These last few weeks I’ve been trying to conceptualise a new piece of theatre.
Difficult.
Writing a synopsis…
Even more so.
Minimalism does not come easily.
So I am practising
The short form.
Hence, ARGGHHHHH.
All the writers I know and have ever known HATE writing synopses, pitches, treatments, whatever you want to call them… the art of trying to convey characters, themes, story, dramatic tension and what makes your play/book/screenplay SO amazing but just in the one page.
But- trying to find the upside here- it is good for you to sometimes have to stress-test your ideas and bring you back to the ‘why did I want to write this anyway?’ starting point.
I’ve also decided that as sometimes, words are not enough, and I am going to attempt an actual collage using images like the ones I post at the top of my blog- today’s autumn leaves on a gorgeous crimson tree seen on my dogwalk- to try and help me figure out what my piece is all about.
It’s also a bit like going back to the essay title, time and time again.
I also love this framework which is for reflective writing, but works beautifully for most things, I am finding:
Three simple questions.
What? (what’s it all about or what happens)
So what? (what does it mean, what effect does it have, what impact or change might happen as a result)
Now what? (what next, where might it go?)
(Borton, 1970)
I’m also going to aim for 1.5 pages, knowing that in the edit I will remove all the extra little words and phrases that don’t need to be there…
Revise
Remove
Refine.
