Playwright's Process Podcast

This month I look at procrastination as part of the writing process. I consider both the micro and macro ways it shows up in our specific projects, our creative process and our life as an artist. I speak about: Shame and the procrastination loop. Worrying, avoiding and anxiety’s relationship to procrastination. The desire to do something that we love beautifully. Delaying moving from one phase of...

In this episode I share how baking bread is a useful metaphor for writing a first draft. Both bread making and playwriting are an illusive combination of raw materials, method, mastery and luck. The final outcome depends on factors we can't even see. The writing process can be illusive. It can be hard to find language to articulate your experience. So when we grasp onto metaphors that mirror the c...

‘Draft Zeros’ ‘Discovery Drafts’ ‘Dirty Drafts’... In this episode I share how writing a draft zero has really helped me move my play into its next phase of development. I think the biggest distinction between a Draft 0 and a Draft 1 is that a first draft needs to be written to a standard where someone else can respond to it. Whereas a draft zero is a way to tell yourself the story during its very...

A chat about playwriting, dramaturgy and the ups and downs of pursuing the life of a writer with author Gillian Jakob Kieser on the Beautiful Possibility podcast. Today’s episode is a replay of my recent interview on the Beautiful Possibility podcast. We speak about the process of coaxing a story into existence - the inspiration, the daily practice, and the many ways in which we create, interrogat...

Tracking progress in the early phase of a project is pretty nebulous. What you’re tracking isn’t always clear, because how your ideas develop might not be observable.  An image I find helpful to keep in mind in early ideation is approaching the idea like an iceberg. 90% of an iceberg is  beneath the surface. We can’t see it, but we know that it’s there. So most of the ‘progress’ we make...

I’ve started working on a new play. This month’s podcast is about what’s been helpful and supportive as I’ve taken the very first steps to develop my next idea. I speak about: - Bringing more attention to areas of influence and inspiration that are already capturing your attention. - Brainstorming and freewriting on the themes, genres, central relationships and formal references you’re most drawn...

Oops! I’m Drafting Again. In the background I’ve been reworking some aspects of the play I finished last year, so this podcast is on diving back into writing projects after an extended amount of time away. I speak about: - Reading your own work at the same time of day you prefer to write in, as your mood and your energy levels can affect how you perceive the text. - Using a creative process journa...

It’s Part 3 of my summer project, which is completing ‘The Artist’s Way’ by Julia Cameron. In this episode I debrief on Weeks 9-12 and speak about: Week 9 | Compassion - Procrastination and discovering your particular brand of procrastination. - Overcoming procrastination requires self-compassion more than it does self-criticism. - Enthusiasm and discipline in long term projects. Week 10 | Self-pr...

It’s Part 2 of my summer project, which is completing ‘The Artist’s Way’ by Julia Cameron. In this episode I debrief on Weeks 5-8 of ‘The Artist’s Way’ and speak about:  - Showing up to create even when you’re not feeling yourself. - ‘Feeling behind’ versus allowing time to be elastic.
 Week 5 | Possibility  - Exploring what might be possible for our projects, our craft, our collaboratio...

It’s my first episode of 2022 and I’m talking about my summer project; completing ‘The Artist’s Way’ by Julia Cameron. In this episode I debrief on Weeks 1-4 of ‘The Artist’s Way’ and speak about: - Using ‘The Artist’s Way’ as a reset between major writing projects. - How ‘The Artist Way’ works. It's 12 weeks worth of essays, journal prompts and assignments on a particular theme related to creativ...

There are many points in an artistic timeline when you might need a creative reset. I’m currently in the threshold between one creative project and the next and in this episode I talk about: - Resting and recharging without letting go of the habits and routines built by writing to a deadline. - When moving from one project to the next feels like departing from a piece of yourself. - Not letting li...

I finished my play! Today's episode is about finishing creative projects and all of the decisions and mental shifts that happen as you work towards getting to the end of a major work.  I speak about: - Mindset and making a commitment to finishing an artistic project. - Making it the best version of the story it already is and not leaving things open for the other versions it could become. - R...

