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The Dramatic Writer's Companion: Tools to Develop Characters, Cause Scenes, and Build Stories
Moss Hart once said that you never really learn how to write a play; you only learn how to write this play. Crafted with that adage in mind, The Dramatic Writer’s Companion is designed to help writers explore their own ideas in order to develop the script in front of them. No ordinary guide to plotting, this handbook starts with the principle that character is key. “The character is not something added to the scene or to the story,” writes author Will Dunne. “Rather, the character is the scene. The character is the story.”
Having spent decades working with dramatists to refine and expand their existing plays and screenplays, Dunne effortlessly blends condensed dramatic theory with specific action steps—over sixty workshop-tested exercises that can be adapted to virtually any individual writing process and dramatic script. Dunne’s in-depth method is both instinctual and intellectual, allowing writers to discover new actions for their characters and new directions for their stories.
Dunne’s own experience is a crucial element of this guide. His plays have been selected by the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center for three U.S. National Playwrights Conferences and have earned numerous honors, including a Charles MacArthur Fellowship, four Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Awards, and two Drama-Logue Playwriting Awards. Thousands of individuals have already benefited from his workshops, and The Dramatic Writer’s Companion promises to bring his remarkable creative method to an even wider audience.
352 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
July 31, 2021
This is literally the most useful thing I've ever read about scriptwriting.
November 27, 2024
4.5/5
In depth book for playwrights but plenty of it can be applied to novelists.
This book wasn't what I was expecting. It turned out to be an invaluable reference! It covers so much and at first I was worried because it's written with screenplays and plays at heart, but I quickly saw that I could apply this to fiction easily.
Dunne explains the best way to use the guide and how it's set up. There's no index but there's a description of each chapter in the table of contents. Each chapter starts with four headings: the quick version, best time for this, explanation of why it's important, and about the exercise.
My favourite part is the "best time for this" in each chapter. It's so helpful as I'm always rushing into things or doing things out of order, but it's not a hard rule. Feel free to ignore it, I just found following it helped reduce on massive edits. I love the exercises. I'm a huge fan of prompts, and this companion takes it to a deeper level and I love it.
This is a bigger book so it might be a bit daunting. I found the formatting a little intimidating, but once I sat down with it and started working, it became very welcoming. It's really worth a try.
So thankful for my local library! I was able to check this out and try it for free and now I'll happily run to the bookstore and buy it for myself without regrets. Check your local library and request it!
In depth book for playwrights but plenty of it can be applied to novelists.
This book wasn't what I was expecting. It turned out to be an invaluable reference! It covers so much and at first I was worried because it's written with screenplays and plays at heart, but I quickly saw that I could apply this to fiction easily.
Dunne explains the best way to use the guide and how it's set up. There's no index but there's a description of each chapter in the table of contents. Each chapter starts with four headings: the quick version, best time for this, explanation of why it's important, and about the exercise.
My favourite part is the "best time for this" in each chapter. It's so helpful as I'm always rushing into things or doing things out of order, but it's not a hard rule. Feel free to ignore it, I just found following it helped reduce on massive edits. I love the exercises. I'm a huge fan of prompts, and this companion takes it to a deeper level and I love it.
This is a bigger book so it might be a bit daunting. I found the formatting a little intimidating, but once I sat down with it and started working, it became very welcoming. It's really worth a try.
So thankful for my local library! I was able to check this out and try it for free and now I'll happily run to the bookstore and buy it for myself without regrets. Check your local library and request it!
May 9, 2012
Will Dunne’s The Dramatic Writer’s Companion: Tools to Develop Characters, Cause Scenes, and Build Stories is one of several books I’ve read that target playwrights and screenwriters. In this case I think that’s a shame, as the exercises in this book, especially for character development, are useful to anyone who creates fictional worlds.
Like Roy Peter Clark’s Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer, this book has you apply the exercises to your work in progress, rather than to synthetic prompts.
For these reasons, this is my go-to book for those moments when nothing is working.
The Dramatic Writer’s Companion stands out because of the way it is organized. Many chapters are only a few pages long, and discuss the development of your story or characters out of a particular need you have. For example, take the chapter “Finding the Character’s Voice.” As in every chapter, Dunne provides a description at the top to let you know what it’s about:
FINDING THE CHARACTER’S VOICE
THE QUICK VERSION: Hone and contrast the unique voices of two characters
BEST TIME FOR THIS: Any time you need to know a character better
These “Best time for this” tags are invaluable. Here are some others:
During early story development or any time you add a new character
After you are well into the story
After you have a working sense of the main character
When a character seems like nothing more than an evildoer
During scene planning
etc…
In fact, these “best time for this” descriptions are so useful, I hope there will be an index of them in a future edition.
For my writer friends who use the Dramatica Theory of Story to build story structure and characterizations, I have found that Dramatica maps easily into these exercises, which provide intense focus on relationship.
Bottom Line
Indispensable.
Like Roy Peter Clark’s Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer, this book has you apply the exercises to your work in progress, rather than to synthetic prompts.
For these reasons, this is my go-to book for those moments when nothing is working.
The Dramatic Writer’s Companion stands out because of the way it is organized. Many chapters are only a few pages long, and discuss the development of your story or characters out of a particular need you have. For example, take the chapter “Finding the Character’s Voice.” As in every chapter, Dunne provides a description at the top to let you know what it’s about:
FINDING THE CHARACTER’S VOICE
THE QUICK VERSION: Hone and contrast the unique voices of two characters
BEST TIME FOR THIS: Any time you need to know a character better
These “Best time for this” tags are invaluable. Here are some others:
During early story development or any time you add a new character
After you are well into the story
After you have a working sense of the main character
When a character seems like nothing more than an evildoer
During scene planning
etc…
In fact, these “best time for this” descriptions are so useful, I hope there will be an index of them in a future edition.
