PlaywrightNow
@playwrightnow.bsky.social
I teach myself to write plays one post at at time. Author: Trap, Ghostlight, The Neverland Project, This is a Test, Small Actors. O. Henry's Guide to the Present
Member of www.labtwenty6.com, a Los Angeles Writers Group.
Member of www.labtwenty6.com, a Los Angeles Writers Group.
Reposted by PlaywrightNow
Make readers crave backstory before you give it to them.
May 4, 2026 at 8:16 PM
Make readers crave backstory before you give it to them.
The 2-character scene is the proton of playwriting.
A wants. B opposes.
A's tactics usually get bigger: flattery, request, demand, threat, (deception!), blackmail, force, weapon.
B's tactics increase accordingly..
When one wins—or stalemate—move to the next scene.
A wants. B opposes.
A's tactics usually get bigger: flattery, request, demand, threat, (deception!), blackmail, force, weapon.
B's tactics increase accordingly..
When one wins—or stalemate—move to the next scene.
May 4, 2026 at 7:13 AM
The 2-character scene is the proton of playwriting.
A wants. B opposes.
A's tactics usually get bigger: flattery, request, demand, threat, (deception!), blackmail, force, weapon.
B's tactics increase accordingly..
When one wins—or stalemate—move to the next scene.
A wants. B opposes.
A's tactics usually get bigger: flattery, request, demand, threat, (deception!), blackmail, force, weapon.
B's tactics increase accordingly..
When one wins—or stalemate—move to the next scene.
What you remember about a play you saw 15 years ago isn't the dialogue.
It's the theatrical moment: a character who starts to bleed from her palms, a cow who falls over dead, an angel descending from the sky.
It's the theatrical moment: a character who starts to bleed from her palms, a cow who falls over dead, an angel descending from the sky.
May 4, 2026 at 7:11 AM
What you remember about a play you saw 15 years ago isn't the dialogue.
It's the theatrical moment: a character who starts to bleed from her palms, a cow who falls over dead, an angel descending from the sky.
It's the theatrical moment: a character who starts to bleed from her palms, a cow who falls over dead, an angel descending from the sky.
November 7, 2025 at 8:57 AM
Reposted by PlaywrightNow
The thing I want to stress to people: Authors (and other artists you admire) don't *expect* you to be scintillating when you meet us, so don't worry about being clever. What *is* appreciated is if you're nice. Just be nice! Nice is good!
But what if I say something completely stupid?? My anxiety is too high to speak coherently when meeting an author. The most I can manage is something like "thank you for writing and sharing your work. It has become my friend and I brought it here for you to sign, please." Then I flee.
November 6, 2025 at 9:01 PM
The thing I want to stress to people: Authors (and other artists you admire) don't *expect* you to be scintillating when you meet us, so don't worry about being clever. What *is* appreciated is if you're nice. Just be nice! Nice is good!
Reposted by PlaywrightNow
Good morning, #5amwritersclub! Writing isn’t about controlling every word—it’s about trusting the next one. 📖
#6amwritersclub #WritingCommunity #AmWriting #AmQuerying #IndieAuthor #AuthorsOfTwitter #WIP #AmWriting #MorningWriting
#6amwritersclub #WritingCommunity #AmWriting #AmQuerying #IndieAuthor #AuthorsOfTwitter #WIP #AmWriting #MorningWriting
October 27, 2025 at 10:00 AM
Good morning, #5amwritersclub! Writing isn’t about controlling every word—it’s about trusting the next one. 📖
#6amwritersclub #WritingCommunity #AmWriting #AmQuerying #IndieAuthor #AuthorsOfTwitter #WIP #AmWriting #MorningWriting
#6amwritersclub #WritingCommunity #AmWriting #AmQuerying #IndieAuthor #AuthorsOfTwitter #WIP #AmWriting #MorningWriting
Reposted by PlaywrightNow
NOT A LIFT, BUT, #WritingCommunity, This is the SINGLE MOST Important post that I believe should be posted EVERY DAY by every author so teachers and readers shop here first. IMHO steal and repost!
October 27, 2025 at 3:27 PM
NOT A LIFT, BUT, #WritingCommunity, This is the SINGLE MOST Important post that I believe should be posted EVERY DAY by every author so teachers and readers shop here first. IMHO steal and repost!
Does autopilot Web browsing ransack your concentration? (Like now?) Try an internet block. I like Freedom. Cheap, effective. It helps. (I have no affiliation.)
October 27, 2025 at 10:47 PM
Does autopilot Web browsing ransack your concentration? (Like now?) Try an internet block. I like Freedom. Cheap, effective. It helps. (I have no affiliation.)
I'm starting an organization devoted to abolishing set changes. Our motto: There are better ways to kill your play's momentum.
Please join.
#playwriting
Please join.
#playwriting
October 24, 2025 at 5:32 PM
I'm starting an organization devoted to abolishing set changes. Our motto: There are better ways to kill your play's momentum.
Please join.
#playwriting
Please join.
