My latest play went on sale last weekend – but this is not a plug to go buy a ticket!

I just wanted to share my thoughts on how I felt when I saw the post about my play finally opening.  I was excited for sure but you may be surprised to hear that this initial spasm of happiness was quickly followed by the thought - wow, that took a long time. And then a second thought - why am I surprised?

Cos here's something that new writers don’t know – and that even more experienced writers sometimes forget -this writing lark takes time.

Now you think I'd have a grip on this little truth nugget - but somehow I'm STILL surprised by how long it takes to get my work into the world. 

It's hardly surprising then that writers get frustrated, impatient and annoyed.  Even envious when we see other people seemingly achieving their writing goals with ease. (Things always look easier from the outside so we can probably let that one go.)

Truth is if you’re writing anything of length– play, screenplay, novel, short story collection – going from first word to public outing is a goddamn marathon!

Let's look at the path my play took.

I started it in 2015 with an idea I had during a workshop. It took me a while to get the first draft finished – like over 18 months but I had promised myself I would get it into the 2017 Adams New Play Awards – so smashed it out just before the deadline.  It was a bit wonky but got shortlisted (encouraging!) - I also got feedback that it needed more work. 

So another draft, some more feedback and then another draft.  If I had absolutely nothing else to do I probably could have achieved all of this in a year but I was busy trying to make a living – and y’know - life. 

Once the better draft was finally done Playmarket sent it out to all the theatres in NZ.  AYEAR later a theatre company expressed interest and organised a read through with actors.

I was thrilled, it was great. There were meetings, more notes and then another draft.  But by the time I had delivered that new draft the pandemic was kicking in – and theatres generally were in no mood to be considering new plays – far too busy just trying to survive.
 
I waited.  Nothing…

Then I was asked by a small local community theatre if they could do a public read through of my play. I agreed – and there were some people in that audience who really liked it.  Cue another theatre company hearing good things about my play and asking to read it.  This led to to it going into production - and two weeks out from opening night - it was cancelled due to national lockdown.

Long story short it finally enjoyed a sellout season in 2022.

But we are talking 7+ years from concept to stage – which by all accounts isn’t even that bad.

So what can we take from all this?

Several things actually - all of which I wish someone had told me when I was starting out.

• Writing something significant is a marathon not a sprint

• Patience is not just a virtue – it’s a necessary survival skill.

• Buckle in - your writing career will take years to build.

• Before you enjoy any form of success there will be lots of writing, rewriting, submissions and even more submissions. And failure.

• With all the talent in the world your craft will only improve with time and practice. Going from good to great takes work, focus and discipline.

• Not everybody will love your work or see it's potential.

• We shouldn't be afraid to help and feedback from others to make our work the best it can be.

• The sooner we understand and accept all of this - the happier we will be!

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