The Writer's Toolkit

Exercises, Techniques and Ideas for Playwrights and Screenwriters

Paul Kalburgi

• Publisher: Nick Hern Books
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9781788503471
• Topic: Media & Performing Arts
• Subtopic: Theatre Playwriting

Perfect for playwrights and screenwriters of all levels of experience, The Writer's Toolkit will equip you with everything required to kickstart your creativity, develop your craft, and make your writing the very best that it can be.

Written by an experienced playwright, screenwriter and producer, this essential book is packed with almost two hundred practical exercises, techniques and ideas for every part of your process, designed to be used either solo or in a group. It includes:

Writing warm-ups to focus your mind and get your creative muscles in gear

Dozens of exercises to strengthen fundamental elements of your writing such as developing characters, improving dialogue, layering in subtext, creating a strong setting and constructing a compelling plot

Immersive-writing techniques to lift the world of your script off the page and allow you to shape it more effectively

A blueprint for writing a ten-minute play – a great way to practise your craft, explore a new idea and add to your portfolio

A Submission Surgery with exercises and pointers so you can review and fine-tune your completed work before sending it out

101 quick-fire writing prompts to help you warm up, take a break from your current project, or just keep you feeling productive

Also included are mindful meditations to use at the beginning and end of your writing sessions, to help you relax, boost your productivity and maximise your creative output.

Whatever you need as a writer – whether that's to crack a problem in your current script, develop ideas for future projects, build up your skills and experience, or bust through writer's block – this book will give you the right tools for the job. So get writing!

'A generous and inventive book, packed full of the creativity it is bound to inspire' Anna Jordan, playwright and screenwriter ( Succession, Killing Eve, Yen )

'An enthusiastic, encouraging guide with endless tips to make every stage of the writing process not only doable but enjoyable too' Diane Samuels, playwright and author ( Kindertransport )

PART ONE

MINDFUL
MEDITATION
BEFORE WRITING

1.1 Meet Your Muse

You’re relaxing on a peaceful tropical island. The gentle sound of waves ripples along the shore. The sun spills down onto your body, gently flickering across your face. The warm sea breeze drifts across your arms and legs. You feel safe in this space1.

After a moment... you notice a person in the distance. They walk slowly towards you, carrying a letter. You know this person. Perhaps they are a character from one of your previous works, or a new character you’ve yet to write about. You feel safe in their presence.

Very slowly, they move closer towards you… their eyes, mouth and spirit smiling all at once. Gently, they place the letter into your hands. As you look down towards the folded page, an immense feeling of excitement fills your body. Your eyes smile in appreciation as the person slowly leaves you in the tranquillity of your thoughts. Further and further they walk into the distance... back along the shore… until they have disappeared from sight.

Slowly, you open the letter. Go ahead... in your mind, read the first line to yourself. Now allow the words to play over and over in your mind. You hear them clearly. You see them sparkling vividly on the page. You know these words because they are yours. You wrote them.

Where the words live, who might speak them and what they might mean are an exciting stimulus to begin your writing session with.

In your own time, without rushing, slowly return to the room. Open your eyes, and when you feel ready to do so, sit up. If you have a whiteboard or noticeboard in your writing space, go ahead and write down those words now so that you can see them for the rest of the day. Otherwise, jot them down in a meditation notebook. One day, if not today, they might be the key to crashing through a writing roadblock.

1.2 Message in a Bottle

Imagine you are lying under a tree on a beautiful grassy riverbank. Sunlight dances across your closed eyelids as it peeps through the branches above you, which sway back and forth ever so gently in the breeze.

The sound of silence is only broken by the faint trickle of water from the river, as it ambles over smooth stones. Stay here a while. You are content. Nature has provided all that you require for this moment.

As your mind drifts in and out of a gentle slumber, you notice another sound in the distance. The soft twinkle of a glass wind chime, playing delicately in the breeze. With each deep inhale and exhale of your breath, you hear the chime sound. After a moment, looking down to the river, you see a small glass bottle with a long neck. The weight of its bottom allows it to sit upright in the water. Each time the wind sweeps past, it tilts gently from side to side. As it sweeps across the stones beneath, a chime rings out. Having connected the sound with the picture, you feel satisfied and relaxed. Enjoy this moment.

Feel the grass brushing against your feet as you step slowly down to the riverside. You notice how the sunlight reflects off the glass bottle as it drifts gradually towards you. Your eye is drawn to something inside of the bottle. Reaching your hand into the clear water, you pick up the bottle and take out a note from inside. As you unfold the paper, a single phrase is written inside.

Read the words aloud. Allow them to whirl around in your mind. What could they mean? Place the note back inside the bottle and step slowly back from the water’s edge. As you lie back down under the tree, sunbeams shimmer across your eyes. In your own time, when it feels right to do so, open your eyes and return to the room. Make a note of the phrase from the bottle in your meditation notebook. It will serve you in the future.

