Playwriting: Structure, Character, How and What to Write

by Stephen Jeffreys

For over two decades, Stephen Jeffreys's remarkable series of workshops attracted writers from all over the world and shaped the ideas of many of today's leading playwrights and theatre-makers. Now, with this inspiring, highly practical book, you too can learn from these acclaimed Masterclasses.Playwriting reveals the various invisible frameworks and mechanisms that are at the heart of each and every successful play. Drawing on a huge range of sources, it deconstructs playwriting into its constituent parts, and offers illuminating insights Structure – an in-depth exploration of the fundamental elements of drama, enabling you to choose instinctively the most effective structure for your play- Character – advice on how to generate and write credible characters by exploring their three essential story, breadth and depth- How to Write – techniques for writing great dialogue, dynamic scenes and compelling subtext, including how to improve your writing by approaching it from unfamiliar directions- What to Write – how to adopt different approaches to finding your material, how to explore the fundamental 'Nine Stories', and how to evaluate the potential of your ideasWritten by a true master of the craft, this authoritative guide will provide playwrights at every level of experience with a rich array of tools to apply to their own work.This edition, edited by Maeve McKeown, includes a Foreword by April De Angelis.'What Stephen Jeffreys doesn't know about playwriting isn't worth knowing' - Stephen Daldry'Stephen Jeffreys is as important a teacher as he is brilliant a writer… Without him, I wouldn't have been able to write the plays that I have written' - Simon Stephens'An incredibly useful writing helpmeet. As witty and humane as its author' - Emma Thompson'What Stephen taught me has shaped my mind and I have shared this with countless writers' - Kwame Kwei-Armah'Stephen was a true mentor… I still draw upon much of what he taught me today' - Abi Morgan'Like a bird in the air, Stephen was utterly in his element as a teacher. We sat spellbound' - Phyllida Lloyd'I had the great pleasure of working with Stephen on his play The Libertine. Would that all playwrights had his openness, his talent, his hard-headedness, his experience, his enthusiasm, his audacity, his complexity, and perhaps best of all his talent and interest in eliciting the best in others' - John Malkovich'Stephen's wit was legendary. "Wit": from the proto-Indo-European word "weid" meaning "to see"/"to know". Stephen "saw" clearly and "knew" profoundly; which is why we sought out the clarity of his words and learned deeply from his laughter' - Simon McBurney'Stephen was more than just a great bloke whose easy laugh set a room alight; he was a genuine geek, an obsessive about the craft of writing… As I read, I was reminded again of his deep connection to plays and how they work. There are gems in here, there is guidance, there is the spirit of Stephen Jeffreys' - April De Angelis

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction, Theatre, Plays

392 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 18, 2019

Reviews

[CM · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have never read a book breaking down narrative structures in such a clear, comprehensive, and insightful manner and the rest, eloquently written with recent examples, is definitely top-notch suggestions and sharing. The only reason I'm not giving it 5-star is my own prejudice to how-to books. You don't need to be an aspiring playwrights to benefit from his teaching (I am not) but this is going to be a staple in playwriting courses for a very long time to come.

[Duncan Swann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great writing advice

[Harry McDonald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Invaluable.

[Jack Wrighton · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a rule I avoid 'How to [insert creative thing]' books. But having seen quite a few prominent people in the industry praise this book, and having been aware of Jefferys' status in the industry I thought I'd give it a go.

You can really tell this book was born out of his workshops, it is full of practical advice and exercises to try yourself. I wish this book had been available to me when I was a plucky 16 year old who expected to be a famous playwright by 19. It also displays his impressive encyclopaedic knowledge of plays and playwrights, and at the end there are a few pointers on navigating the industry. Worth having on the shelf.

[Josh Middleton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phenomenal read! Clear, concise, comprehensive. Jeffreys writes with precision, and each chapter delves deep into each titular category. In his writings he references a slew of plays, of different genres and from all over history. However, I wished he'd considered more international playwrights.
Apart from this shortcoming, he never fails to impress with excellent diagrams. Each diagram is thoroughly researched and explicit in detail.
Jeffreys is an authority on playwriting, and if you're someone who is interested in writing plays for the first time but don't know where to start, I would highly recommend picking up this bad boy. It's an impressive read, and a reference guide that will help any emerging and established Playwright alike throughout their career.

