Do you have a wonderful idea for a play and want to develop it into the plot of a comedy or drama, but you don't know how to do it? Writing is a gift: either you have it or you don't have it. In any case, the following offers some technical guidance, which should be sufficient to get you started.
Steps
Method 1 of 1: Writing the Screenplay
Step 1. Focus on the main idea
You have to give the story a center, whether it's a villain in danger who must be saved or defeated. Once you have found the main idea, you can develop the other elements.
Step 2. Create a logical sequence of events
Start with a paragraph describing what is happening. Identify the main character, describe what to do, create some obstacles and ways to overcome them, and establish a solution.
Don't worry if the plot is still pretty vague at this point. Consider a sequence like this: a boy meets a girl; the two fall in love; they struggle to overcome the obstacles that stand against them; he faces a noble death. Is it King Kong or Romeo and Juliet? The answer is: both. How you develop the details is up to you
Step 3. Choose a facility
At this point, all you need to do is open up to the various possibilities and see where they take you. It could be a single act lasting twenty minutes, or a two-hour epic.
Step 4. Write a first draft
At this point you don't need the names of the characters yet, but you have to give him something to say. Let the dialogue arise from the motivations of the characters.
In Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee, Martha, the female lead, comes home from a party, takes a look at the house and says, "Jesus Christ!". For 1962 this was a rather surprising opening line, but it grabbed the attention of the public
Step 5. Become a ruthless reviewer
Even the brightest writers need a text overhaul, which often consists of brutally eliminating words or even entire speeches, changing the sequence of events, or suppressing characters that don't work. You will need courage to identify and keep only the best parts of the text.
Step 6. Ask for an opinion
It is not easy to find someone who gives you an honest and informed opinion, but it can be of great use. Try to find groups, online or where you live, who give opinions about writing. One of the meanings of "review" is precisely to be observed by another pair of eyes.
Step 7. Take another look at the text
With the comments you received in mind, re-read the play. Observe it carefully and make changes to improve the compactness and characterization of the characters, and to eliminate all errors.
Step 8. Start selling
Whether you sell the manuscript to an agent or publisher, or try to have it produced in a local theater, it is up to you to market it. You have to believe in the value of the text without ever giving up.
Advice
- Most plays are set in a specific place and time, so you need to maintain some consistency. In the 1930s, a character might make a phone call or send a telegram, but not watch television.
- Check the sources at the end of this article for the correct structure to give to the text and follow the established guidelines.
- Make sure you always keep the show going, and if you forget a line as you stage it, make it up. Sometimes, it might even turn out better than the original one.
- Read the script aloud for the benefit of a small audience. Theatrical plays are always based on words and, when they are spoken, the power they possess, or even its absence, becomes immediately apparent.
- Don't hide the play - try to make it clear that you are a writer instead!
Warnings
- The world of theater is full of ideas, so make sure your treatment of a story is original. Stealing someone else's is not just a moral failure - you would almost certainly get caught.
- Protect your work. Make sure the title page includes your name and the year you wrote the text, preceded by the copyright symbol: ©.
- Rejections usually far outweigh the approvals, but don't be discouraged. If the fact that a play is being ignored is exhausting you, write another.
