Playwrights

Successful playwrights have had a great deal of experience writing. Many have written and published short stories, novels, non-fiction articles, and poetry before attaining success in theater.

Playwrights have excellent writing skills and a good command of the English language. They not only write well but have the ability to write dialogue. They have a story to tell and the ability to script it for the stage.

Playwrights are creative people. They can take an idea and make it exciting for others. Writing can often be lonely. Even if the playwright is collaborating with another author, he or she will do a lot of work alone.

Those aspiring to become playwrights must be thick skinned and resilient. There is a great deal of rejection in this career. Scripts are frequently turned down. The individual must be able to deal with these rejections without taking them personally and getting depressed and continue submitting until they receive an acceptance.

While there are playwrights who do not type, typing skills and knowledge of word processing are extremely useful. There are also special software programs which format scripts.

An ability to research is imperative for playwrights. With research, an individual can learn about the language, problems, and life of certain time periods that he or she develops in the course of writing.