Playwriting - Part 6J - The Working Process, Specific is General

This entry, in a way, goes along with the last entry. The desire for a large group of people to relate to a play is understandable. When people start writing plays, they often try to make situations seem extremely general without tackling specific details. They may only refer to troubles or loves or hobbies.

Of course, everybody has t hose things and that makes it obvious why playwrights, early on, may try to be general. However, when trying to be general, that doesn't allow for details in a play and things are no longer clear. The play suddenly has no substance and often nowhere to go.

Instead of being general, be specific. If a character's hobby is collecting stamps and the hobby is an important part of the play, go into detail about collecting the stamps and about finding the certain stamps wanted. People are going to relate that hobby to hobbies of their own. If a character is dealing with kidney disease, be specific about the struggles of dealing with disease. The audience will relate that disease to times they have been sick or to reasons they are sick if they've had or have those things and the struggles they have.

When you are specific in a play, you give the information that is needed so the audience can understand the play. Then, because the audience understands the play, they can relate the different concepts in the play in their lives.

If you feel that the audience cannot relate the play to concepts in their lives, you have forgotten to be writing for the smartest people that you can imagine. Even if the audience doesn't relate to the concepts, you've given them important details for your play. They need to understand the play and not feel lost in it.

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