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6 Tips On How To Be A Successful Playwright
How To Be a Successful Playwright - 6 Tips for Better Scripts
Have you ever found yourself enduring a creative block?
Perhaps you start to doubt whether you will ever be a successful playwright. Maybe you have ideas, but once you finally sit down you despise the script you’ve written? For others, it's not the writings but the promotional work and selling that frustrates.
Don’t fret, this is very normal for aspiring playwrights. Scriptmore is here to help you refine your playwright skills and these scriptwriting tips are bound to get the ball rolling.
1. Set Aside Time
Making something a habit isn’t an easy thing to do, but setting aside time is one of the first ways to achieve your goal in the playwright process.
The first step in setting aside time is to:
Be Realistic
When one wants to achieve a goal, they sometimes can have too high of expectations. Set aside an amount of time that is realistic to you and your schedule.
Visual aesthetics might not be a deciding factor for you, but countless creatives say it’s a driving force in their creative process. That being said,
Consider Your Space
If there is a place or space that allows you to focus, and be creative at the same time--go there!
And last but not least,
No Distractions Allowed
Leave your phone at home. Encourage yourself to have zero distractions that might interfere with your creative juices.
Giving something an allotted time shows dedication and care, and the fruits of your labor will show within your scriptwriting.
2. Get Others To Review Your Work
When dealing with play scriptwriting, there’s nothing more important than having a fresh set of eyes.
This allows new perspectives and technical errors to be found. Not only that but what you find interesting might not be interesting to an outsider. It’s the best way to find out if your script really hooked your audience.
- Friends and Family. Your friends and family can serve as an outsider's view. These are the people who will be sitting in the audience at your plays.
- Yourself. That’s right, yourself. Taking a break, then coming back, allows you to recognize the mistakes you might have made.
- Mentors and colleagues. Ask your fellow playwrights to look over your script. Since they have experience in this field, they’re able to ask hard questions.
Need more connections with fellow playwrights? The International Theatre Institute offers a forum to network with playwrights worldwide.
That last point leads us to an important thing to exercise...
3. Take Breaks
You might feel terrified to take a break once you’re on a roll, but studies suggest that in order to avoid feeling overwhelmed, breaks are necessary for success.
Whether it be just stretching your legs, or researching other ideas, it’s important to give yourself some time away.
Taking breaks is also crucial when you feel stuck. It gives you time to explore other avenues, whether that be with a character or even a different piece.
Ultimately, it can expand your creative ideas in the long run.
4. Write About What You Want to Learn
For the average writer, it makes sense to create content about what they’ve learned.
Most people rely on what happened in the past to dictate what they think will happen in the future. Instead, try writing based on what you want to learn, but haven’t already.
By using that in your character’s and play’s storyline, discoveries are bound to happen.
5. Write About What Happened Emotionally
The most accessible narrative to write a play on is your own personal experiences. But, this story all lies in how that experience affected you emotionally, rather than literally.
For example, a father walks out on his family. This is a fact of the story, but how did his walking out on the family emotionally affect each member? Emotions bring your play’s characters to life, so write about that.
When emotions exist, there’s conflict--and it’s only through conflict that dimension can exist.
6. Let It Interest You
What Does It Take To Be A Successful Playwright?
Really, the most important playwright tip is letting it interest you. When you aren’t passionate about something, it can feel like pulling teeth to finish it.
If the subject matter interests you, it’s almost impossible for it to not succeed.
Ultimately, when you get to a certain point of the script, there’s no turning back--so just make sure what you choose to write your play about excites you from the start.
Organizations and Resources
Conclusion
Writing is a process and so is figuring out how to become a successful playwright. The most important thing you can do is to be patient with yourself. After all, all good things come to those who wait. Writing scripts isn’t easy, and our team knows the time and dedication that you put forth so that one day it can be produced.
Still feeling stuck in your creative process? Head over to our blog to find what you’re looking for, or check out our playscript shop for more ideas.
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