27 down, 3 to go!
We’ve nearly reached the end of November. Well done, everybody!
We started with thirty-plus writers regularly turning something in - and over the intervening weeks, we’ve slowly whittled down to a point where we’re in the low twenties, in terms of people turning something in each day.
That said, there have been, at last count, 690 bits of script created, totaling 2,230 pages, or the equivalent of about 18 and a half full length plays. So, nothing to sneeze at there. Good job, one and all!
Always remember, if you miss one day, don’t beat yourself up, just write again the next day.
And just to provide a little evidence that I do indeed actually write play scripts and not just a series of writing prompts for other people to write from, I’m including the following pictures of an advance copy I received of an anthology of monologues for transgender and non-binary characters and actors called “We/Us - Monologues for the Gender Minority.” A monologue from my play “But Not For Love” was selected to be in the collection, which is a much-needed bit of encouragement after this pandemic-induced dry spell of non-productions the last couple of years. You’ve all be nice enough to share the good news about your own writing throughout our time together, so I figured I should do the same.
Coming out of the holiday weekend, here's what you'll be working on Monday, to turn in on Tuesday morning before noon Central Time.
Let’s get you that writing prompt…
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Challenge #28 - Atmosphere
Due: Tuesday, November 29th, 12pm noon Central Time
(1pm Eastern Time, 11am Mountain Time, 10am Western Time for the US Time Zones)
Reading other people’s plays is great for seeing mistakes you might overlook your own and then think, “Hmmm, I should be on the lookout so I don’t do that myself.”
For example, I recently read a short play where two queer friends were helping each other get ready for a big Halloween party.
And at the very end, one character quite deliberately mentioned that they were in New York City in the early 1980s.
Sorry, too late.
You can’t retroactively try and supply atmosphere to your play right before it ends.
(Well, I suppose anything’s possible, but it comes off as kind of a cheap trick. Like the last line being, “Have a good day working at the Pentagon, dear - on this lovely Tuesday, September 11th of 2001!”)
Plus, the author of that Halloween play was under the impression that everyone would know what that time and place meant.
The beginning of the AIDS epidemic.
So these two friends dressing up like zombies or skeletons are heading out to party under a looming cloud of disease and death. It’s just nobody knows that yet.
(Heck, even that bad 9/11 example of mine also assumes that everyone born after 2001 is going to know the significance of that date.)
Chekhov got the benefit of atmosphere almost without really meaning to. He was just writing about what life was like at the time, in the late 1800s. He didn’t know that a decade or so after his death that there’d be a revolution in Russia and the entire way of life his characters had been living under would be swept away. Now, there was already a sense of decay, which he captured. And his characters were prone to think about what life would be like in the future, long after they were dead. One was even obsessed with the destruction of the environment and the change in climate, back in the late 19th century. And here we are still struggling with it in the 21st century. Period pieces have the benefit of modern audiences knowing that the way of life being portrayed onstage was in the past, and didn’t last, for whatever reason. Good plays will often explore that reason and show the seeds of the coming change, for good or ill.
Atmosphere needn’t be gloomy or foreboding either. It can just as easily be goofy or romantic.
Atmosphere and genre can have a lot to do with each other - but, for instance, history or science fiction can be very different depending on the angle from which the writer approaches them (upbeat futures vs. post-apocalyptic societies, triumphs of social justice movements vs. The Inquisition or The Crusades). Even the same set-up or event can be seen from different perspectives. Writers need to be careful that they’re controlling the narrative and not letting their audience jump to the wrong conclusions, that they’re getting across the messages they mean to convey.
Details help - time, place, season, weather.
Context.
Don’t assume your audience knows everything you know. Don’t be lazy. If you’re aiming for a particular target, you can be subtle about it, but make sure your audience has all the clues they need. They should know the target at which you’re aiming. Probably sooner rather than later. You’re not trying to trick the audience or sucker punch them.
But writing rules are made to be broken, as are writing prompts.
If you’re interested, try creating a world with some atmosphere - whatever that means for you.
Or, you know, whatever you like.
Just write.
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If you’re not interested in this prompt, you can try 2021’s challenge #28:
Companion Plays
Or, you know, just ignore the prompts altogether and write whatever you want - as long as you’re writing and turning it in by the deadline, that’s all that matters for the challenge :)
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Friendly Reminders - Answers To Common Questions:
(Follow the links to read me expounding on these items :)
Don’t Stress About Writing A Full Play
Don’t Stress About Sticking To The Writing Prompt
No. Really. I Mean It. Don’t Stress About Sticking To The Writing Prompt
Don’t Stress About Finishing An Idea (You Can Add Later)
Don’t Stress About “Succeeding” or “Failing”
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How to submit your work for Challenge #28
You have options. They are:
Save your script as a PDF or Word Doc and send as an attachment to an email sent to ThresholdWritingChallenge@gmail.com
OR
Copy and paste your script in the body of an email and send it to ThresholdWritingChallenge@gmail.com
OR
Post your script online (as a Google doc, or in a blog post, on your own personal website, etc.) - email a link to this script to ThresholdWritingChallenge@gmail.com
(If you’re going to Google doc route, just make sure to have the document public, or give permissions to our email address to open it)
When emailing us, make the subject line of your email - Challenge #28
(That just helps us sort through the email more quickly)
(Or, you know, just reply to this email if you want :)
OR
Post the link for the online document option above in the comments
section on this very blog post for this very challenge on the writing
challenge blog below
Again, this is: Due: Tuesday, November 29th, 12pm noon Central Time
(1pm Eastern Time, 11am Mountain Time, 10am Western Time for the US Time Zones)
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And, just to reassure you, no, we are not going to be sticklers about you following these directions down to the minutest detail - the important thing is that you write, and then that you share it with us, so we can keep track of who’s writing every day.
Also, no, there is no penalty for finishing and submitting early - but it also isn’t a race, so give yourself all the time up til 12 noon on Tuesday to write if you need it. When you’re done, you’re done.
Again, remember, it doesn’t need to be great, it doesn’t even need to be responding to this prompt (the prompt is just there so you’re not staring at a blank screen to start with no idea what to write about :)
Doesn't even need to be complete - you could have the beginning or the middle or the end of an idea, maybe two out of three but not all, that's still fine. This is all about getting things started, you can write more later. You have 2 more days to build on whatever you come up with today, if you want. Just get anything on the page, even if won't make sense to anyone else, as long as it make sense to you.
It just needs to be something.
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And that something can be:
Lights up.
Lightning and thunder.
A large shadowy figure stands in the doorway.
They are blocking the exit of someone who would very much like to leave.
Now what?
Lights down.
The End
That’s always your escape hatch, every day.
That’s your base line.
Build on it.
Have fun.
Don’t stress.
Make an impulsive decision and run with it.
Breathe.
You’ve got the day.
Just write.
Matthew A. Everett
Literary Director
Threshold Theater
(he/him/his)
Now Playing:
Our video recording of our third live play reading in the New Play Reading series, Sam Walsh's "The Visible," is up on our YouTube channel (available to stream through the end of November)
Coming Soon:
The
video recording of our fourth live play reading in the New Play Reading
series, Bethany Dickens Assaf’s “Leviathan,” will be swapping places
with “The Visible” on our YouTube channel in late November, early December
Coming Up:
Threshold Theater’s New Play Reading Series
A reading of “Zero State” by Allison Moon
Monday, March 13, 2023 - 7pm
The Black Hart of Saint Paul - 1415 University Avenue West in St. Paul
"Write. Find a way to keep alive and write. There is nothing else to say."
- James Baldwin
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