[Hilary Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good tips on approaching writing a first draft but the advice was not better than what you get from a reading any writer’s craft talk. Some of his advice is delivered through long-winded anecdotes, which becomes tedious. Some of his advice is delivered through well-known examples, which is helpful. However, he takes a long time to get to his point, which is annoying. His advice is not argued in a well-structured way. Overall this book could be more concise and scientific description of the playwriting process and less like a lowbrow analysis of plays in general. But maybe this simply reveals that plays are not as intellectual an exercise as they appear on the outside.

[Granny Swithins · Rating 5 out of 5]

An unfortunately dry title for a book that's written with warmth and wit. This book is born from Jeffreys years of experience in teaching writing workshops and so contains a lot of very practical advice- he understands what it is that playwrights need to know. Very accessible, avoiding dull critique, Jeffreys knows the likely stumbling blocks in writing a play and how best to overcome them, with a particular interest in what can be achieved through consideration of a play's structure. The best book on playwriting that I've read so far.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I am in the process of writing a novel, my friends bought me "Playwriting" about how to write a play. In spite of that however, I have found this immensely useful, packed full of tips about character, structure, plot development. It has helped me improved my dialogue and also to think about the novel visually and that has enhanced the outcome.. Highly recommend for all creatives, even if you are not writing a play.

[Amy GB · Rating 5 out of 5]

Where has this book been all my life?

For playwrights who are winging it, a thorough investigation of how and what to write. I'm so tired of going to writing workshops only to be told, "well, we won't get into theories of story structure, coz that would be a book". THIS IS THAT BOOK.

[Joshua Quiñones · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books on writing—of any genre—I have ever read. Seldom does one find a “one-stop-shop” when it comes to covering the varied elements of the craft of playwriting, yet this text does so miraculously and with great readability. An absolute must-own for playwrights and critical readers of all kind!

[Jon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was exceptionally readable and accessible, incredibly practical and useful— one of the best “how-to” books I’ve ever read. And not just for playwriting, I’d recommend it to any writer working on narratives. I borrowed it from the library but I’m going to buy a copy to keep on hand as a reference.

[Hassan Abdulrazzak · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic book with clear and practical advice from a superb teacher.

Stephen was my teacher at RADA and this book contains a distillation of his method. He was a formidable playwright. Highly recommended for anyone interested in the art of writing a play.

[Corey Terrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a bit dubious when it comes to books on how to write but this is just brilliant on playwriting. Clear, concise, compassionate. I learned so much from it and I just know I'll go back to it again and again.

[Mordred Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

A truly fascinating book for writers and readers alike.
Useful not just for playwriting but any form of story creation and understanding.
It offers useful information regarding plot, structure, characterization, language and themes. Easy to understand and in depth.
I highly recommend it.

[Naji Tawk · Rating 5 out of 5]

The amount of life experience in this book is amazing!
Reading this study was like extracting the best cream of playwriting in a matter of few months.

[Eduardo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Without a doubt, the best "how to" book I've ever read.

[rjjmh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Invaluable. Clear, helpful guidelines on playwriting structures and techniques. Such an easy, often amusing and extremely inspiring text.

[Bill Potter · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was okay. I guess

[Teresa DB · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best book on playwriting I've read in the last decade. ESSENTIAL READING!

[Benn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book I ever read on the art, skill, and craft of writing. Most excellent!

[James Binz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome work. Great points and terrific tips. Well researched and very easy read.

[gurvy · Rating 5 out of 5]

❤️

[Irene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un libro imprescindible para la escritura teatral o dramaturgia.

[msmaizie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good information. Many references to plays. I was unfamiliar with many of them. If you hope to read about writing comedies, this book mostly ignores them.

[Joe DiPietro · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent, clear, perceptive how-to manual on playwriting. Lots of other playwrights swear by it -- and I can see why.

[Niamh Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Smells like success.