From Idea to Stage in 10 Weeks | Issue 2 | Lessons from the First Few Weeks
Documenting the process of planning, writing, editing, and staging a short play in just 10 weeks
💡This article shares lessons learned while preparing for the 2024 Writers’ Studio at the OSO Theatre in Barnes, and from the first workshop of the programme.
If you missed my last article, this is part of a weekly series where I’ll be documenting my experience planning, writing, editing, and staging a short play in just 10 weeks. This exciting new project is part of the 2024 Writers’ Studio programme at the OSO Theatre in Barnes.
Each writer on the programme will produce their own 10-minute play in just over two months. Throughout the programme, we’ll all meet in weekly workshops to provide feedback on the various drafts and help each other write the best stories possible.
At the end of the 10 weeks, all those plays will be performed by a team of experienced actors in a showcase event at the theatre.
I normally write novels and short stories, and I’ve never written a play before, so you can find out why I’ve chosen to take on this challenge here.
Last Monday, September 9, we had our first workshop of the programme. In this article, I’ve provided some insights and lessons from the past few weeks.
Already Behind Schedule (But That isn’t a Bad Thing)
Just a week into the programme, and I’m already a bit behind schedule from what I’d planned to have achieved by now. In fact, I was already behind schedule before the programme even began.
Anyone who knows me will tell you this is really unlike me. Normally, I like to over-prepare for things like this. Unfortunately, work has been so busy and stressful recently that I’ve barely had time to do much else.
Here’s what I’d planned to do in the two weeks before the programme started:
Research and study writing plays specifically
Brush up on effectively structuring stories and scenes
Go watch at least one small play to get a feel for this medium
Think more about our allocated theme and brainstorm ideas in detail
Choose what story I’ll be writing, and develop the characters and their arcs
Go through my own “story planning template and checklist” to plan out the story in full.
Here’s what I actually got done:
Research and study writing plays specifically
Think more about our allocated theme and brainstorm some ideas.
So, yes, heading into the first workshop, I wasn’t anywhere as prepared as I wanted to be.
But, oddly enough, that’s where the first lesson of this whole experience comes from. Despite my concerns, going into the first session a bit under-prepared wasn’t a problem at all.
In fact, the first workshop was designed for the assumption that no one would be prepared, so it was actually completely fine. Everyone else on the programme was in a similar position, and the tutor wasn’t expecting anyone to have done much by that point.
And, more importantly, when you’re passionate about something, and you’ve been doing it for a long time, I think your knowledge on that topic is a lot deeper than you realise sometimes.
So, for me, since I’ve been writing (and studying writing) most of my life, perhaps preparing extensively for something like this isn’t as necessary as it feels.
I may be behind schedule by my own standards, but I’m not in terms of the programme. There’s still plenty of time to produce some great work. And that leads us nicely on to the next interesting lesson I’ve learned so far.
Writing a Screenplay is Much Quicker Than Writing a Novel
While I’m a complete beginner when it comes to writing screenplays, I’ve already identified one big difference between writing a play (or film) and writing prose.
That difference is how long it takes to work through these different kinds of projects.
I’m not suggesting writing a screenplay is easier, because it’s impossible for me to know yet, nor am I detracting in any way from the art of writing for the stage or screen.
However, looking specifically at how long it takes, you have a significant advantage writing a play over novels and even short stories.
Right now, it would probably take me between three and six months to work through a first draft of a full-length novel.
Having done some work on my play recently, I honestly think I could draft a full-length screenplay in about three weeks.
This isn’t a secret, either. Some of the most popular films in history were drafted over just several days or weeks. It’s simply a much shorter, quicker medium of writing.
And that’s interesting to me because, recently, I’ve found that going through the process of starting and completing a full writing project offers a lot of valuable learning and other benefits.
I’ve been working on the same novel for around five years, excluding a few long-term breaks. You’re obviously always learning while you’re writing, but with a long-term challenge like a novel, you’re stuck on the same story, same characters, same theme, etc. There isn’t as much opportunity to diversify or expand your skills as a writer when you’re only ever working on the same project.
Planning, writing, editing, and finishing a story altogether is different to just writing and editing a new draft of the same novel. With that in mind, you could argue that the more times you can work through that full end-to-end process, the more you could improve as a writer.
So, if you’re looking to gain the maximum possible repetitions of that process, to develop your skills as much as possible — or to get as much finished work out into the world as you can — screenplays are a far more economical medium to be writing in.
Of course, it’s important to remember that many of the skills required to write a great novel aren’t present in a screenplay. I’m not suggesting that writing a screenplay will be all that useful for helping you write better prose. But in terms of your overall storytelling ability, it could be a good way to build momentum and learn some valuable lessons.
