BOOKS:

THE ART of DRAMATIC WRITING by Lagos Egri
This is an all-round excellent book for the developing playwright, but in particular I recommend its first chapter on Premise. What is your point in writing your play? What is it above all else that you are trying to say by writing it? This isn’t about the theme, of which there can be several. It is about a single motivating power which stands above all others and which forces you to write this particular work. Your play must focus on exploring and developing this single premise above all else if it is to succeed as a great work. For an example (from the book), ‘Great love defies even death’, Romeo and Juliet. This is truly a fascinating first chapter.

INTO the WOODS by John Yorke (for scripts)
This book introduces the reader to the 5-act plot arc structure, which is a classical plot arc structure, starting with the Ancient Greeks and passing through Shakespeare. These days it can be found in films such as The Godfather. If you are interested in plot arc structure, it is a fascinating read, though I would not recommend anyone less than an advanced writer to attempt this classical plot structure. It is very difficult to get right and very easy to get wrong.

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