Today’s episode is about how I've used research to inspire the content and themes of my play. What’s been useful to research - and the tools and exercises I've used - have been different from draft to draft. So in today’s episode I speak about how it’s played a different role in Draft 1, Draft 2 and Draft 3. I cover: Draft 1 - Letting the themes guide the content I was consuming (audiobooks, podca...

I’m working towards a deadline for my final draft (Draft 3) of my play and using every spare pocket of time to make it happen. Working in this intensive, focused way has been unique to other parts of the writing process so in this episode I speak about what has been helpful and unhelpful in managing my time, my brain and my emotions in this final stretch of the project. I speak about: - Not rushin...

I’ve been thinking a lot about pace and timing this month as each draft of my play has required a completely different creative pace. In this episode I talk about: - Different drafts require a different pace.  - Our inner artist requires a different pace in different seasons of projects.  - Anxiety and our relationship to time. - The story we tell ourselves about the pace our project is...

I’ve just finished implementing a round of notes on a completed second draft, so thought I would talk a bit about dramaturgy and working with feedback in today’s episode. I cover: - Dramaturgy as a way to bring your project closer to your vision for the work. - Closing the gap between your intentions as an author and what’s coming across on the page. - The difference between the feedback you hear...

If you haven’t worked out what happens in your story in your first draft, don’t despair. I’m finding plotting the second draft so much smoother than I was expecting. The more you go on, and the more you know the story, the easier it is to make your project what you want it to be. In today’s episode I talk about plotting, as Draft 1 and 2 are uniquely different experiences. I speak about: - Plannin...

In today’s podcast I share what’s helped keep up momentum and motivation while writing and rewriting a second draft. I talk about: - Creating a goal for each draft that is more meaningful and motivating than ‘get to the end’ or ‘finish by this date’. - How to know when you're 'done' with a scene or section. - Using my new draft two goal of ’reveal as much of the story as possible’ to measure the w...

Something I have been finding really useful at this point of the writing process has been bringing more self awareness around my own expectations about where I think the writing should be in Draft 2. I’ve noticed I’m putting more pressure on myself now that it’s a ‘second draft’. Do you do this to yourself? In this episode I talk about:  - Expectations we place on the 'quality' of our writing...

In this episode I talk about rewrites and revision after spending a month or so working on a second draft. I touch on: - Revision as a chance to ‘re-vision’ the story, seeing it through new eyes and with more depth than what was possible in a first draft. - Loosely structuring the play by each narrative thread. Considering each thread of the story as it’s own narrative, then asking if each narrati...

Before I get started on rewrites, I’ve been hanging out in the space between Draft 1 and Draft 2. In this episode I share the writing exercises and prompts I’ve been using to keep developing the play until I feel ready to write another full draft. I touch on: - Using the space between drafts as a chance to recapture the magic of what drew you to the story. - The gap between what you think you’ve w...

Historically I’ve found finishing a first draft much more creatively demanding than rewriting second and third drafts. Different writers have different preferences and in this episode I share my thoughts on committing to finishing Draft 1. I cover: - Letting go of perfectionism in order to move ideas from a concept to words on the page. - Devotion and discipline when it comes to showing up and put...

I've been stuck in Draft 1 for months and months. I’m taking two weeks off to focus solely on getting to the end of Draft 1, so that I can create the momentum I’ve been lacking. In this episode I talk about taking our writing process seriously and the steps I’m taking to do my best work in an intensive environment. This episode was originally recorded in September 2020. You can watch the video dia...

Welcome to the Playwright’s Process Podcast! A monthly process journal about writing, craft and the creative process that will prompt you to think about the way you work and talk about your writing. Episode 1 is about sharing in between projects. As a creative, it can be easier to show up online when we have a finished work to share and promote, but in between projects it can feel vulnerable talki...