Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Playwriting - Being a Playwright

Please read the chapter handout on "Being a Playwright" from the book The Elements of Playwriting by Louis Catron.

Particularly take note of the writerly advice (most of which should sound familiar): to overcome a blank page, the only way to push through "writer's block" is to write. Set time aside every day to write. For you (and your busy lives) use the time given to you every day in the lab to focus on your writing. You can socialize later.
Find inspiration from reading plays and seeing plays. Get involved in theatre in order to understand the form. This is how you grow as a student and a writer.

After completing the handout, please complete the five exercises at the end in your journal. You should continue to keep a journal to jot down ideas and exercises we complete in class. Continually add to your brainstorming. As you know, brainstorming is the first step in the writing process.

Recap: read the chapter, complete the five exercises at the end of the chapter in your journal (do not turn these in to me--put them in your journal).

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About this course!

This course stresses understanding the characteristics & techniques in the literary genres of fiction, poetry, and dramatic writing. This course will continue to build on students’ reading and writing skills begun in previous creative writing classes. Readings and discussions of works by major writers in the field will be examined as inspiration and models of fine writing. This educational blog is designed for the use of the students at the School of the Arts in Rochester, NY.