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'Unless I write something, anything, good, indifferent, or trashy, every day, I feel ill. To me the only good reason for writing is to try to organize my scattered thoughts of living into a whole . . ..'

-- W. H. Auden

Friday, June 4, 1999:

• Regional Theatres on the Web: Link added to Crossroads Theatre Company, the leading African American theatre in the USA.

• International usage of The Playwriting Seminars Web site: The site received 41,000 hits from 45 countries in March. Countries of origination in order of significant usage: USA [67%], UK, Canada, Australia, South Africa, France, Portugal, Philippines, Greece, Singapore, Germany, New Zealand, Sweden, Netherlands, Ireland, Malaysia, Mexico, Belgium.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Patrick Marber: On the right number of characters.

• More Inciting Incidents from Recent Plays: Page of these with quotes from scripts and explanations of their significance.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Roberto Benigni: On discovering the suspense plot for a film.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Philip Kan Gotanda: On writing as work.

  • David Marshall Grant: On suffering and comedy.

  • Ellen McLaughlin: On images and language.

  • Paul Rudnick: On using an outline.

  • Alfred Uhry: On not knowing why a play works.

• Running New Play Competitions: A unit on planning competitions, training readers, and evaluating submitted scripts. This new unit of The Seminars is intended for theatres and other nonprofit organizations with an interest in supporting new playwrights.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Margaret Edson: On liking the development process.

  • Jim Grimsley: On the necessity of production.

• Quotes on Craft: Many of the 160 professionals quoted in the main pages of The Playwriting Seminars Web site are now identified by a book cover of a notable play or screenplay they've written. By clicking on these linked book covers to amazon.com and then clicking on the author's name, you can get a list of most of what they've written that's in print or available on the used book market.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Stanley Kubrick: On seeing bad films.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Craig Lucas: On writing contemporary tragedy.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • James Oseland: On not being a groundbreaking playwright.

  • Mac Wellman: On being a poet and a playwright.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Robert Alexander: On not writing "feel-good" plays.

• Using Popular Songs: Addition of more examples of usage of these in contemporary plays.

• Playwriting Resources on the Web: Link added for Young Playwrights Inc. founded by Stephen Sondheim to support playwrights under the age of 18 with national play competitions, workshops, and other services for high school students.

• The Dramatists Guild: Link added for the DG's new Web site with information about membership, publications, and services.

• STAR WARS Radio Series: With STAR WARS mainia heading toward Earth once more, a Page with the poster of C-3PO with headphones and links to more on my producing the original 13-episode series.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • George Lucas: On finding character names.

• Solo Performance: Page on being a writer and performer in this specialized form of theatre.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Jo Bonney: On directing solo performer-playwrights.

• Tips on Writing Indie Screenplays: Page on limitations and possibilities for independent film.

• Screenplays to Read: Page with some of the best available in print.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Richard Toscan: On radio drama as visual storytelling.

• Screenwriting vs. Playwriting: A growing number of pages like this one in The Playwriting Seminars now have linked book and script covers that let you order recommended titles directly over the Web from Amazon.com -- and without having to do an author/title search. Look for the book covers in color with blue link borders.

• Monologues: They're Mini-Plays: Addition of recommendations for three collections of monologues by contemporary playwrights.

• If you can't find all the books and scripts recommended in The Playwriting Seminars at your local book store, the following pages now let you order them directly through the Web without having to do an author/title search:
  • Plays to Read: The First 5
  • The Hollywood Hustle
  • Writing for Television
  • Dramatists Sourcebook
  • Theatre Communications Group
  • About Quotes on Craft
  • Supplemental Readings I: Plays to Read when You're Not Writing
  • Supplemental Readings II: More Plays to Read when You're Not Writing

• Plays to Read: The First 5: Revised version now with detailed annotations on the five plays used for many of the examples in the Seminars and a link to an Internet source for ordering the scripts.

