You want to write your first play but you don't know where to start ? We are here to advise you
Writing is an exciting activity that can take many forms. But when you want to tackle writing a play, the work can quickly become laborious and you don't know which way to approach it.
Let's take a look at some tips to guide your first steps in the field!
First, here are some tips to help you choose a theme! Once you've settled on a theme, it's time to start working on your characters.
Creating fictional characters
Now that you've set your theme and topic. You will need characters to carry your story.
Start by asking yourself which character is best suited to carry your story. Do you want a single, central character or a choral story (carried by several characters). Will you build your story in the form of testimonies with reported speeches or in the present tense with characters who evolve in the action?
Once you have decided on the character or characters that will carry your story, give them a personality.
What constitutes a character ?
Your hero or heroine doesn't have to be perfect, or we'll have a hard time relating to them. Start by making a list of their qualities but also their flaws. What are the little characteristics that give him or her personality, an originality?
What carries your character through life? What does he/she deeply aspire to? Is there a difference between his/her life, his/her internal desires and what he/she shows on the outside?
Where does your character come from? What is his/her history, his/her past, his/her traumas that make him/her the person he/she is today?
The more you complete your character's story, the easier it will be to make him or her evolve in the environment you are going to create and give him or her a real sincerity.
Character interaction
Now that you have your main character(s), don't forget to create a social environment for them that will influence their decisions and reactions. How does your character talk? How does he/she interact with his/her family members or the characters around him/her ?
These different elements will allow you to create real stakes and scenaristic springs to build your story.... which we will see next time!