This is the sixth part in a series, so if you have not already done so, you might want to read Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, and Part V before continuing.
“So, tell me more about this play in verse,” Sarah said as soon as she met up with Britney for lunch.
“Honestly, I have no idea. That’s as far as I’ve gotten.”
“Seriously?”
Britney held up one hand, palm facing Sarah. “You can’t rush the creative process. You must let it come naturally.” As she delivered this last line, she spun her hands in a circle around her head and then away from her to indicate flow.
Sarah scrunched up her face. “Is that a thing? I’m pretty sure I read online somewhere that writer’s block doesn’t really exist. It’s just something people come up with as an excuse to not write.”
“Don’t listen to what those hacks have to say. A true writer knows to listen to her muse, and when the muse is silent, the pen is still … or the keyboard, in this case.”
“So, your muse told you to write a play entirely in verse?”
“Well, we have this big assignment for my poetry class where we’ll have to write an epic poem, and someone asked if the poem could shift perspective, and when the teacher said yes, that got me thinking about whether I could write a play in verse for my final project. Maybe I could even turn it in to our Theater 101 class for extra credit or something.”
“I bet you could.”
“Great. Now I just need a plot.”
“You’re a writer. You must have tons of ideas in that brilliant head of yours. Isn’t there a story you’ve always wanted to write?”
Britney bit her lower lip, as if holding herself back from saying it out loud.
“Come on, of course there is.”
Britney smiled.
“Come on. Out with it.”
“Well, I have this aunt by marriage we’ve never gotten along with.”
“OK?”
“My mom is always complaining that my aunt thinks she’s so much better than we are, but then I got to thinking, what if my aunt thinks we’re the ones who are acting superior? So, I want to explore that concept in a play where each side gets to voice their grievances.”
Sarah’s eyes widened as realization dawned. “That would be amazing.”
“You think? And then, I was thinking we could have them talking over each other and their verses would overlap. Kind of like in a musical where characters sometimes sing over each other, but there’d be no singing in this one.”
“Oh, that’s brilliant.”
“You really think so?”
“I really, really do. Why haven’t you started writing yet? It sounds like you have a great concept.”
“Well, I just got the assignment today.”
“Yes, but as a very smart writer once told me, you must let the creative process come naturally,” she mimicked the hand gestures Britney had used when first explaining the concept. “Sounds like your muse is talking to you. And from what I hear, muses don’t like to be ignored.”
To be continued…
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