Writing for the Stage
Guest post by Martha Patterson
I’ve been writing plays for years, with some success. In writing them I often start with two specific characters in mind. I picture the setting, which may be as simple as a living room with an armchair or a sofa and a coffee table. My play may be historically based, a romantic comedy, a play for youth, or it may be somewhat political in nature. But it is about something active - a relationship between people where someone really wants something from the other(s).
I also think of what has just happened before the scene begins. What inspires these characters to be talking or acting the way they do? I may be inspired by the style of a novel or mystery I’ve just read, or even a piece of music or a painting.
Additionally, I read books on the craft of writing. My eighth grade English teacher was a fan of Strunk & White’s guide The Elements of Style, which, among other things, offers advice about eliminating needless words and not using long ones when short ones suffice. I kept a copy for years because of its advice on the concision of language. And Anne LaMott said in her wonderful book Bird by Bird that all first drafts are crap, so I’m conscientious about revising. Here’s what I often think about when writing my first draft:
Action is inherently theatrical. I write about characters doing something.
If scenes lag, consider adding new characters; it spices things up.
A surprise that happens in a scene is a revelation.
Don’t dumb down your characters - make them smart enough to hold the audience’s interest.
At least one of the characters should alter significantly in motivation or values by the end of the play; they should change.
Think about whose story it is. There’s usually one character who is the focus.
Share your work with other serious writers - they can offer valuable feedback, often about problems they themselves face. And reading collections of plays by contemporaries is useful in terms of themes and style as well. But even the plays of Shakespeare may give a writer ideas; you might write a comic riff on one of his characters, or a modern version of “Much Ado About Nothing.”
To be a successful playwright one needs comrades, a love of literature, endless efforts at revision, and persistence in expanding one’s knowledge and craft.
About Martha Patterson:
Martha Patterson's 27-story collection "Small Acts of Magic" was published in 2021 by Finishing Line Press. Her other work has been published in more than 20 anthologies and journals, and her plays have been produced in 21 states and eight countries. She has two degrees in Theatre, from Mount Holyoke College and Emerson College, and lives in Boston, Massachusetts. She loves being surrounded by her books, radio, and laptop.