• Readings I: Plays to Read when You're Not Writing: Revised version, now with 16 contemporary plays and 1 screenplay annotated for their technical features and a link to an Internet source for ordering the scripts.

• Readings II: More Plays to Read when You're Not Writing: Revised version, now with 15 additional contemporary plays annotated for their technical features and a link to an Internet source for ordering the scripts.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Jon Robin Baitz: On his agent.

  • Warren Leight: On writing.

  • Melanie Marnich: On the danger of writing quickly.

  • John Murrell: On finding titles.

  • Marc Norman: On being an older screenwriter.

  • Joe Orton: On realistic characters.

  • Kathryn O'Sullivan: On writing your own story.

  • Rob Reiner: On being interesting.

  • Stephen Sommers: On surprises.

• The Hollywood Hustle: Addition of a link to Zoetrope Screenplays, where you can submit scripts to one of the classiest film studios in the USA.

• Screenplay Manuscript Format: Addition of a link to Scriptwriting Secrets, an excellent Web text covering everything you need to know about format for screenplays.

• Copyright © Protection: Addition of directions through the maze of the U.S. Copyright Office Web site to information for registering plays.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Athol Fugard: On the passion for writing plays.

• Regional Theatres on the Web: Addition of South Coast Repertory and Denver Center Theatre Company, major rep companies with a commitment to new play development. General updating of links and removal of dead sites.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Warren Leight: On using the structure of jazz.

  • Terrence McNally: On good directors and actors.

  • John Henry Redwood: On the basis for a play.

  • Lanford Wilson: On character dilemmas.

• One-Character Plays: Page on techniques for writing these.

• The Hollywood Hustle: Addition on taking the low-budget independent route to Hollywood as a screenwriter.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Sebastian Barry: On inventing lives.

• Résumé Example: New page showing format and narrative style of a playwright's professional résumé.

• Writers Guild of America: Link updated to WGA minimum payments for screenplays.

• Playwriting Resources on the Web: Links updated and dead sites removed.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Gregory Boyd: On not producing new playwrights.

  • Richard LaGravenese: On on not outlining screenplays.

  • David Rabe: On writing out of sequence.

  • Yasmina Reza: On using too many words.

  • Paula Vogel: On urgency in writing.

• Playwriting Resources on the Web: Link added for International Centre for Women Playwrights, a networking and support organization that also sponsors readings of new plays, primarily in the USA and Canada.

• Playwriting Resources on the Web: Link added for Writers Guild of America: Craft of Writing, an excellent source of interviews with the pros and tips on writing for film and television.

• Playwriting Resources on the Web: Link added for Stage & Screen, a book club offering modestly priced hard-back editions of new plays soon after they have been produced in New York.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Jeff Daniels: On using tension.

  • George Kirgo: On being too old for TV writing.

  • Buzz McLaughlin: On the development process.

  • Saul Turleltaub: On writing who you are.

  • Peter Weir: On not having an ending.

  • Michael Weller: On development as a bad habit.

It's the third anniversary of The Playwriting Seminars Web site. The site is now receiving over 34,000 hits a month from around the world. Countries of primary usage in volume order: USA, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Germany, Brazil, Switzerland, Belgium, Singapore, Croatia, Mexico, Malaysia, Austria, Spain, Ireland, Yugoslavia, Japan, Israel, New Zealand, Taiwan, Netherlands, Sweden, Norway. My thanks to the many users who have made suggestions for additions and improvements to the site.

• Playwriting Resources on the Web: Addition of the Writer on Line Newsletter, a fine source of articles by the pros on playwriting, screenwriting, and nearly everything else along with software for writers.

• The SASE: Page expanded to include the issue of competitions that won't return scripts.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Christopher Lloyd: On the pressure for racy television scripts.

  • Craig Lucas: On real vs. apparent subjects.

  • John Sloss: On edgy screenwriting.

  • Robert Towne: On screenwriting and music.