1.3 Today is Wonderful

With each breath you inhale, imagine a vibrant and brilliant white light entering your body. With each exhale, this light reaches a new part of your body, from your fingertips to your toes. The illumination is charged with positive energy. It makes you feel good about yourself and the work you will create today.

Feel it tingle through each fingertip with the words you will be empowered to write. Feel it nourish your creativity for the leaps you will take in progressing your current project. Feel it charge through your veins, giving you the strength to leap over any hurdles you might face today. Your entire body is alive with positive, creative energy, and the blank page awaits the words which only you can give.

Now use this energy to fill your sanctuary with positive words and vibes. Today is wonderful, and I am empowered to write. Go ahead… Repeat this aloud… ‘Today is wonderful, and I am empowered to write.’ Take a deep breath and say it once more. ‘Today is wonderful, and I am empowered to write.’ It feels good, right? Now, in your mind, repeat this line five more times, allowing the white light to enter and fill your body with each deep breath you take.

In your own time, start to wiggle your toes and fingers… then gently stretch your arms and legs. Now slowly open your eyes. Remember… Today is wonderful, and you are empowered to write!

A Final Stretch

Balasana, also known as child’s pose, is a resting pose that stretches the hips, thighs and legs whilst calming the mind and relieving stress and tension. If you choose to do so, move into child’s pose for a final stretch at the end of your meditation.

Start in a tabletop shape, on your hands and knees. Release the tops of your feet to the floor and bring your knees wider than your hips, big toes touching. Slowly lower your hips so that you are sitting on your heels. Now walk your hands forward and rest your head on the floor, or on a prop or rolled towel for support if required. Take several slow breaths into your belly and chest. To release, gently return to tabletop shape.

Experiment with these meditations and adapt them to suit your own needs, or try making up your own. Why not invent a new one each day? There are no rules, just go wherever your mind takes you and be open to experiencing whatever it is that your current writing project requires. Enjoy renewed focus and clarity without pressure or expectation.

Props	Benefits
Notebook and pen	Decreased stress
Background music	Increased positivity
White sage smudge stick or incense for burning	Improved attention
A yoga mat, rug or towel	Ideas for your writing

With the impulse to write, some writers can just sit down and write. They have the focus to hit the keys or spill some ink, and plant words on the page on demand. Perhaps you are one of those writers? For the rest of us, however, procrastination and writing often go hand in hand – we are the creators of magical new worlds, the makers of intriguing characters and weavers of wonderfully tangled plotlines… but sometimes, getting them out of our heads and onto the page can feel like a task best left for another day.

Whilst this book has been written as an aid to bypass any bumps in the road and to help overcome moments of writer’s block, this first part is a little different. Here we will explore how mindful meditation can help you to get the most out of your writing time, by cleansing the mind of clutter. Implementing this practice as a precursor to a writing session will afford you clarity and focus – leaving any distractions outside of your writing space.

Mindful meditation is widely accepted to have plenty of health benefits; most relevant to our purpose are decreased stress levels, increased positivity and improved attention – all of which can set us up for a great writing session. I began attending a yin yoga class a few years ago and found the meditative ‘surrender’ style of the classes so profoundly relaxing that I wanted to introduce some of the elements into my daily writing practice.

Participants in my writing workshops have enjoyed indulging in mindful meditation exercises, and often remark how energised and inspired they feel afterwards – geared up for a productive day of writing! In response to this, I have created three five-minute meditation exercises for you to try.

Set the Scene

Your writing room, study or space is your sanctuary. Close the blinds or curtains, light a candle and play gentle relaxation music to create a calming atmosphere. I love using the ready- made meditation and yoga playlists on Spotify for this… panpipes, white noise, bird song, a babbling brook... whatever will help you to tune out.

Californian white sage is a sacred herb that has been used by Native Americans for thousands of years to purify the energy of an environment. It is also great for removing feelings of negativity and providing an immediate lift within a space. I recommend burning a sage ‘smudge stick’ for a minute or so to renew and restore the energy within your writing space each day.

Get Comfortable

Lie on the floor, on a yoga mat, a rug, or just on the carpet. Make sure you are comfortable enough to spend five minutes or longer here. If you are not able to get down to the ground, a comfortable chair, or even lying on a bed will work too. Rest your arms on the ground beside you, or if seated, place them on your lap; palms open.

Meditations

Once you have found your happy place, try one of the following meditations, each about five minutes long. You can find audio recordings of the meditations at the following website: www.nickhernbooks.co.uk/writers-toolkit-meditations

Begin by listening to the introductory Tune Out (track 1.0), followed by your choice of meditation. Lie back, hit play and relax to start your day. Alternatively, as you become more familiar with the recordings, you may wish to perform the meditation from memory, adding any variations or extensions to sui...