How sad that there are so many worthy writers having to compete with thousands of others who probably won't make it, either. It could be depressing, but your piece here is kind of inspiring. Nine out of ten hit home with you! Good writing prevails, even with those sucky odds. Writers will write, no matter what.
This made me remember my trips to the library when I was a kid, where I gathered books of plays. A strange hobby for a kid, but I think now it wasn't just because I loved theater (I wanted to be an actress, but I was terrible at it), but because I loved dialogue. Also, it was easier to read than long passages of prose, which I also tried to read, most of it far beyond my years. But there is magic in those conversations, so necessary in the theater because of space limitations. The dialogue has to do the work. It has to tell the story.
Playwriting is hard. As you've indicated, it's often harder than other forms of writing because of the limitations of stagecraft. The writer has to think of the visual as well as the dialogue and the plot. It has to work on a stage in a theater, with acts as chapters, with a live, paying audience full of impatient critics.
That's intimidating! So bravo to those who even attempt it, let alone master it.
And bravo to you for being generous to your fellow writers, for taking the time to give them their moment. We need more of this.
How sad that there are so many worthy writers having to compete with thousands of others who probably won't make it, either. It could be depressing, but your piece here is kind of inspiring. Nine out of ten hit home with you! Good writing prevails, even with those sucky odds. Writers will write, no matter what.
This made me remember my trips to the library when I was a kid, where I gathered books of plays. A strange hobby for a kid, but I think now it wasn't just because I loved theater (I wanted to be an actress, but I was terrible at it), but because I loved dialogue. Also, it was easier to read than long passages of prose, which I also tried to read, most of it far beyond my years. But there is magic in those conversations, so necessary in the theater because of space limitations. The dialogue has to do the work. It has to tell the story.
Playwriting is hard. As you've indicated, it's often harder than other forms of writing because of the limitations of stagecraft. The writer has to think of the visual as well as the dialogue and the plot. It has to work on a stage in a theater, with acts as chapters, with a live, paying audience full of impatient critics.
That's intimidating! So bravo to those who even attempt it, let alone master it.
And bravo to you for being generous to your fellow writers, for taking the time to give them their moment. We need more of this.