  • Christine Vachon: On new screenplays.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Wendy MacLeod: On taking off the gloves as a writer.

  • Marlane Meyer: On using images.

  • Suzan-Lori Parks: On deciding to be a playwright.

  • Dana Singer: On dramaturgs and authorship.

  • Wendy Wasserstein: On characters.

  • Chay Yew: On writing to the market.

  • Mary Zimmerman: On adaptation.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Neena Beber: On writing for television and theatre.

  • Neena Beber: On making changes.

  • Julie Jensen: On selling out.

  • Lisa Loomer: On saying No in rehearsals.

  • Lisa Loomer: On not writing sitcoms.

  • Robert O'Hara: On forming a play.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • David Henry Hwang: On structure.

  • Richard Greenberg: On core characters.

  • Conor McPherson: On simple ideas.

  • José Rivera: On good stories.

  • Charles Smith: On writing what you don't know.

  • Andy Wolk: On writing for television.

  • David Wright & 34 New Dramatists' playwrights: On voice and authorship.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Tina Howe: On letting characters go.

  • Nicky Silver: On writing about wealthy characters.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Woody Allen: On the discipline of writing.

  • David E. Kelley: On writing for television.

  • Martin McDonagh: On listening.

  • Mark Ravenhill: On titles.

  • Martin Scorsese: On non-action.

  • Paula Vogel: On a novel as motivation.

  • Alex van Warmerdam: On not being trapped by story.

• Taking Characters Seriously: Page expanded to include approaches to finding out who your characters really are.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Alexander H. Cohen: On commercial producers.

  • Gerald DiPego: On not writing to the marketplace.

  • David Hare: On finding what you believe.

  • Takeshi Kitano: On not explaining too much.

  • Rocco Landesman: On the taste for shorter plays.

  • Wendy McLeod: On finding a subject.

  • Terrence McNally: On writing plays worth dying for.

  • Jonathan Reynolds: On scared producers.

• Writing for Television: Addition of something positive you can learn from doing it.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Alan Ayckbourn: On theatrical devices.

  • Neil LaBute: On not being boring.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Chuck Close: On inspiration.

  • Larry Gelbart: On playing with words and plotting.

  • Wendy Wasserstein: On playwriting and screenwriting.

  • Brigitte Roüan: On autobiography.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Jane Anderson: On gender and productions of new plays.

  • Shane Black: On story structure in film.

  • Kia Corthron: On political stories.

  • Tina Howe: On the subject of her latest play.

  • Martin Sherman: on using intermissions.

• The Playwriting Seminars: November, 1997, marked the second anniversary of the site with 25,900 hits recorded for the month. Users' countries in volume order: USA, Netherlands, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, Singapore, Ireland, Sweden, Finland, Germany, New Zealand, Italy, Malaysia, France, Denmark, Japan, Israel, Thailand, South Africa, Poland, Belgium, Brazil, Spain, South Korea, Switzerland, Greece. Thank you for your suggestions for improvements and additions to the site.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Joel Coen: On using ideas from novels.

• Literary Managers & Royalties: Page expanded to include more information on royalties in the community theatre, college, and high school arena.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Wallace Shawn: On finding the idea of a play.

• Reading List: The Syllabus page has been retitled and reorganized, its link moved to the Homepage, and Supplemental Readings more clearly linked from it so recommended plays are easier to find.

• Business: This unit of The Seminars has been retitled from "Resources" to more accurately reflect its content.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • David Ives: On the dangers of reviews.

• Playwriting Links on the Web: Link added to Tom Noonan, movie maker, a great site from a playwright who's figured out the independent film business -- and tells you how he does it.

• Realities of the Screenplay Trade: Statistics added on number of new screenplays registered each year with the WGA vs. feature films produced.

• Playwriting Links on the Web: Links for Amazon.com [USA] and The Internet Theatre Bookshop [England], online sources for new plays.

• Regional Theatres on the Web: Link to Actors Theatre of Louisville, home of the National Ten Minute Play Contest.

