Fictive Dialogues from Playwright Point of View (VI)

 

by Laura Lai/Uncategorized

 

On the 20^th of February 2010, ‘The Guardian’ published an article containing valuable advice from consecrated writers of different genres. To construct my creative writing exercise for this ‘Writing Break Blog’ I used some of the advice to build this personalized fictive dialogue from a playwright point of view.

 

Hilary Mantel:

1 Read Becoming a Writer, by Dorothea Brande… You will particularly hate the advice to write first thing in the morning, but if you can manage it, it might well be the best thing you ever do for yourself. This book is about becoming a writer from the inside out… You don't really need any others, though if you want to boost your confidence, "how to" books seldom do any harm…

Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926) was once asked the way one could know whether or not is a writer. He said that – more or less in these words – if you wake up in the morning and feel like writing, then you are a writer [I understood it as 'having a call for' writing]. I’m in the mood of writing anytime during the day, even when I wake up at 5 am. Sometimes we wake up and need to go to school or need to go to work and we are looking for time to develop an idea into a story and write it down. But sometimes in life it may also happen to be unemployed and as hard as it is, it is great time for writing! J

2 Write a book you'd like to read. If you wouldn't read it, why would anybody else? Don't write for a perceived audience or market. It may well have vanished by the time your book's ready.

As I like to read plays, I write plays with a political or historical character. It’s a particular type of drama that can also teach and entertain and I don’t’see any reason why it should be neglected. Hopefully, it will find its public.

3 If you have a good story idea, don't assume it must form a prose narrative. It may work better as a play, a screenplay or a poem. Be flexible.

I don’t assume that! I like different writing experiences – I assume this means ‘flexibility’. J Indeed, I noticed myself long ago that different stories fit different genres and within the genre, different formats. That is the reason why for debates I think the type of drama I’m promoting is best. Even theoreticians think that since they settled in ‘drama theory’ that for this particular type of drama, the topic is more important than the characters. Even though I try to care about my characters, too. It’s more challenging for me as writer, but I want to take the challenge to bring this type of drama genre as close as possible to the type of plays the public is used. Some stories are better as a children’s book, others as a picture book, etc. I love writing, particularly drama, but it’s a great pleasure to me to write a comment, an essay or a review for this blog, for example.

4 Be aware that anything that appears before "Chapter One" may be skipped. Don't put your vital clue there.

The prologue for me is essential to build the play on. Act One although it may look insipid or incolour, it does serve a purpose, a structure purpose, for example; there also may be clues that have political correspondent. It may happen that this ‘correspondent’ not to be perfect, but it rings bells – at least, it is supposed to. For example, in the play that was my WIP at Oxford while studying writing drama, my musician characters stayed in a hotel in Salzburg at no. 9 – where Mozart was born. This serves the cultural dimension of play. When I get into the political topic, it’s No.10 in London that says that and does that.

5 […] Concentrate your narrative energy on the point of change. This is especially important for historical fiction. When your character is new to a place, or things alter around them, that's the point to step back and fill in the details of their world. People don't notice their everyday surroundings and daily routine, so when writers describe them it can sound as if they're trying too hard to instruct the reader.

Thank you for the advice! I’ll keep that in mind. You’re right about the writer being a great observers of people, live and of elements that surround us.

6 […] If you get stuck, get away from your desk. Take a walk, take a bath, go to sleep, make a pie, draw, listen to music, meditate, exercise; whatever you do, don't just stick there scowling at the problem. But don't make telephone calls or go to a party; if you do, other people's words will pour in where your lost words should be. Open a gap for them, create a space. Be patient.

A break helps.

Michael Moorcock:

1 […] I always advise people who want to write a fantasy or science fiction or romance to stop reading everything in those genres and start reading everything else from Bunyan to Byatt.

For the story I want to tell I consider the ‘one-act play’ format the best. What do you think I’m reading now? A collection of ‘Contemporary One-Act Plays’ by Roland Lewis et al.

2 […] Introduce your main characters and themes in the first third of your novel.

3 If you are writing a plot-driven genre novel make sure all your major themes/plot elements are introduced in the first third, which you can call the introduction.

4 Develop your themes and characters in your second third, the development.

5 Resolve your themes, mysteries and so on in the final third, the resolution.

In drama writing, things are not very much different. The Act One is the introduction, the Act Two is the intrigue, the Act Three is the development and the place I would put the climax and in Act Four is the resolution. In the single issue drama this may not be so evident, but they exist. From my point of view, what makes them more or less evident is the topic of discussion. I’m having in mind a historical fictional drama in which I truly want to see these elements self evident like in Chekhov, for example – one of my favorite dramatists. They are all my favorites J

6 For a good melodrama study the famous "Lester Dent master plot formula" which you can find online. It was written to show how to write a short story for the pulps, but can be adapted successfully for most stories of any length or genre.

I found it and I will. Thanks for sharing!

Michael Morpurgo:

1 […] A notion for a story is for me a confluence of real events, historical perhaps, or from my own memory to create an exciting fusion.

2 It is the gestation time which counts.

3 Once the skeleton of the story is ready I begin talking about it, mostly to Clare, my wife, sounding her out.

4 By the time I sit down and face the blank page I am raring to go. I tell it as if I'm talking to my best friend or one of my grandchildren.

5 Once a chapter is scribbled down rough – I write very small so I don't have to turn the page and face the next empty one – Clare puts it on the word processor, prints it out, sometimes with her own comments added.

6 When I'm deep inside a story, living it as I write, I honestly don't know what will happen. I try not to dictate it, not to play God.

7 Once the book is finished in its first draft, I read it out loud to myself. How it sounds is hugely important.

8 With all editing, no matter how sensitive – and I've been very lucky here – I react sulkily at first, but then I settle down and get on with it, and a year later I have my book in my hand.

So this is your writing process! Please send Clare our regards! J I noticed the use of the ‘gestation’ metaphor that helps visualize the growing writing idea from scratch to skeleton of the story and, later, to the book in hand. I like it and I agree with it. I agree with the fact that we live the story together with our characters while we write and with the important fact to read it out loud – it seems to be a general agreement on that. (To Be Continued)