#playwrightlife

It's taken me a while to think of another reason than the other 36, of why I Love Writing Plays, but being away from writing anything creative has reminded me of one: being surprised!

There's absolutely nothing like being in "the flow" of writing when a character takes over my fingers and starts to say things I never even thought they would say or go. Or if I've already outlined everything that's going to happen, a character does something to change the direction of the scene or entire play. Luckily, I've been writing long enough to embrace those surprises! Being a control freak, those instances could be maddening, and in real life, those times would drive me up the wall, but in the creative safe space between the margins of a Final Draft page riding on a floating cursor, those surprise journeys makes writing the story really enjoyable.

Also, those are the times when I feel like I'm more than the person I am. I don't know what I did to have those "superpowers" of storytelling, but I'm truly grateful for those moments.

One of the best things about being in that "zone" while writing is knowing that when I sat down to plug in my laptop and start typing away, the sun is still shining through the windows... and when I look up, all I see are headlights going through a parking lot. Time freezes, everything is still, and the only thing moving are the pages of a fresh new play. It's the greatest thing about being an artist in flow... just a stream of energy that happens while time passes in a blink of an eye. Writing a play gives me that power, and truth be told, it's NOT ALWAYS like that, but when it does... magic.

It's the closest thing I'll ever feel to being on tour, but I'll take it as a writer! I really don't have many opportunities to go to other places, much less get produced in other parts of the country (or internationally, I wish!) but when that fortune comes, there's nothing better than to see first hand how a play gets consumed by an audience in another city! A privileged trip worth taking if able.

I know I'm in the writing zone when I reach a point where I just need to stand and start paving in a little square space around me. I think it's more of a superstition: there's a scene in A FEW GOOD MEN where Tom Cruise's character is stuck with a problem and picks up a bat and kinda walks around with it til a magical idea hits him! That's kinda how I see pacing does to me: like take tiny steps to find a big solution to a puzzle, which writing a play is all about!