Short Plays

I'm reading a book called Ten Short Plays which has been produced by Longman Imprint Books

I want plays that can be read at one sitting in a two hour session so that we can complete the play and discuss it. This book has a good cross section of styles and writers. Absurdism, a community play, a TV play and more. A great book with study activities. The one I enjoyed reading most was Skin by Nicola Batty. 

Writing a short play could be a good writing exercise and I may try it. If I do it I might suggest genre, characters and an inciting incident and see what we get.  

Have a go.

Pick a genre.
Pick up to three characters.
Think of an inciting incident.

Write dialogue and see what you get. Tell a story with a start, middle and end. 


Is there anyone who can read for you so that you can hear how your work sounds?

Perspective - the way things are seen

You are walking through a high class department store admiring watches, fragrances and beautiful pens when you see a banknote on the floor that doesn't belong to you.

What's your first reaction?
What's your second reaction?

Write two stories of 500 words each (flash fiction) based on both of these responses. 

Write one from a first person perspective based on response one.
Write the second fro a third person perspective based on your second response.

You will have two significantly differing stories based on the same trigger.

Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Reading a novel by Marquez is a joy and a journey. In classes where time is limited I read his short stories. They give a flavour of his work and sometimes prompt people to read more. His language is dense with meaning and he uses punctuation in his own inimitable way so reading his stories aloud has to be made as easy as possible to get the point across. Two stories I use time and time again because of their brevity are The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World  and The Last Voyage of the Ghost Ship

I can't recommend them enough. If you've read Marquez they act as a small reminder. If you haven't then they are a treasure to come. They are easily available on line to read. Try one of them and immediately after write a story afterwards, bearing in mind the magical and vivid style of Marquez.

Write about 
a journey on a boat 
a remote village 
a stranger
treasure

use an idea of your own


See what you get. Don't edit as you go along just write in a stream of consciousness. You can always edit later if you want to. 

Read a bit about the man and his life and upbringing. It will inspire you. His gifts to this world are his novels and what they say. The greedy amongst us might hope there is a manuscript stashed in a drawer soon to be released to commemorate his passing. 

Impulsive buys and the value of risk

Have you ever bought something on the spur of the moment because you wanted it and then considered your actions at leisure?

The feelings a rash purchase can provoke are interesting.

Fear...of being found out or of overspending.
Pleasure....guilty or otherwise because of your new acquisition. 
Guilt...because you couldn't afford it or put yourself first.
Self-loathing....because you acted impulsively or weren't strong.
Accomplishment... because you made a snap decision.
Denial...whatever you bought gets hidden for all kinds of reasons.

Risk is interesting in writing.

Risky writing styles. 
What happens in a story because of a risk taking character . 

Write a story of any length about a compulsive purchase. Think of a character and what a compulsive purchase might be to them. For some it might be a red Ferrari for others it might be a bowl.

Remember the questions that enable you to create a fully rounded piece of work.

Who.
Where.
When.
What.
Why.
How.

See what you come up with.

Longhand on onto the keyboard?

It's a modern world. This week someone much much younger than me asked me what a phone book was....and someone else, equally young asked what longhand was....

How many of you write in longhand and then type it up?

I have been typing my work for years now. I ditched longhand thinking it was slower. This week I've had a go at writing in longhand (the computer was being repaired) and writing in the morning the minute I woke up.

I've written more and I've written about things that don't usually occur to me. While I don't look forward to writing it up on the computer I'm impressed with the exercise.

If you write into the computer as a rule, try writing a story about a busy market in longhand. 

If you write longhand see how you go on doing the above exercise onto the computer.

Any differences?

Any new preferences?

Get in touch and let me know. 

Art as a starting point.

Recently I've looked at how art can inspire writing. One exercise involved looking at a painting by Alan Davie, and imagining it (copy or original) has appeared in your workplace when you return after a holiday.

Have a look at Alan Davie  www.alandavie and look at his work and influences. 

Imagine one of those paintings in your workplace.

What would it signify?

How would you feel about it?

Write a piece of flash fiction - say a 500 word story - about the significance of one of these amazing paintings being at your place of work. If you don't have a workplace think of a community setting or civic building or make somewhere up.

It can be dark, funny or intriguing.

Lavender's Blue.

Bobby Shaftoe, the old woman who lived in a shoe, Humpty Dumpty. They are all nursery rhyme characters that are so much part of many childhoods that they cease to have meaning. In the spirit of recycling, modernise these or other nursery characters. Put them in your town or city, in modern times, give them the modern equivalent of the roles they had in fairy tales. Bring their concerns up to date and set them off in a story and see where they go.