What Our First Workshop Involved
If you’re interested in what the weekly workshops on a programme like this actually involve, here’s what we did in our first workshop last week:
Started with a round of intros and ice-breakers, to help everyone settle in and get to know each other
Shared what we were all hoping to gain from the programme each week
Covered the technical aspects of the play, like the limitations of the stage, number of actors, etc.
Discussed our allocated theme of duality and all the things it could mean from a storytelling perspective
Brainstormed ideas and phrases that came to mind with duality, then discussed them as a group
Each picked one of those phrases at random, then did five minutes of free-writing about those phrases as a group
A few people explained their ideas for their plays, and we all gave feedback.
This coming week, in our second workshop, I think we’ll probably aim to help everyone decide what they’re writing about and get started. We’ll probably read and provide feedback on any early drafts that have been written so far as well.
In my experience, analysing and providing feedback on other writers’ work is one of the best ways to learn and improve your own writing. I’m looking forward to reading everyone’s drafts and critiquing them, as I expect it will offer a lot of valuable learning for everyone in the group.
I was also pleased to be able to share this article I wrote about the NYC Midnight Short Story Challenge in January with the other writers on the programme via our WhatsApp group. The concept of that short story competition was very similar to this Writers’ Studio programme, so the writing process will probably quite similar too.
What I Wrote During the Week
Last week, after the first workshop, I took some ideas I’ve had for different stories and worked through them a bit more.
I think I’ve narrowed it down to three or four potential stories. I’ll probably write all of them at some stage, but the challenge here is deciding which one is best suited for this 10-minute play.
One of those ideas isn’t really the kind of story I’d normally write, but for a two-person, 10-minute play about duality, I feel like it could be quite interesting.
Without planning to, I actually wrote almost 1,500 words of that script in about an hour on Thursday morning.
Again, this is unlike me, as I normally prefer to have my stories planned out in great detail before I begin writing them. But one of the main reasons I’m doing this programme is to push myself out of my comfort zone as a writer, and it was great fun to just take the inspiration and run with it for a change.
That was a big boost of confidence as well, because it showed me that, if I really need to, I could easily draft the full 10-minute play in one day.
That leaves a lot more time to ensure the story’s structure and character development are done properly, which makes me feel a lot better about the finished product I’ll be able to produce.
A Few Best Practices for Writing a Compelling Story
Over the past couple of weeks, before the programme started, I made a lot of random notes to myself about how to write a good 10-minute play.
This is by no means an exhaustive list, but I think some of those random notes could be useful reminders for the writers reading this:
Be as raw, and honest, and vulnerable as possible. Don’t hold back.
The opening is crucial to hook the audience in. The opening line, opening scene, etc. must give them something unique, engaging, or intriguing.
Base your characters’ speech on real people who have unique ways of speaking to make the dialogue more authentic and distinctive.
Whatever your story is about, you’ll often benefit from dialling the drama, humour, conflict, irony, etc. up to 11.
Make the story more character-driven than plot-driven to help it resonate and build an emotional connection with the audience.
Give the character a clear goal they’re actively trying to achieve, and ensure you know the deeper desire that’s driving them towards that goal.
Almost everything in the story should create a challenge, conflict, or tension that makes it difficult for the protagonist to achieve their goal.
Characters can still be relatable — and even likable — for the audience even if they’re flawed people who make mistakes or do bad things. Lots of fiction’s best characters are terrible people.
Complex, engaging characters often have something bothering them internally, which they won’t want to admit externally (or even admit to themselves), and this should be influencing their actions in some way. The story should then bring them to the point where they have to face it.
Ensure the story’s arc leads to some kind of change or growth for the protagonist. Don’t let things end the way they began.
To write realistic dialogue with subtext, remember people often can’t or won’t say what they’re really thinking. People rarely say exactly what’s on their minds.
Follow the Project Here
I’ll be documenting the rest of the writing process, and sharing lots of insights from the experience, here in my weekly articles.
I’ll be doing that because:
Writing about it will help me process and explore what I learn each week, and should help me develop my ideas further.
Other writers who suffer from the same challenges as I do should be able to learn from the weekly articles.
Other fiction authors will hopefully be able to learn from the discoveries I make by exploring the similarities and differences between writing for the stage and writing novels.
If you’d like to follow along to improve your own writing and storytelling, or you’d like to keep up with my progress with the play, please do subscribe.
This Week’s Sunset of the Week
Friday, September 13, 2024. Twickenham Riverside.
This Week’s Song on Repeat
Any writer or artist looking for examples of pushing the boundaries of creativity should look no further than the one-and-only David Bowie, in my opinion.