• Playwriting Links on the Web: Link for Plays on Tape, a producer of new plays on cassettes and CDs.

• High Point of Act I: Page on the ending of the first Act.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Neil LaBute: On expectations of audiences.

• Link in Web Resources: To Playmarket: New Zeland's Playwrights Agency & Script Advisory Service.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Kia Corthron: On taking sides .

  • Christopher Durang: On preaching to the choir.

  • Peter Hedges: On surprising characters.

  • Nathaniel Graham Nesmith: On literary managers.

  • David Rabe: On character similarities.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Cédrick Klapisch: On telling stories.

• Naturalism: Page on this style of playwriting as it's used today.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Danièle Dubroux: On developing a story.

  • Anonymous Hollywood Executive: On film and theatre.

  • David Hare: On language and film.

  • Moisés Kaufman: On what theatre should be.

  • Thomas Rothman: On Hollywood buying plays.

  • Jonathan Weisgal: On successful film adaptations of plays.

  • Robert Whitehead: On the uses of failure.

  • Frederick Zollo: On film and theatre.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Bruce Beresford: On getting the idea for a screenplay.

  • Tina Howe:. On words.

  • Terrence McNally: On pleasing audiences.

  • John Patrick Shanley: On getting the idea for a play.

  • Alfred Uhry: On finding character focus.

  • Sandra Tsing-Loh: On autobiography.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Jack Bradley: On opposing the status quo.

  • Constance Congdon: On holding audiences.

  • Tom Donaghy: On hearing opening lines.

  • Dominic Dromgoole: On talent and grim writing.

  • Mary Hanes: On finding characters.

  • Arthur Miller: On film adaptations of plays.

  • Paul Schmidt: On translation.

• The Dramatists Source Book: Recommendation added for The Theatre List, an equivalent guide for Canadian playwrights.

• Regional Theatres on the Web: Link added to PACT: Professional Association of Canadian Theatres.

• The Theatre Communications Group: Recommendation added for the new TCG book by Dana Singer, Stage Writers Handbook: A Complete Business Guide for Playwrights, Composers, Lyricists and Librettists.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Jon Robin Baitz: On writing plays and screenplays.

  • Bruno Barreto: On political film.

  • Claude Beri: On making audiences think.

  • Emma-Kate Croghan: On selling your soul in Hollywood.

  • Steven Dietz: On the difficulty of making plays.

  • Linda Griffiths: On humor and character types.

  • Russell Vandenbroucke: On not telling us what to think.

  • Paula Vogel: On seducing audiences.

  • Deborah Warner: On unambitious writing.

  • Wendy Wasserstein: On making people uncomfortable.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Naomi Wallace: On getting the idea for a play.

• (Overlapping): Page on use of this stage direction to indicate two or more characters speaking at the same time. Example also added to the Dialogue Pages.

• Format by the Numbers: Page renamed and expanded from the old Dialogue Pages by the Numbers to include margins for Preliminary Pages.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • James L. Brooks: On market testing screenplay concepts.

  • Joe Roth: On Hollywood's audience focus.

• The Theatre Communications Group: New E-mail address for TCG.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • OyamO: On "highbrow" plays.

  • Paula Vogel: On writing about social & political issues.

  • Mac Wellman: On characters vs. story.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Luis Alfaro: On passion and craft.

  • Edit Villerreal: On rewriting.

  • José Rivera: On the classics.

  • Noah Wyle: On Hollywood plots.

  • Caridad Svich: On the development process.

  • Wole Soyinka: On being ready to write.

  • Oliver Stone: On reality and fiction.

  • Mark Kemble: On interesting arguments.

  • Sebastian Barry: On finding characters.

  • Susanna Moore: On writer's panic.

  • Irwin Winkler: On what U.S. movies sell.

  • George Lucas: On selecting character names.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Tony Kushner: On writing political work.

  • August Wilson: On what's worth writing about.

