TIP 1: Proper Format

Presenting your script properly is crucial. As a reader, it's easy to get turned off to a script that isn't formatted correctly and which makes reading more difficult. Page margins are usually 1" on the top, bottom and on the right, but 1.5" on the left (because of hole punching/brads/binding). Manuscript format calls for the character name to be centered (or left indented at a consistent margin, either an extra 2.5" or 3") in CAPS, with dialogue on the next line running margin to margin. Stage directions go on their own line and in parentheses, indented an extra 2" on the left side (so basically 3.5" from the left edge of the paper). A common mistake is for writers to copy published script format by putting character names on the left, which is harder to read. Check some of my PDF script excerpts to see what proper format looks like, and if it's still unclear, email me.

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TIP 2: Don't Rush It Out

Why not send your "finished" script to a major theatre right away? Two reasons. First, you are competing with playwrights who are much more experienced than you are. And unlike film, which has a reputation for coveting youth (more myth than reality—the reason you hear about a nineteen year old selling a script is because it's so rare that it's news when it happens), theatre doesn't have that reputation. Second, if you send out a script that's not ready, you potentially have a strike against you when it comes to getting that theatre to read your future work. They may remember you as the hack who sent them the lousy script. But have no fear—check out my “Step by Step Guide to What to Do With Your Finished Play” below.

TIP 3: Read Away Your Influences

If you read a couple of Beckett plays, I'd be willing to bet that the next few pieces you write will read like Beckett—until you get it out of your system (I admit I went through my own Beckett/Ionesco period). So after you read that Beckett play, go out and read Arthur Miller, then read Wilson (August, though Lanford would also be revelatory). Read Shakespeare. Tony Kushner. Edward Albee. Marsha Norman. David Mamet. Paula Vogel. Anton Chekhov. Swill all these different styles into the melting pot of your mind, and eventually, if you write enough, your own style will develop. Check out my Young Playwrights Reading List for a more organized list of reading suggestions.

TIP 4: Write What You Know—Or Not

Many young writers (and older writers) are told, "Write what you know." Good advice, I suppose, but I rarely follow it. What I don't know is so much more interesting. Ben is about a teenager living on the street in Harvard Square and looking for the woman he believes is his mother. Yes, I lived in Harvard Square in college and was a teenager at one time, but I've never been homeless, have two wonderful parents, etc.; Ben's life is not one I knew. So I read about it. I spent a term volunteering at a shelter for troubled teens. I kept my eyes open. But above all, I was truly, desperately interested in the world of my play and the people in it. It's that desperate interest that allows you to write what you don't know.

TIP 5: Just Get It On Paper!

A first draft isn't supposed to be perfect. Not even close. Don't worry—just keep going! Let the play go where it wants to go, because THE MOST IMPORTANT THING is finishing. The time to second-guess yourself is after you can safely type "Blackout. End of play."

TIP 6: Write Something Else

Finish a script? Start another one. Now. Writing a script is like giving birth, and the script is your baby. Our babies are always beautiful and perfect. In our eyes, they can do no wrong. But no first (or second or third or . . .) draft is ever perfect. By writing something new, you make the new play your baby, and the first play becomes the older sibling, perhaps even a teenager. Now you have some distance to look at it critically, because we all know that teenagers are never perfect.

Also, if you're sending out a script to contests or theatres, writing something new sure beats waiting for the mail to arrive every afternoon. And on that note, remember that responses to your submissions may range from weeks (this is extremely speedy) to months or even a year or two.

TIP 7: Give Every Character a Moment!

Actors want the chance to act. No one gets excited about playing the third tree on the left. So make sure to give every character at least one &#x201moment” where the actor can shine. It’s how you make actors want to do your play, even if their roles aren’t the largest.

TIP 8: Stuff That Doesn't Play

Some things just don't seem to work on stage. You may be the genius who can pull them off, but keep an eye on this space for a list of things you're probably better off avoiding. Here they are:

People talking about how they feel rather than showing how they feel. Phone calls on stage. Chase scenes, especially car chases. Animals. Elaborate special effects. Stage directions that dictate characters' facial expressions (e.g. a dirty look—half the time you can't even see it from the audience). Inside jokes. More to come…

TIP 9: Stuck? Try Improv

Not sure where to go in a scene, or is it just not working? Actors are often a great source of ideas. Get a few actor friends together, set up the scene for them, and let them play it out, with you recording (either audio or video) what happens. Try it as many times as you like, changing some element of the set-up each time, so that you get to see different choices played out in front of you. They might hit on something useful.

TIP 10: Know Your Audience

A play with lots of humor about your particular high school teachers will only work at your high school, because no other audience will understand the jokes. If you are writing a play for children, leave out the four-letter words. If it’s a touring show, don’t write sets that can’t be packed into a box at the end of the day. Writing for the high school market? Try to write more female roles than male roles, as schools usually have an abundance of women. Writing for professional theater? Keep your cast size down, because every actor who does a bit part still has to be paid.