You want to write your first play but you don't know where to start ? We are here to advise you !
Writing is an exciting activity that can take many forms. But when you want to tackle writing a play, the work can quickly become laborious and you don't know which way to approach it.
Let's take a look at some tips to guide your first steps in the field !
First, here are some tips to help you choose a theme ! Once you've settled on a theme, you can start building your characters.
You now have the first tools to write your plot.
You're almost there, but don't forget that this is theater! Before you get started, take a look at the elements of writing a play.
Building dialogue
As you've read, theater is built around scenes, dialogue and stage directions.
The words of your characters are therefore at the heart of your play. They will be used to give indications about the story, to convey emotions and to build the uniqueness of your characters.
It is therefore essential that your dialogue be carefully thought out and written.
Remember that it's not you speaking, but fictional characters with their personalities and histories. So try to create different styles, speech patterns, and personalities for your characters, their social worlds, and their experiences.
Some characters may have difficulty expressing themselves, while others may not be able to stop lying. Others may have an accent, reflecting a different background.
Once you have defined the particularities of each character, remember to remain consistent throughout the story, otherwise you will lose your readers who will not understand anything.
You can also choose to give a lot of direction to the actors about the intonation of a particular phrase or, on the contrary, leave a lot of freedom to the direction. Use stage directions to set the scene, the essential actions of your characters and to give an overview of your projection of the scene.
Don't forget that silences and unspoken words sometimes say much more than explanatory texts....