I’ve had the flu all week so I haven’t been thinking about much except which old war film I should next watch on TV.  I find them especially good to nap to.

But during my occasional glimmers of cognitive thought, I’ve been continuing to think about writing plays.  I thought I’d pass along these words of wisdom from David Mamet I saw the other day, courtesy of The Writers’ Guild blog:
QUESTION:WHAT IS DRAMA? DRAMA, AGAIN, IS THE QUEST OF THE HERO TO OVERCOME THOSE THINGS WHICH PREVENT HIM FROM ACHIEVING A SPECIFIC, ACUTE GOAL.

SO: WE, THE WRITERS, MUST ASK OURSELVES OF EVERY SCENE THESE THREE QUESTIONS.

1) WHO WANTS WHAT?
2) WHAT HAPPENS IF THEY DON’T GET IT?
3) WHY NOW?

THE ANSWERS TO THESE QUESTIONS ARE LITMUS PAPER. APPLY THEM, AND THEIR ANSWER WILL TELL YOU IF THE SCENE IS DRAMATIC OR NOT.

Sounds like this could be applied to any genre, really, doesn’t it?
And now, before I fall back into my fluish haze, I will wish you all a happy holiday, whatever you celebrate, and a reasonable April 1st: