RICHARD JAMES
My Five Top Tips For Writing A Play...
Every play starts with an idea, a situation, or a set of characters. Or a story that you want to tell. But, ask yourself, is the stage the best place to tell that story? If so, you have a play! Now all you have to do is write it...
If writing a play was easy we'd all be doing it, but I can offer you a starting point. Five top tips for writing a full length play that people will actually want to see.
• Conflict equals drama! A cast full of characters who get on famously does not make for an interesting play. Introducing a character who rubs the others up the wrong way will help introduce conflict, which is the heart of drama. And it doesn't have to be a character. Putting someone in a difficult situation (either physically or mentally) creates conflict. Unforeseen circumstances can create conflict. The interest for the audience is seeing how your characters deal with that conflict and whether or not it is ultimately resolved (my hunch is that it should be resolved, but in a surprising way).
• Tragedy needs comedy and vice versa. Life is not straightforward. Even in the darkest times we might raise a smile, whilst the funniest joke might hide a cruel and tragic truth. If you're writing a tragedy, remember the jokes. If you're writing a comedy, remember the tears. My full length play The Ghosts Of Halfway House (pictured in production above), is a comedy but it includes scenes and dialogue concerning death, abandonment and regret. Without them, it would simply be an extended comedy sketch.
• Write until the story is finished! An audience can spot padding a mile off, so make sure you have enough story for your play. If it's full length, that'll mean at least 75 pages. If your story only stretches to forty minutes - you have a one act play! Perfect for amateur groups and festivals.
• Hear your play read aloud. Sometimes, you just can't see the wood for the trees. It is always useful to have your play read aloud. Make it an evening with friends or try approaching your local amateur theatre group. Try putting the script down as you listen to them read. It will enable you to step back and hear the play afresh. You may notice errors in your plotting or redundant dialogue (sometimes whole scenes) which are just taking up space.
• Make every line earn its place. If a scene isn't moving the plot forward or enlightening us with regard to a particular character and their motives, ask yourself; can you cut it? What would the play lose without it? This might apply to characters too. What would be different if they weren't even in the play? Might it be improved? In the end, you have to be brutal. As one writer has put it, you must be prepared to kill your babies. In other words, you might love a particular scene or character, you might have spent hours over their creation but, if they're bringing nothing to the party in terms of plot or emotional engagement, let them go.
• Finally (yes, I know said 5 Top Tips, but here's a bonus), just write! Finish the damn thing! Anyone can all themselves a writer, but I believe they can only do so seriously once they have written. Whatever it is, get the thing on paper. Finish it. Then write another.
