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Take Five

© Dave Brandl

Sometimes you just need a break. While a writer writes because it's necessary to, one cannot pursue anything so long that it becomes a rut. Just as a returning from a vacation away from a job frequently results in a new look at it and a realization that perhaps many of the problems were perceived to be more challenging than they really were, so, too, can a break from playwriting help bring not only a rejuvenation in energy and a recharging of one's creative batteries, but can also result in a fresh look at things with which one has become intimately involved.

Obviously, being committed to one's discipline implies that one cannot, one must not, one shall not abandon that commitment. But even dedicated athletes have off seasons where they can pursue other interests and get away for a well-deserved rest. With the end of summer upon us, I look back and see that I have worked on various scripts (stage, screen, and video) almost continuously for several years. Sometimes many hours a week were applied; sometimes just a few. But throughout the time, my mind was always doing some writing, editing, or creating. Maybe I'm due for a break.

But what is a break? Can one ever really cease a passion, even for a short recess? As a writer with a focus on plays, I am constantly evaluating slices of life to determine if they may become plots, characters, sections of dialogue, or settings. I look at each person I encounter to see if there are any characteristics from them that may become live on stage. I overhear conversations and consider whether snippets of them would move an audience. Events that occur in life ever have the possibility to become part of a plot line.

So keep your options open. If you hit a lull, rather than feeling like you're goldbricking, listen to your subconscious. You know as well as anyone that when you're truly inspired, motivated, and full of energy that you can sit for hours at a writing session pouring out word after word of terrific material. You also know that you can sit at a keyboard and produce little or nothing, not because you don't have a plan, but rather because perhaps at the end of the day, the mind may be willing, but the flesh is not cooperating, or maybe even the mind is saturated from the day's events and doesn't want to produce any more.

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