Enter, stage right: Jayne Wenger, artistic director, dramaturg, and workshop leader par excellence.
I’m excited that Jayne’s writing tips will be offered for the first time by The Story Woman here on the TellTale Souls’ blog. After you read Jayne Wenger’s Seven 
Tips for Playwrights, join her and artists from around the world this August in beautiful Assisi, Italy, for the time of your life.
Make Writing your Habit
If you don’t have hours each day to write, squeeze in at least 20 minutes.
Writing scenes in your head won’t work, write them down!
Write. Rewrite
Write. Rewrite.
Summarize your Story and Subplots
Do this just for yourself. It will help you to stay on course. Or, if you are veering off course, you will know it. Maybe that’s the place you meant to go all along! And write a few sentences about each character. Just for yourself, again. What defines them?
Stage Directions are Important
Don’t let anyone tell you that they aren’t.
Think about your vision of the play. Cut all of your “Stage Left, Stage Right, he/she sits despondently,” those are Actions, and they are for the director to stage. Help the director and designers by prefacing your play with your vision. Is it Magic Realism? Is it Naturalism? What is the style of your play? Be sure that you know what style it is.
Keep Writing Dramatic Conflict
Who wants what in each scene and how do they go about getting it?
Listen!
Develop your ear for dialogue by listening. Train yourself to listen to rhythms, patterns of speech and regional dialect. How do different characters in your own world speak? Keep listening. Keep writing.
Read your Play Out Loud to Yourself
You will hear the weaknesses and strengths. This works.
Playwrights‘ Intensive Retreat
Vision and REVISION
Jayne Wenger, Instructor
ASSISI, ITALY August 5 – August 18, 2009
Live and write in a 12th century town in the heart of Umbria with a community of artists from around the world. The workshop will focus on plays that are in process, with emphasis on analysis and development of the script. Writers will hear a scene or monologue daily and will receive individual dramaturgy from the instructor. In-depth and practical, this is a unique opportunity to concentrate your creative energy and let go!
Artists developing solo shows are encouraged to attend. Emphasis is on plot, organic structure and character, with focus on building a relationship with the audience. This aspect of the workshop is tailored for writers who want to act, actors who want to write, and performers wanting to create new work.
Jayne Wenger is a director and dramaturg whose exclusive focus is on original material. She is the past Artistic Director of the Bay Area Playwrights Foundation. She leads workshops on play development around the country, is nationally recognized for her work on new plays, and has developed the work of acclaimed playwrights nationwide.
Additional details and information can be found at www.jaynewenger.com and www.artworkshopintl.com.
________________________________________________________________________________________
~TellTale Souls’ Daughters and Sons Write Bio-Vignettes Honoring their Mothers~
Virtually all of these tips can be used for other types of creative writing, too! The hardest one for me is to find the time to write – I like the 20-minute rule. But, my question is, when do you know when to stop re-writing?
That is a good question, ‘how do you know when to stop re-writing’. With a play, I think that a workshop production helps to answer this question. Taking the time to work with actors helps inform the work and let’s you ‘see’ the words. There is a danger, both with plays, and all the other forms, of OVER-working it. Too many re-writes can start to dilute your original ideas. I think this is something that you learn to feel in your gut. Instinct is a big part of our work, and trusting our instincts, especially as women – is something that we should depend on. I don’t think there is a formula to follow… maybe it is really when you feel that you, or your characters have told their story!