I’ve just finished implementing a round of notes on a completed second draft, so thought I would talk a bit about dramaturgy and working with feedback in today’s episode. I cover:

- Dramaturgy as a way to bring your project closer to your vision for the work.
- Closing the gap between your intentions as an author and what’s coming across on the page.
- The difference between the feedback you hear and the feedback that is actually given.
- Why I always record feedback and note sessions.
- Being asked good, dramaturgical questions forces you to articulate yourself in ways you haven't before, and this can reveal a new depth and new intellectual or emotional connections to your project.
- Taking the time to give yourself notes as if you were a writer you were working with. This can change how you approach the feedback you give yourself and force you to be more specific and thoughtful. Give yourself the best of yourself.
- Reading your own work at the same time of day you prefer to write in, as the mood you’re in and your energy levels can affect how you perceive the writing.
- Organising feedback and prioritising notes by asking, ‘Which changes will impact the story the most?’ Start there, rather than going for quick wins.
- Breaking feedback down into achievable sections.
- Typing directly into the draft when making changes can have a weight of expectation, so I like to copy the section I’m working on into a blank document and make any changes in there to stay playful and open to new discoveries. 

References:
Episode 5. Rewrites and Revision - for my process on rewrites and writing new material.

This episode was originally recorded in May 2021. You can watch the video diary here: https://www.instagram.com/tv/CPcogHwHc1A

You can learn more about my work on my website http://www.emilysheehan.info or say hi and ask me a question via @emilysheehan__ on Instagram.

If you haven’t worked out what happens in your story in your first draft, don’t despair. I’m finding plotting the second draft so much smoother than I was expecting. The more you go on, and the more you know the story, the easier it is to make your project what you want it to be.

In today’s episode I talk about plotting, as Draft 1 and 2 are uniquely different experiences. I speak about:

- Planning the story.
- The 'good enough' plan is far more useful than the ‘ideal’ plan.
- Imagining the idealised version of our story doesn't make enough room for the shitty scenes and less-than-average moments that will inevitably show up in a first draft.
- The route we take through a story depends on our taste as a writer.
- Getting stuck in the first 20-page loop of rewrites.
- When we hit a point in the story that isn't where we thought we were headed, don't be tempted to head back to the beginning and start over with a new plan. Keep going and know you can take a different path next draft.
- Getting to the end before you start changing things. Then you have an embodied knowledge of your story to work with (not just an imagined concept of what would/wouldn’t have worked).
- The beauty of straying from the path in Draft 2 is you can take detours depending on your taste and aesthetic.
- You have decisions available in Draft 2 that are only possible because you've walked through it once already.  

This episode was originally recorded in April 2021. You can watch the video diary here: https://www.instagram.com/tv/COWaftSHI7u

You can learn more about my work on my website http://www.emilysheehan.info or say hi and ask me a question via @emilysheehan__ on Instagram.

In today’s podcast I share what’s helped keep up momentum and motivation while writing and rewriting a second draft. I talk about:

- Creating a goal for each draft that is more meaningful and motivating than ‘get to the end’ or ‘finish by this date’.
- How to know when you're 'done' with a scene or section.
- Using my new draft two goal of ’reveal as much of the story as possible’ to measure the work I put in within each writing session. I’m also using it as a temperature check for if I’m done rewriting specific sections.
- My thoughts on the similarities between writing and watching a foreign language film. It’s almost like when working on a new creative project you’re watching a foreign language film without subtitles for the first time. You’ll be able to pick up on so much information even if you don’t know exactly what’s going on. But on the second or third watch (i.e. your second draft) you’ll be open to receive even more information with new context and familiarity with the story.
- Setting a timer when I write. It will reveal so much about your inner rhythms and you’ll start to notice patterns at which ‘minute’ your inner critic usually kicks in. I use 20 minute blocks because I find it to be the most motivating and achievable.

This episode was originally recorded in March 2021. You can watch the video diary here: https://www.instagram.com/tv/CMlUoc3HfZP/

You can learn more about my work on my website http://www.emilysheehan.info or say hi and ask me a question via @emilysheehan__ on Instagram.

Something I have been finding really useful at this point of the writing process has been bringing more self awareness around my own expectations about where I think the writing should be in Draft 2. I’ve noticed I’m putting more pressure on myself now that it’s a ‘second draft’. Do you do this to yourself? In this episode I talk about: 

- Expectations we place on the 'quality' of our writing at different points in the process.
- Expectations we put on ourselves when we’re writing hard-hitting scenes.
- Writing the significant moments and how this can bring up more pressure and self-criticism in the moment while we’re writing.
- Being willing to write material you aren’t in love with even when it’s a scene you really care about and even when it’s a second draft. 
- Having 'bad writing days' and questioning what constitutes a ‘bad writing day’ (it will be different for everyone!)
- In Draft 1 I found the hardest bit was ‘showing up’. Well in Draft 2 the hardest bit isn't showing up - it's writing the hardest pieces of the narrative puzzle which can get frustrating when you are showing up and it feels like average stuff is coming out.
- Consistency will get you somewhere. Average material will get you somewhere. Creative projects get written one writing session at a time so have faith in consistent progress over less frequent, inspirational bursts.

This episode was originally recorded in February 2021. You can watch the video diary here: https://www.instagram.com/tv/CLxgy0lHnJl/

You can learn more about my work on my website http://www.emilysheehan.info or say hi and ask me a question via @emilysheehan__ on Instagram.

In this episode I talk about rewrites and revision after spending a month or so working on a second draft. I touch on:

- Revision as a chance to ‘re-vision’ the story, seeing it through new eyes and with more depth than what was possible in a first draft.
- Loosely structuring the play by each narrative thread. Considering each thread of the story as it’s own narrative, then asking if each narrative only had five moments of stage time, which five moments would I choose? Then writing the five moments for each thread onto index cards and shuffling them around to see what felt right (I have 25 index cards because I have five narrative threads in my play).
- The moments you choose will depend on who you are as a writer, what you’re drawn to and your aesthetic and voice as an artist. 
- Overcoming decision fatigue.
- Using index cards (described above) and selecting one per writing session to focus on for rewrites.
- Aiming for manageable and meaningful progress each time I sit down to write. Making it manageable is key. You can’t think about all of the changes for all of the sections in each writing session. Keep it focused on one piece of the puzzle at a time.

This episode was originally recorded in January 2021. You can watch the video diary here: https://www.instagram.com/tv/CKtQICVHKg_/

You can learn more about my work on my website http://www.emilysheehan.info or say hi and ask me a question via @emilysheehan__ on Instagram.

Before I get started on rewrites, I’ve been hanging out in the space between Draft 1 and Draft 2. In this episode I share the writing exercises and prompts I’ve been using to keep developing the play until I feel ready to write another full draft. I touch on:

- Using the space between drafts as a chance to recapture the magic of what drew you to the story.
- The gap between what you think you’ve written and what’s actually on the page.
- Working with the season your project is in and tending to that season in a supportive way.
- Freewriting moments that never ‘made it in’ to the script.
- Writing by hand versus writing on a laptop.
- Moving from digital (my laptop) to analogue (a notebook) to slow down and see the words in a different way, without the pressure of formatting.
- Writing out the peripheral scenes and key moments in the story that aren’t in the script, but still affect the plot.

This episode was originally recorded in December 2020. You can watch the video diary here.

You can learn more about my work on my website or say hi and ask me a question via @emilysheehan__ on Instagram.

Historically I’ve found finishing a first draft much more creatively demanding than rewriting second and third drafts. Different writers have different preferences and in this episode I share my thoughts on committing to finishing Draft 1. I cover:

- Letting go of perfectionism in order to move ideas from a concept to words on the page.
- Devotion and discipline when it comes to showing up and putting in the work.
- How frustrating it can be when your creativity feels like a slog.
- Committing to being a devoted writer even when you don’t feel like an inspired writer.

This episode was originally recorded in September 2020. You can watch the video diary here.

You can learn more about my work on my website http://www.emilysheehan.info or say hi and ask me a question via @emilysheehan__ on Instagram.

I've been stuck in Draft 1 for months and months. I’m taking two weeks off to focus solely on getting to the end of Draft 1, so that I can create the momentum I’ve been lacking. In this episode I talk about taking our writing process seriously and the steps I’m taking to do my best work in an intensive environment.

This episode was originally recorded in September 2020. You can watch the video diary here.

You can learn more about my work on my website or say hi and ask me a question via @emilysheehan__ on Instagram.

Welcome to the Playwright’s Process Podcast! A monthly process journal about writing, craft and the creative process that will prompt you to think about the way you work and talk about your writing.

Episode 1 is about sharing in between projects. As a creative, it can be easier to show up online when we have a finished work to share and promote, but in between projects it can feel vulnerable talking about what we’re writing while things are half-formed. But I dont think talking about playwriting, theatre and performance (or whatever artform you work in) should have as much pressure and weight as a finished work. So this podcast is the first step of an experiment in showing up in between projects and sharing along the way. 

I hope you’ll get something out of listening and it will prompt you to think about the way *you* like to make work, as well as encourage other artists to talk about the artistic process as it unfolds.

This episode was originally recorded in July 2020. You can watch the video diary here.

About me… 

My name is Emily Sheehan and I’m a playwright and dramaturg living and making work in Australia. I also teach playwriting at the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) at the University of Melbourne. You can learn more about my work on my website or say hi and ask me a question via @emilysheehan__ on Instagram.