• Voice - Your Sound as a Playwright: Page expanded and relocated from the Working Unit to the Content Unit of The Seminars.

• Storytelling in Theatre & Film: Page expanded and relocated from the Working Unit to the Film Unit of The Seminars with its companion links to Visual vs. Verbal Storytelling, Opening of Death and the Maiden, and Opening of The Passenger.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Edward Zwick: On business influences in screenwriting.

• Link in Web Resources: To The Playwrights Forum, an organization for dramatists in Washington, D.C..

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Edward Albee: On being in fashion.

  • Christopher Durang: On writing friendly plays.

• Structural Diagram: List of links to structural elements reordered to reflect sequence in a typical play.

• Character Name Meanings: Page on this expanded and relocated from Format Unit along with its companion, Character Names from Recent Plays.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Scott Rudin: On the state of the film business.

• What's Here: Table of Contents Page of The Seminar and those for each major unit reordered as a recommended sequence for users new to the craft.

• Flashbacks: Page on this as a separate topic.

• SURVEY-The Playwriting Seminars as A Book: Page asking for your thoughts on this idea.

• Permissions for Using Popular Songs: Page on getting the rights to include pop lyrics in scripts.

• Using Other People's Lives: Page on techniques and cautions in using real people as models for characters.

• Using Popular Songs: Page on reasons and techniques.

• Using Other Writers' Work: Page on what's protected and what's not.

• Making Adaptations of Older Plays: Page on adapting classic and little-known plays for contemporary audiences.

• Curtain Lines from Recent Plays: Page of examples.

• Link in Regional Theatres on the Web: To RAT, an organization of U.S. alternative theatres.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Robert Auletta: On words being dangerous.

  • Alison Carey: On numbers of characters.

  • Milos Forman: On using facts.

  • Roberta Levitow: On the development process.

  • Stephen Leigh Morris: On playwriting as group activity.

  • André Téchiné: On themes and autobiography.

  • Lanford Wilson: On critics and who you write for.

• Obligatory Scene Example - With Dialogue: Page analyzing the actual scene from 'NIGHT, MOTHER.

• Suspense Plot Clarification - Example with Dialogue: Page analyzing the actual scene from CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Milos Forman: On puzzling characters.

  • Lynn Manning: On learning from adaptations.

• Screenplay Format Software: Page on this and also for playwriting.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Rita Dove: On adaptation.

  • Abelardo Estorino: On the influences of film.

  • Ellen McLaughlin: On images as the basis of plays.

  • José Rivera: On writing for children.

  • Marcus Stern: On understanding plays.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Claude Chabrol: On characters becoming dangerous.

• Link in Screenplay Manuscript Format: To Rich Wilson's Screenwriting Software Introduction.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Leslie Ayvazian: On gaining perspective.

  • Jon Robin Baitz: On the intermission and film adaptation of his play.

  • Christopher Durang: On timing subjects of plays.

  • David Hare: On the playwright's gift.

  • Agnieszka Holland: On adaptations of novels.

  • David Henry Hwang: On writing family history and fundamentalism.

  • Lisa Loomer: On humor and serious themes.

  • Carole Rothman: On the development process.

  • Wole Soyinka: On plays and repressive governments.

  • Lars von Trier: On making audiences cry.

  • Wendy Wasserstein: On writing what you want.

• Link in Writers Guild of America: To the WGA's new Web site.

• 100 Quotes on Craft: The Quotes on Craft Archive has been renamed and now contains the first 100 of these.

• The Archive's Archive: The new Page and name of the still expanding Quotes on Craft Archive.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Mario Vargas Llosa: On the use of personal experience.

  • Jack Viertel: On dramaturges.

• Writing for Television: Recommendation for Rick Blum's Television and Screen Writing: From Concept to Contract.

• It's the first anniversary of The Playwriting Seminars with 7,180 users having come to the site. Comments that helped me improve the presentation have come from Australia & Tasmania, Canada, Great Britain, Israel, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, Norway, and the USA. Thanks for all the suggestions.

