… editing my novel.
I haven’t written prose for a few years- I’ve been immersed in playwriting for so long that some major things have begun to emerge as the differences between the two. They might seem obvious but they’ve been interesting to me to explore…
- Playwrights don’t really have to describe how characters look. But when I read a novel, I crave that. I want to know what they look like, I don’t want to have to decide for myself based on what they do or say.
- Location, equally, isn’t something you absolutely have to address in a play, other than stating in the stage directions (SD) where the play is set. For example, Norfolk, 1987, a bed and breakfast in a small village near the sea. The designer then takes that and runs with it, to some extent, unless the area/landscape/place is a character in its own right.
- Interior thoughts. Obviously, in a play, characters can break the fourth wall and address the audience, but in general, the dramatic tension of a play comes from the interaction between characters; what they do, or show, not what they say about how they feel or think.
This all feels wonderful by the way… I’m looking forward to describing, spending time thinking about where they are, and researching lots of things that are local to my characters. Like the sea, which is so important it is pretty much a character as much as a location…