#playwriting
If you live in Los Angeles and like live theatre, go to the website in this article and you'll instantly see how useful it is.
theatrecommonsla.org
theatrecommonsla.org
October 24, 2025 at 5:27 PM
If you live in Los Angeles and like live theatre, go to the website in this article and you'll instantly see how useful it is.
theatrecommonsla.org
theatrecommonsla.org
Reposted by PlaywrightNow
In 1959, an American schoolgirl wrote C.S. Lewis (THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE) and asked for advice on writing. This was his response:
October 24, 2025 at 1:59 AM
In 1959, an American schoolgirl wrote C.S. Lewis (THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE) and asked for advice on writing. This was his response:
"It takes as long to rehearse Hamlet today as it did four hundred years ago."
Nic Bencerraf, as quoted in the article "Masters Degree Preferred," by Maridee Slater in @howlround.bsky.social
Nic Bencerraf, as quoted in the article "Masters Degree Preferred," by Maridee Slater in @howlround.bsky.social
October 23, 2025 at 5:43 PM
"It takes as long to rehearse Hamlet today as it did four hundred years ago."
Nic Bencerraf, as quoted in the article "Masters Degree Preferred," by Maridee Slater in @howlround.bsky.social
Nic Bencerraf, as quoted in the article "Masters Degree Preferred," by Maridee Slater in @howlround.bsky.social
Useful term.
The Magical Negro. A supporting stock character who comes to the aid of white protagonists. Spike Lee popularized the term, while calling out The Green Mile for containing a super-duper-magical Negro character, selflessly helping white people.
The Magical Negro. A supporting stock character who comes to the aid of white protagonists. Spike Lee popularized the term, while calling out The Green Mile for containing a super-duper-magical Negro character, selflessly helping white people.
October 21, 2025 at 5:22 PM
Useful term.
The Magical Negro. A supporting stock character who comes to the aid of white protagonists. Spike Lee popularized the term, while calling out The Green Mile for containing a super-duper-magical Negro character, selflessly helping white people.
The Magical Negro. A supporting stock character who comes to the aid of white protagonists. Spike Lee popularized the term, while calling out The Green Mile for containing a super-duper-magical Negro character, selflessly helping white people.
Rewrite stuck? Find important info introduced neutrally. Electrify it by using it as a tactic, a reveal, a weapon. (Follow the ripples.)
#playwriting #writing
#playwriting #writing
October 21, 2025 at 12:25 AM
Rewrite stuck? Find important info introduced neutrally. Electrify it by using it as a tactic, a reveal, a weapon. (Follow the ripples.)
#playwriting #writing
#playwriting #writing
If blocks of writing time are rare and you have one coming up, do yourself a favor and find 20 minutes a day in the days preceding.
You don't want to jump in cold. You want the play in your head, questions primed, and a list of tasks you're desperate to start with.
#writing
You don't want to jump in cold. You want the play in your head, questions primed, and a list of tasks you're desperate to start with.
#writing
October 17, 2025 at 8:01 PM
If blocks of writing time are rare and you have one coming up, do yourself a favor and find 20 minutes a day in the days preceding.
You don't want to jump in cold. You want the play in your head, questions primed, and a list of tasks you're desperate to start with.
#writing
You don't want to jump in cold. You want the play in your head, questions primed, and a list of tasks you're desperate to start with.
#writing
Read plays you just saw and see plays you just read.
October 17, 2025 at 5:59 AM
Read plays you just saw and see plays you just read.
Start writing. No matter what. The water does not flow until the tap is turned on.
—Louis L'Amour
—Louis L'Amour
October 16, 2025 at 3:43 PM
Start writing. No matter what. The water does not flow until the tap is turned on.
—Louis L'Amour
—Louis L'Amour
Horror movies terrify us even though we know that nothing onscreen can reach out and grab us. If anything, it's plays that should be scary.
#halloween #horror #scary #writing
#halloween #horror #scary #writing
October 15, 2025 at 3:14 AM
Horror movies terrify us even though we know that nothing onscreen can reach out and grab us. If anything, it's plays that should be scary.
#halloween #horror #scary #writing
#halloween #horror #scary #writing
Jason is important to the history of horror because he's right at the border of the monsters who we pretend scare us and the people who actually do.
#scary #halloween #amwriting #writing
#scary #halloween #amwriting #writing
October 14, 2025 at 3:30 AM
Jason is important to the history of horror because he's right at the border of the monsters who we pretend scare us and the people who actually do.
#scary #halloween #amwriting #writing
#scary #halloween #amwriting #writing
The best way to raise the stakes of a goal is to show all the different things your protagonist does to achieve it.
#writing #writetip #writingcommunity
#writing #writetip #writingcommunity
October 10, 2025 at 5:04 PM
The best way to raise the stakes of a goal is to show all the different things your protagonist does to achieve it.
#writing #writetip #writingcommunity
#writing #writetip #writingcommunity
If a shark stops swimming, it dies. Writers are sharks. If the fingers aren't moving, the ideas don't come. Try writing while lying in bed, staring at the ceiling. Maybe, you hope, inspiration will flow past my gills.
Perhaps a sea lion will swim into my mouth.
Perhaps a sea lion will swim into my mouth.
October 10, 2025 at 2:08 AM
If a shark stops swimming, it dies. Writers are sharks. If the fingers aren't moving, the ideas don't come. Try writing while lying in bed, staring at the ceiling. Maybe, you hope, inspiration will flow past my gills.
Perhaps a sea lion will swim into my mouth.
Perhaps a sea lion will swim into my mouth.