• SASE: Note on the impact of new U.S. Postal Service security measures on mailing full-length plays.

• Regional Theatres on the Web Page: Updated link for London's Royal Court Theatre.

• The Playwriting Seminars Syllabus: An expanded weekly schedule for the course at Virginia Commonwealth University.

• Animals as Characters: Page on this.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Diane English: On rewriting television sitcoms.

  • Nicky Silver: On using your childhood.

  • Michael Weller: On writing the next play.

• Link in Web Resources: To the Playwrights Union of Canada, the country's major professional service organization for dramatists.

• Link in Web Resources: To the Alberta Playwrights' Network.

• Dramatists Guild: New address for the Guild effective October 15, 1996.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Austin Pendelton: On what's wanted in plays and what's being written now.

• Writer's Block: Addition of more technical reasons for its cause.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Sonia Rykiel: On being a character.

  • Robert Wilson: On the avant garde.

  • Stanley Tucci: On Hollywood and independent film.

  • Robert Harling: On taking liberties with casting.

  • Mike Leigh: On Hollywood assumptions of control.

  • Beth Herst: On combining words and three-dimentional images.

• Browser Setting Changes Page: Changes added for Internet Explorer Web browsers for viewing manuscript format examples.

• Screenplay Format Page: Time of day designations modified to reflect current practice.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Tom Noonan: On frameworks for scripts.

  • David Aukin: On rejecting screenplays.

  • Hal Hartley: On starting points.

  • David Newman: On first drafts of screenplays.

  • John Berger: On showing what differentiates people.

  • Jack Valenti: On attacking Hollywood films.

  • Douglas McGrath: On selecting collaborators.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Will Dunne: On the value of staged readings.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Laurie Anderson: On asking permission to do an adaptation.

  • Ed Zwick: On moral and philosophical agendas.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Arthur Miller: On flow of a script in production.

• The Seminars Web site moves: To the VCU School of the Arts. The new URL is http://www.vcu.edu/arts/playwriting/

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Pearl Cleage: On coming to terms with characters.

  • Nilo Cruz: On writing to understand personal loss.

  • A.R. Gurney: On new play development.

  • Craig Lucas: On rewriting.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Sam Fuller: On heroes.

  • Sam Henry Kass: On writing for television.

  • Tony Kushner: On characters drawn from history.

  • Marta Praeger: On becoming critic-proof.

  • John Sayles: On character biographies.

  • James Schamus: On screenplays for independent films.

  • James Schamus: On what screenplays are.

  • James Toback: On dramatizing "dramatic" lives.

  • Sönke Wortmann: On themes between the lines.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Eduardo Machado: On unexpected moments in writing.

  • Rachel Feldbin Urist: On playing with words.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Michael Bay: On target audiences for film.

  • Cynthia Ozick: On writing multiple drafts.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Lonne Elder: On writing to write.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Bernardo Bertolucci: On subjects and autobiography.

  • Mart Crowley: On agendas.

  • Peter Glenville: On images and ideas.

  • Pam Long: On kids and animals.

  • John Markus: On writing comedy.

  • Doug McGrath: On screenwriters making suggestions.

  • Susan Minot: On character missions.

  • Matt Williams: On content.

• Shortcuts on the Homepage: To avoid the need for frequent users to scroll down to Primary Areas list.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Howard Gordon: On television series writing.

  • Sam Shepard: On autobiographical characters.

  • Sam Shepard: On rewriting.

• Link in Web Resources: To E-script, a source of on-line courses in playwriting and screenwriting.

• Link in Web Resources: To Writers on the Net, courses and individual tutorials in playwriting, screenwriting, and a wide range of other genres.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Alberto Giacometti: On failure as a secondary concern.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Ifa Bayeza: On writing as personal journey.

  • Jim Grimsley: On playwriting vs. fiction writing.

