Writing tips inspired by The Importance of Being Earnest
1. The middle act should go in a NEW direction that's exciting and surprising, not be "and then some stuff happens you don't really need to know".
2. The character's concerns should be petty (for a comedy) or weighty (for a drama) but they themselves should take them seriously. The characters don't overreact. That would be forced. The characters react very naturally -- given the ridiculous nature of their hang-ups and predicaments.
3. Does the character shape the scene they're in? Does every line push the conversation in a new direction? Can no-one act without caring about what the character will think? Do they act with confidence even if stupidly? If so the character is probably interesting, and you can fit in as many interesting characters as you can.
4. What do you excel at writing? Stuff every scene chock full to the gills with that. What do you endlessly struggle with? Figure out how little makes the story suffer, and how much gets it to the end mostly ok.
5. Does this section sing? Does it make you want to know what happens next? Does it make you fall in love with the characters? Does it set up the events of the next page, the next scene, the end of the play? If not, can it do all those things? Not every scene has to be necessary, but as many as possible have to be great. You can also comment at https://jack.dreamwidth.org/1124954.html using OpenID.
comments so far.
2. The character's concerns should be petty (for a comedy) or weighty (for a drama) but they themselves should take them seriously. The characters don't overreact. That would be forced. The characters react very naturally -- given the ridiculous nature of their hang-ups and predicaments.
3. Does the character shape the scene they're in? Does every line push the conversation in a new direction? Can no-one act without caring about what the character will think? Do they act with confidence even if stupidly? If so the character is probably interesting, and you can fit in as many interesting characters as you can.
4. What do you excel at writing? Stuff every scene chock full to the gills with that. What do you endlessly struggle with? Figure out how little makes the story suffer, and how much gets it to the end mostly ok.
5. Does this section sing? Does it make you want to know what happens next? Does it make you fall in love with the characters? Does it set up the events of the next page, the next scene, the end of the play? If not, can it do all those things? Not every scene has to be necessary, but as many as possible have to be great. You can also comment at https://jack.dreamwidth.org/1124954.html using OpenID.
comments so far.