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SO YOU WANT TO BE A WRITER

Module I: Obsessed by a Story

Lanford Wilson Pulitzer Prize for Drama Get the Flash Player to see this video. I get curious about a subject and then I go out and start the research, and at some point it's just I've got to start writing. I want to start moving it in the other direction. I'm ingesting all the time when I'm doing research. Now I want to start telling the story and as soon as I start telling the story I realize that what the reader needs to know next to make this understandable, I don't know. I've got to go find that out. You learn what the gaps in your knowledge are by starting to tell the story.

RESEARCH FOCUS
So You Want to Write Plays

RESEARCH CHALLENGE
When John Grisham became obsessed with a courtroom-related story, he wrote a novel. When Landford Wilson thought of a story idea, he surprised himself by writing a play. The experience transformed him into a playwright. What does it mean to be a playwright? Conduct research to learn more about this interesting writing career.

Use the following research questions to get started. Add your own throughout the research process.

• What does a play look like in written form? What structure does a playwright use to tell the story? Is it a structure to be read or performed? Why?
• Which playwrights do you know about? What are their plays about? Are they humorous or serious?
• What is the difference between a playwright and a screenwriter?

Choose one of the following research projects to express your ideas.

• Research the life and works of a famous playwright. You might choose a successful playwright either from history, such as William Shakespeare, or someone who is more contemporary. Create a play poster that graphically presents information about this playwright's life and one of their most well known plays.
• Read a one-act play. Write a review of this play using the information you have researched about what makes a good play. Bring friends together and do a reading of the play. Using this play as a model, write your own play about a story that has meaning to you.