by PSH | Apr 8, 2023 | play submission advice & tips, playwriting advice, playwriting tips
Questions are a powerful thing. Questions engage the mind. People are drawn to questions. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that audiences love a play with a powerful MDQ (major dramatic question). Your MDQ could be anything, but frequently it’s some variation... by PSH | Mar 13, 2023 | play submission advice & tips, playwriting advice, playwriting tips
After our last month’s post on protagonists, we had someone write in with this astute observation: “If you think about it, the strength and ‘flavor’ of all characters you create is in the dialogue… Perhaps the criticism I have heard most... by PSH | Jan 12, 2023 | play submission advice & tips, playwriting advice, playwriting tips
Storytelling is one of the oldest art forms known to man. We’ve been telling stories as long as we’ve had the language to do it. So it should come as no surprise that, by now, we have a pretty solid understanding of the most important narrative elements.... by PSH | Dec 9, 2022 | play submission advice & tips, playwriting advice, playwriting tips
Without a doubt, the #1 most common question that people ask writers is: “Where do you get your ideas?” We get them, of course, everywhere. From snippets of overheard dialogue. From images of a forboding landscape. From a relationship dynamic between two... by PSH | Nov 16, 2022 | play submission advice & tips, playwriting advice, playwriting tips
Most people think of writing as a solitary pursuit. We get this romantic image of a man or woman sitting alone at a desk, typing or scribbling in a flurry of inspiration. And to be sure…as a playwright, you’ll spend plenty of solitary time with your butt... by PSH | Aug 12, 2022 | play submission advice & tips, playwriting advice, playwriting tips
Stanislavski famously said: “Spectators come to the theatre to hear the subtext. They can read the text at home.” How right he is. Subtext adds an extra layer of complexity to every line. It can take an ordinary conversation and lend it a magnetism that draws the...