  • Ernest Joselevitz: On writing a mean play.

  • Shabaka: On the playwright as mercenary.

• Link in Web Resources: To the Audrey Skirball-Kenis Theatre [Los Angeles] - An active new play development operation for after you've received that first professional notice.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Robert Alexander: On being an "emerging" playwright.

  • Caryl Churchill: On meaning.

  • Simon McBurney: On exploring the depth of a piece.

  • Dennis Potter: On living and finishing the script.

  • Silvia Gonzalez S.: On characters as role models.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Carrie Mae Weems: On mining emotions.

• Link in Web Resources: To Dramatists Play Service - A source for many of the scripts referred to in The Seminars.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Edward Albee: On a character and its model.

  • Jon Jory: On subjects and structure of new plays.

  • Suzan-Lori Parks: On departing from the theatrical norm.

  • Suzan-Lori Parks: On themes.

  • Wallace Shawn: On not indulging audiences.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • David Henry Hwang: On influencing institutions.

  • Richard Nelson: On dispensing with intermissions.

  • Peter Stone: On the Dramatists Guild.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Jesús Urzagasti: On on art and risk.

• Link in Web Resources: To the Playwrights' Center of San Francisco.

• Link in Web Resources: To A Brief Guide to Internet Resources in Theatre and Performance Studies. Brief no longer -- and it's annotated.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Edward Albee: On the art a nation demands.

  • Richard Forman: On being a director of his own plays.

  • Suzan-Lori Parks: On her director's understanding.

  • Tennessee Williams: On artists as the nation's nervous system.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Lisa Loomer: On writing to right a wrong.

  • Lisa Loomer: On combining time periods.

• Emotional Patterns: Page on their impact and use in Obligatory Scenes.

• Emotional Pattern Examples: Page of several and a diagram.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Karen Joy Fowler: On realism and the strange and fantastic.

• Link in Web Resources: To the new New Dramatists Call Board [BBS], an open forum [of the sort known on the Internet as a Bulletin Board] for discussions about the craft and the business of playwriting.

• Kids as Characters: Page on pitfalls and solutions.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Naomi Wallace: On hearing the language of labor.

  • August Wilson: On recognizing bad work.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Robert Brustein: On the end of new plays on Broadway.

  • Benjamin Mordecai: On sustaining playwrights.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Elizabeth Chandler: On Hollywood character arcs.

  • Scott Frank: On stage directions in screenplays.

  • Richard LaGravense: On one-dimentional characters.

  • Elmore Leonard: On screenwriting.

  • Darnell Martin: On appropriate criticism.

  • Barbara Turner: On planning stories.

• Clichés - The Great Ear Closers: Page mostly on avoiding them.

• Reading the Audience: Page on knowing what the audience is telling you.

• Link in Web Resources: To the new Theatre Central Journal. The inaugural issue [April 1996] includes Richard Toscan's "Joseph Chaikin: Closing the Open Theatre" on collective creation as an option for playwrights.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Jeanette Winterson: On the meaning of writing from experience.

  • Jeanette Winterson: On the arrogance of the audience.

• Playwrights Quoted in The Archive: Page listing them.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Frank Capra: On screenwriting.

  • Wallace Collins: On Hollywood decision-making.

  • Julie Halston: On one-person plays.

  • Arthur Laurents: On commercial producers of new plays.

  • Frank Pierson: On actors and dialogue.

  • Danny Rubin: On the dangers of underwriting screenplays.

  • Orson Welles: On film critics over-stressing visuals.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Gordon Davidson: On length.

  • August Wilson: On balancing characters with subjects.

  • August Wilson: On extraneous dialogue.

• Link in TCG Regional Theatres on the Web: To Cleveland Public Theatre.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • María Irene Fornés: On writing the first draft and rewriting.

  • Graham Greene: On the writer as spy.

• Recommendation in About Quotes on Craft: For anthologies of interviews with playwrights on craft, influences, and the business.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Romulus Linney: On criticizing new scripts.

