The Playwright's Guidebook During the more than ten years that
Stuart Spencer has taught playwriting, he has struggled to find
an effective handbook for his courses. Although most of the
currently popular guides contain useful ideas, they all suffer
from the same problems: poor organization; quirky, idiosyncratic
advice; and abstract theorizing on the nature of art. As a
result, they fail to offer any concrete information or useful
guidelines on how to construct a well-written play. Out of
frustration, Spencer wrote his own. The result, The Playwright's
Guidebook , is a concise and engaging handbook full of the kind
of wisdom that comes naturally with experience. Spencer presents
a coherent way of thinking about playwriting that addresses the
important principles of structure, includes invaluable writing
exercises that build upon one another, explores the creative
process, and troubleshoots recurrent problems that many
playwrights face.