The New, Improved Playwright's Survival Guide: Keeping the Drama In Your Work and Out of Your Life

by Gary Garrison

The first edition of The Playwright's Survival Guide made life simpler for writers by offering an emotional, spiritual, and commonsensical approach to the profession and, most important, to their own writing. Now Gary Garrison returns and makes life even easier with a fully updated and revised New, Improved edition of his bible for aspiring and established playwrights. Garrison's how-to guide includes inspirational stories, tricks of the trade, and reassurance, and it now incorporates new information on dramatic structure, synopsizing a play, and avoiding the perils that can sink well-intentioned staged readingsall while maintaining the candid, enthusiastic, and, sometimes, salty voice that made the first edition so popular. Demystifying the playwriting process, Garrison speaks directly to practitioners, offering the lessons of the craft in his trademark blend of honesty, humor, and horse sense. He explores the questions that playwrights face every day, Don't just make a living at playwriting. Read The New, Improved Playwright's Survival Guide and make a life of it.

160 pages, Paperback

First published October 14, 2005

Reviews

[Rodney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Garrison hits it out of the park with this book. I've read books on playwrighting, books on "how" to write, books on "playwrighting" but this book is the one I've been looking for even though I didn't know it. Garrison shares his thoughts on how to survive as playwright giving insight and examples and "how-to" on sustaining the ability to be a playwright. Each chapter was a wake up call as I could relate to experiences he outlines in his book. Highly recommended if you think you're a writer, if you want to write or even if you want to know what it's like to be a playwright.

[Rachel Pollock · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another book for class, this one had the unusual distinction of being written with a tone and voice that made me want to fork my eye, yet so full of useful information that i might have to buy a copy for reference.