Yesterday, I heard a script for the first time, at the table reading with the cast of this commission I’m working on for young audiences. For a playwright, the first table reading is half Christmas morning and half job interview, full of explosive joy and barbarous self-judgement. It’s got me thinking about Shakespeare, Sudoku, and “multiple intelligences.” Continue reading
Category Archives: how.to.write
60-Second Playwrighting Prompts: Write Now, Right Now
You got a minute? Give your playwrighting battery a jump-start with one of these 60 second prompts. Continue reading
Filed under how.to.write, playwrighting.prompts, writing.exercise
Word Choice in Dialogue: Whether the Weather
Someone walks up to you and says “I like this kind of weather.” Or, someone walks up to you and says “This is the kind of weather I like.” Then, the person walks away. Continue reading
Filed under how.to.write, play.in.progress, sf.olympians.festival, the.horse's.ass
My 4 Favorite Online Writing Resources
Ever get stuck in your own brain when you’re trying to be creative? Here are my Top 4 favorite online resources that help me shake things up when I feel like my mind is in a rut. Continue reading
Filed under how.to.write, internet.is.awesome, learning.about.things
What Writing Really Looks Like
Writing doesn’t always look like writing. When you hear the word “writing,” what do you think of? A pen moving across paper, or maybe a clicking keyboard and a glowing screen? Do you think writing is the application of language to a page? If that’s what you think of, you’re half right… but you’re also really wrong.
Writing is not the production of words. Continue reading
Filed under about.me, how.to.write, play.in.progress, the.horse's.ass
Grab the Nearest Protagonist
Right now, I’m in the middle of a play. Not in the middle of writing one. I’m IN a play, physically. Who’s it about, who’s the protagonist?
What makes a “protagonist” anyway? Continue reading
Filed under how.to.write, learning.about.things
Weather Forecast in the Tiny Zoo: Cloudy with a Chance of Realness
Whew. It’s almost December. I miss you, blog. Wondering how things are going in that pristine writing environment I set up a few months ago, my tiny zoo for dangerous ideas?
Well. Check it out. Here’s the zoo: Continue reading
Where The Magic Happens: A Tiny Zoo For Dangerous Ideas
Today, for the first time in the fully-nomadic creative history of Megan Cohen, I set up a dedicated workspace. Some might call it a writing desk, I call it A TINY ZOO FOR DANGEROUS IDEAS.
Here’s quick snapshot, and some thoughts about Why These Things, and Why This Way, and the weird voodoo (and pseudo-voodoo) elements of having a dedicated workspace: Continue reading
Filed under about.me, how.to.write, lets.get.started