Writing Plays vs Writing Novels - podcast

Joe Meno, playwright and author of “Office Girl,” talks about the difference between writing plays and novels, and the relationship between the two. When he moved from book writing to playwriting, he learned that storytelling has many of the same elements regardless of the form, whether it's a musical, short fiction, or movie. Moving between different forms helped reinforce what's most essential about storytelling, such as character, conflict, and structure. One difference between writing a book versus writing a play is that there's more collaboration in playwriting. He often worked with the director, actors, and composers. It was a more creative, open process with fewer set rules or assumptions. Another difference between a book and a play is that most forms of storytelling are complete, but plays are incomplete until the audience is in the room and the performance happens.