For my writer friends who use the Dramatica Theory of Story to build story structure and characterizations, I have found that Dramatica maps easily into these exercises, which provide intense focus on relationship.
Bottom Line
Indispensable.
January 7, 2015
Easily the greatest writing textbook I've ever had, and the only one that I refer to nearly constantly--and it's useful for writing all kinds of imaginative works, including both plays and novels.
The book is essentially a series of questions to help you develop your plot, characters, setting, etc. These questions can be both broad and focused, and they are delivered in such perfectly organized capsules that one also learns a lot of craft along the way (all the sections begin with a short discussion of certain craft elements, though that's not the true appeal of the book).
I especially like that this book is one that encourages production. You're being guided through the creation of something, never told *how* to do that creating. As such, the book never gets old and is an especially helpful book for anyone who faces writer's block.
Frankly, I think that anyone who already has learned to competently write sentences and paragraphs could possibly create an excellent novel or play using *only* this textbook. Yes, they'd certainly still be able to learn more from other craft books, but no other book helps so much with stimulating the imagination.
The book is essentially a series of questions to help you develop your plot, characters, setting, etc. These questions can be both broad and focused, and they are delivered in such perfectly organized capsules that one also learns a lot of craft along the way (all the sections begin with a short discussion of certain craft elements, though that's not the true appeal of the book).
I especially like that this book is one that encourages production. You're being guided through the creation of something, never told *how* to do that creating. As such, the book never gets old and is an especially helpful book for anyone who faces writer's block.
Frankly, I think that anyone who already has learned to competently write sentences and paragraphs could possibly create an excellent novel or play using *only* this textbook. Yes, they'd certainly still be able to learn more from other craft books, but no other book helps so much with stimulating the imagination.
December 19, 2014
The best book on how to develop a creative writing voice.
July 6, 2017
A book of exercises for whatever you're struggling with. It's indexed and well broken down, and there are some exercises in here that I had not heard of previously. Even for ones I already knew and use, it's convenient having everything in one place.
April 17, 2023
Valuable and easy to access info for the dramatic writer. I especially loved the table of contents - well designed to help identify what you might need. This is a wonderful companion with excellent prompts and tips.
May 24, 2023
Decine di esercizi di ogni genere e tipo per supportare le varie fasi della stesura di un romanzo. Ci sono esercizi per principianti e esercizi più complessi. Ovviamente non si possono fare tutti ma ognuno sceglie i più utili in base alle proprie difficoltà.
August 24, 2018
A great tool for those of us who write experimentally but at times struggle with classic structure.
February 25, 2025
Great guide for playwrights
Got a lot out of this - well-structured and great, thoughtful tips for new playwrights from an experienced playwright who clearly knows his stuff.
Got a lot out of this - well-structured and great, thoughtful tips for new playwrights from an experienced playwright who clearly knows his stuff.
August 25, 2024
This is a practical exercise book for playwrights and screenwriters. It analyses techniques that can be used to improve the treatment of characters, writing of more effective scenes and building a better story. Will Dunne covers individual techniques to help solve writing issues in each section and provides exercises to go through. It would be less useful for beginners of the trade but would help the aspiring playwright by introducing some practical - but not trivial - techniques that can be applied. Each section contains a number of steps to achieve the desired effect.
Some people might find such an approach very formulaic and would believe that writing plays that work depend on creativity and natural talent, but I believe a structured approach might also help, so in that respect this book would be very useful.
Some people might find such an approach very formulaic and would believe that writing plays that work depend on creativity and natural talent, but I believe a structured approach might also help, so in that respect this book would be very useful.
November 16, 2012
One of my favourite writing-related books. I began using it years ago as a playwright, and discovered it works wonders for my fiction as well.
The book is a collection of exercises to help you flesh out characters, setting, story, themes, and dialogue. They're organized so you can pick out the appropriate exercise for how far along you are in writing: from planning the first draft to putting the finishing touches on a fourth draft.
Each time I try an exercise, I learn more about myself as a writer and about the particular story I'm working on. Highly recommended to drama and fiction writers.
The book is a collection of exercises to help you flesh out characters, setting, story, themes, and dialogue. They're organized so you can pick out the appropriate exercise for how far along you are in writing: from planning the first draft to putting the finishing touches on a fourth draft.
Each time I try an exercise, I learn more about myself as a writer and about the particular story I'm working on. Highly recommended to drama and fiction writers.
August 1, 2025
This one's not only for playwrights or screen writers. It's an excellent guide to writers of fiction in all genres. The exercises clear muddled thinking, and sharpen perspectives on the trajectory of a plot, the motivations and tactics of characters in achieving their ends, and clarifying the themes being explored. Highly recommended for writers of all genres.
August 20, 2011
This is a really helpful book for writers of all mediums. I use it every time I run into a problem with my writing.
November 26, 2012
Among the thirty or so books on creative writing I've read, this one is the best!
July 20, 2013
It's not a book you read from cover to cover. It's very practical and that's what makes it good.
Would recommend it to anyone as a tool to help you improve your already existing play.
Would recommend it to anyone as a tool to help you improve your already existing play.
January 10, 2016
One how-to book I'll be constantly coming back to. Insightful, simple and arranged in chapters that don't tax your attention span.
August 2, 2016
This book gets a rare five stars from me. I highly recommend this workbook to anyone who writes plays or fiction or teaches playwrighting or fiction writing.
June 30, 2021
Without a doubt, the best book on scriptwriting there is. Couldn’t recommend more highly.
December 21, 2010
Very informative to any kind of writer.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews