What Acting Taught Me About Writing

Last Friday and Saturday, I was in a play.  I've been in a few plays over the years and I've grown to really love it.  When I'm on stage, I get this feeling inside of me because in that moment, I'm a storyteller.  That got me thinking, because I'm also a writer.  Here's how my drama experience has helped my writing.

1. Getting into character is like writing in deep POV.

When acting, directors tell you to "get into character."  For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, getting into character is a method of acting where you mentally put yourself in the character's shoes.  You actually become the character.  It's similar to writing a book in first person.  You move your body in the way the character would move, you talk like they would talk, and you feel the emotions they would feel.  This all translates into believable acting.  The audience no longer sees you as actor so-and-so; they see you as The Character.

This should translate into writing.  Authors should write in their character's POV so that the reader only "sees" and feels what the POV character feels.  Everything should go through that character's filter.

2. Putting on a play takes practice, just like writing.

Putting on a play takes work.  For the play I was in last weekend, we practiced for about three months.  Some of those practices were four hours long.  We spent hours and hours perfecting movement on the stage, gestures, acting, costumes, lines, and the set.

Writing takes practice too.  This is called editing.  (This is where the tears come in.)  Authors perfect the "acting" (POV), description, wording, and really everything here.  And this is SO necessary.

3. Putting on a play requires many, many people.  Writing does too.

Think of all the people you need to successfully put on a play: director(s), actors, playwright, stage manager, stagehand(s), and tech people (for lights and sound).

You may think that writing a book only takes a single author, but you're wrong.  (Yes, there are exceptions, but the norm is that without other people in the process, the end result isn't great.). An author needs an army of people behind her to support her, help her develop her story, edit her work, and ultimately publish her work.

I know I never could have gotten my agent if I hadn't had people supporting and guiding me.

Have you ever been in a play?  What did it teach you about writing?