  • Don Ohlmeyer: On appropriate words for television.

  • Ericka Ritter: On finding a director.

• Link in Web Resources: To Inter-Play, a search tool for finding plays in anthologies.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Frumi Cohen: On writing for children.

  • Richard Nelson: On the lessons of translating classics.

  • Richard Vetere: On adapting plays for the screen.

  • Richard Vetere: On television.

  • Wendy Wasserstein: On the vitality of anger.

  • Doug Wright: On biography and research.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • James Nicola: On the importance of balanced structure.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Athol Fugard: On sensing when you've got the story.

  • Ross Hunter: On giving film audiences what they want.

• Adaptations of Novels: Page on this and the pitfalls.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Andrew Bergman: On the luxury of dialogue.

  • John Huston: On screenplays and novels.

  • Ismail Merchant: On the importance of place.

• Link in Web Resources: To Muse of Fire Productions, A film production company that tells you what it's looking for in screenplays.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Arthur Miller: On contemporary theatre's narrow audience focus.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Carole Eastman: On what writing's like.

  • Tom Noonan: On writing fast and cutting.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Joel Coen: On avoiding Hollywood formulas.

  • Theresa Rebeck: On writers moving between theatre, film, and television.

• Quotes on Craft Archive: An expanding list on theatre and film from folks who've been there.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Edwin Sanchez: On characters being "out of character."

• 'Red Herring' Suspense Plots: Page on using them.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Robert Towne: On meaningful dialogue.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Joan Tewkesbury: On the visual translation of screenplays.

• Reading Professional Screenplays: Page on finding them and doing it.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Philip Kan Gotanda: On opening up linear stories.

• Dialogue Pages Format: Page on this by the numbers.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Marleen Gorris: On political or moral lessons.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Jon Robin Baitz: On collaboration with his director.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • W. H. Auden: On writing every day.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Joseph Brodsky: On literature and the state.

• Dramatic Irony: Page on creating it.

• Making a Living At This: Page on the crass side of this business.

• Recomendation in The Play Development Process: For Scriptwork: A Director's Approach to New Play Development.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Oskar Eustis: On new play development.

  • Liz Swados: On writing for children.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Janet Blake: On giving up disdain for TV writing.

  • Philip Kan Gotanda: On cinematic approaches to playwriting.

  • Nicky Silver: On writing for theatre and television.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Mario Vargas Llosa: On revising that first draft.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Jamaica Kincaid: On America's fear of dark feelings.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Joseph Chaikin: On language and understanding.

  • François Truffaut: On repeating themes.

• Link in TCG Regional Theatres: To Arena Stage.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Peter Brook: On issues and structure.

• Playwrights Quoted in The Seminars: Page structure revised to permit searching.

• Self-Criticism: Page on dealing with the worst kind of criticism.

• Screenplay Manuscript Format: Page on this by the numbers.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Nick Reed: On Hollywood's love of what's already been done.

  • David O. Selznick: On film story.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Kevin Heelan: On sources of language.

• Producing It Yourself: Page on doing just that.

• Exercises That Work: Page on some that do.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Naomi Wallace: On writing fast.

  • Martha Coolidge: On age and themes.

• Does Age Matter?: Page on this issue for playwrights, not characters.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Carlyle Brown: On history as metaphor.

• Link in TCG Regional Theatres: To The Public Theater/NYSF.

• Link in Web Resources: To Akropolis Arts Magazine. Includes Richard Toscan's monthly column, "That Business of Plays" on finding and producing new scripts.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Naomi Wallace: On present and past time.

• Quotes on Craft by . . .
  • Jack Heifner: On staged readings.

• Link in The Hollywood Hustle: To the Academy's Web page on the Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting.

• Format Examples background color: Changed for improved readability.

• Apparent Repetition: Page on the impact of this kind of repetition.

• Writing Exercises: Page on mostly why not.