An accessible, contemporary guide to the art of dramatic writing During the ten years that Stuart Spencer has taught playwriting, he has struggled to find an effective playwriting handbook for his courses. Although most of the currently popular handbooks have good ideas in them, they all suffer from the same problems: they're poorly organized; are composed mostly of quirky, idiosyncratic advice on how specific playwrights have gone about writing their own work; and are full of abstract theorizing on the nature of art. As a result, they fail to offer any concrete information on how to construct a well-written play or any useful guidelines and exercises. Moreover, few of these books are actually written by working playwrights. Out of frustration, Spencer wrote his own book. The result, The Playwright's Guidebook, is a clear, concise, and engaging handbook. Spencer addresses the important principles of structure, includes insightful writing exercises that build upon one another, explores the creative process, and troubleshoots recurrent problems that playwrights actually face.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
Although a Bit Precious, Also Practical:
Yes, as some reviewers have noted, the text about the creative impulses of the mystical writing process tends to be a bit precious for my tastes. That new-ageyishness aside, the practical advice offered more than makes up for the author's gushing love for the gifts of the muses. I, as a writing teacher, especially enjoy the attention he pays to developing an understanding of the fuel of good drama-- need, obstacle, conflict. (I should note that some of his terminology seems a tad off to me-- he uses... more info
Want to write plays or be a better playwright-? Read this book:
Spencer leads you through what will matter: What do your characters want? What is conflict? What is plot? Best of all, he offers you ways to be a better writer without tying you down to a list of things you must do. Will some academics want this book? Probably not, because it doesn't fit into imparting knowledge from on high or demand that you always do A, then B, then C.
One of the best writing books ever wrighted.:
Over the years, I've bought so many "how-to-write" books, that I also had to buy a special bookcase in which to stack them all. While reading all of these books has not yet transformed me into a famous literary genius, it has made me somewhat of an connoisseur of writing books. If you are looking to purchase one more writing book, I would recommend "The Playwright's Guidebook". The main strength of this book is Spencer's ability to distill the concepts of story structure and character into workable and... more info
Take your writing to the next stage.:
Most people won't listen to advice until they're good and ready. I had "The Playwright's Guidebook" in my office for over a year. When I finally read it, either I was good and ready to hear what Mr. Spencer had to say or what he said made a lot of sense. (Basically it was both.)
I've read Syd Field and taken McKee's course on Story Structure, yet I found this book to be of greater value. Why? Because Mr. Spencer doesn't lay down directives (as is common with most how-to books). Instead, he offers... more info
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