets you really angry?
- What is your biggest dream?
- What is unique about you?
- What or who do you admire? Why?
- Everyone has a life question. This is something that you’re dying to know. Someone is going to walk through the door in 20 seconds and answer this question. Quick! Don’t think about it, just write down the first question that comes to mind.
Have fun writing!
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Words of wisdom
A few days before Thanksgiving, I sat in on a playwriting residency being taught by Ben Clawson, one of our teaching artists. He was leading the class in a session where each student pitched an idea for their story and discussed the possibilities (and any questions) with the class. Ben gave some great advice to the students that may be helpful throughout the writing process, but especially so if you are experiencing a block, or still do not know where to begin. I asked Ben if I can share these with you. Here are a few...
"You're telling a story that you want to hear. You are your first audience member."
Often some of the first questions and inevitable uncertainties expressed by our young playwrights include what to write about and whether their idea will be "good enough". The answer to that depends upon the intended audience. If you work from the view that you are the first and most important audience for your play, write one that you enjoy and it will certainly be "good enough". Plus...
"There's the story and then how you present it."
Chances are that when you first sit down to write, you already have a story idea in mind. For example, you might describe the idea by saying: "This a story about a girl who..." or "This is a story that takes place in..."
No matter what idea you start with there are likely to be infinate directions that it can take. This can feel daunting, which may lead to burnout, or writer's block, or an anxiety that you won't be able to start... or finish. If you set some parameters for yourself with number of characters, scenes, locations, then you begin to establish some limitations and focus your writing. I'm not surprised to hear some grumbling here as I don't like an outline any more than the next person does, but the way in which Ben put this idea to the class makes it something more of a framework for how you want to tell you story than a rock-solid outline.
This can also be a fun challenge and may provide some interesting story ideas that you may not have thought about previously.
Still not convinced that a framework can be helpful? Consider this...
"You can take a walk in the woods. It's not too dangerous... if you know where you are going. If you just start walking that's when you get lost."
and
"[Its] always good to leave room for your story to surprise you."
Have a good sense of where you want to go and be open to some diversions along the way. Just keep in mind the end goal and you'll make it though alright.
Happy writing!
"You're telling a story that you want to hear. You are your first audience member."
Often some of the first questions and inevitable uncertainties expressed by our young playwrights include what to write about and whether their idea will be "good enough". The answer to that depends upon the intended audience. If you work from the view that you are the first and most important audience for your play, write one that you enjoy and it will certainly be "good enough". Plus...
"There's the story and then how you present it."
Chances are that when you first sit down to write, you already have a story idea in mind. For example, you might describe the idea by saying: "This a story about a girl who..." or "This is a story that takes place in..."
No matter what idea you start with there are likely to be infinate directions that it can take. This can feel daunting, which may lead to burnout, or writer's block, or an anxiety that you won't be able to start... or finish. If you set some parameters for yourself with number of characters, scenes, locations, then you begin to establish some limitations and focus your writing. I'm not surprised to hear some grumbling here as I don't like an outline any more than the next person does, but the way in which Ben put this idea to the class makes it something more of a framework for how you want to tell you story than a rock-solid outline.
This can also be a fun challenge and may provide some interesting story ideas that you may not have thought about previously.
Still not convinced that a framework can be helpful? Consider this...
"You can take a walk in the woods. It's not too dangerous... if you know where you are going. If you just start walking that's when you get lost."
and
"[Its] always good to leave room for your story to surprise you."
Have a good sense of where you want to go and be open to some diversions along the way. Just keep in mind the end goal and you'll make it though alright.
Happy writing!
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