Author, Theatre Artist, and Educator
Yesterday I had a great time running a revision workshop for the eighteen writers in Philadelphia Young Playwrights’ Mouthful Monologue Festival. At this point in the process, the writers have done an amazing job working with their professional actor, director, and dramaturg to deepen their monologues by adding details and raising the stakes. While their... Continue Reading →
Revision is hard. The deeper we dive in, sifting through sentence by sentence, the easier it is for our writerly lens to look at our creative work minutely through a magnifying glass. While details are important, every draft also needs us to look at it through the widest lens possible. A healthy panoramic view helps... Continue Reading →
Spring at Philadelphia Young Playwrights always means one thing: our students are asking fantastic questions about storytelling as they complete their first drafts and begin the revision process. Popular questions I’m hearing this year are, “How do I tell a story without revealing everything in the beginning?” as well as “How do I create complex... Continue Reading →
Happy New Year, writers! This post comes to you from the snowy grounds of Ragdale, where I have the good fortune to be one of twelve artists-in-residence for the month of January. I had grand plans to write a blog post a week while I was here, but the first two weeks of my stay... Continue Reading →
If you’ve ever had a writing teacher, you’ve most likely heard the phrase “kill your darlings” when it comes to revision. In respect to this, one of my theatre professors gave the following advice to my class years ago, “I always tell playwrights to turn to their favorite part of their play, and cut it.... Continue Reading →
With the revision deadline for my young adult novel in the not-so-distant future, I spent last week wresting with a chapter of my book that needed major restructuring. In the midst of already having my work cut out for me, I found myself fed-up with my ‘First Draft Self’ because she had made some choices... Continue Reading →
As I mentioned in my last post, I had the absolute pleasure and honor of directing a play by an amazing young playwright for the How I Learned to Write Festival, a program created by Philadelphia Young Playwrights. During the weeklong process, I can only hope this talented young writer learned as much from me... Continue Reading →
I’m the first to admit that when I’m loading up Facebook, more often than not I’m looking for distraction. Thanks to one such moment today, I was reminded that even in our distractions we can find inspiration…and opportunity. This beautiful image is the unexpected opportunity I found today. When I came upon it, I realized... Continue Reading →
For me, writer’s block is a funny thing. Back before I started teaching, when I got writer’s block I just…well, I just dealt with it, wallowed in it, avoided it by not writing, it depended on my mood. After I started teaching and I watched my students come up against it, however, my attitude toward... Continue Reading →
In the midst of writing a new scene for the Young Adult novel I'm currently revising, one of the characters unexpectedly popped out with the advice above. The character who says this just so happens to be known in the town as a Wise One, and these words are her attempt to console the protagonist,... Continue Reading →
Mae Early 