How to Write a Play

Project GutenbergProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.8

Word count: 43K words
Chapters: 5

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.How to Write a Play by William Gillette and Dudley H. MilesAuthor: ,Language: English, Class: PN: Language and Literatures: Literature: General, Criticism, Collections, Release Date: Apr 22, 2006

Editor's review

This book is a playwriting guide co-authored by the early twentieth-century American playwright William Gillette and Dudley H. Miles, a public-domain work in the Project Gutenberg free ebook series. Its value lies not in offering a complete methodology for the contemporary film and television industry but in presenting primary material on early ideas about dramatic creation: how to organize conflict, shape characters, arrange scenes, and the standards by which professional playwrights of the time judged stage effects. For readers studying theater history or comparing the evolution of playwriting techniques across eras, this small book is a useful reference. Readers should note that its language and examples belong to a context a century old, and some terminology and stage conditions differ from today's; it is best read as a historical document rather than an instruction manual. It is suitable for use alongside theater theory courses, writing workshops, or independent study of playwriting history, and also for readers interested in public-domain English ebooks as language and text practice.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Researchers of dramatic literature and playwriting history who need primary material on early ideas about playwriting
Writing course instructors seeking historical playwriting texts for classroom discussion
Readers interested in public-domain English ebooks and early theatrical documents
Readers with some English reading ability who want to understand the context of stage creation a century ago

Not a good fit for

Beginners seeking a complete contemporary film and television screenwriting workflow
General readers who struggle with English and need Chinese translation and notes
Readers expecting systematic case analysis and modern dramaturgical theory

Reading tips

First read the table of contents and introduction to grasp the authors' basic framework for discussing playwriting, then read chapter by chapter.
Read alongside dramatic works of the same period to test how the book's principles appear in specific scripts.
Keep a notebook of points that clearly differ from contemporary playwriting ideas for later comparative study.
If used in class, select one chapter as discussion material and have students compare it with modern playwriting textbooks.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book suitable for someone with no screenwriting background to follow directly?

Not really. The book discusses ideas and conditions of stage playwriting from a century ago, and some terminology and stage conventions differ from today's. Readers with no background who copy it directly may find themselves out of step with contemporary writing practice. A safer approach is to treat it as a historical document and read it alongside modern playwriting textbooks, understanding which principles remain valid and which have been superseded by new stage and screen practice.

Why is this book published by Project Gutenberg?

Project Gutenberg is known for providing free ebooks, and its collection includes works that have entered the public domain. As an early playwriting guide, this book is a public-domain document, so the platform has edited and released it. Readers can obtain the English original for free, but should note that it is an electronically prepared edition focused on the text, without the notes and introductions of modern publications.

What English level is needed to read this book?

The book is written in English from a century ago, with sentence structures and word choices that differ from contemporary English; intermediate or higher English reading ability is recommended, with a dictionary to help with long sentences and theatrical terms. If your English foundation is weaker, you can first read an introductory Chinese book on playwriting to build a framework, then read selected chapters of this book as a supplement rather than forcing yourself to read it all.

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Project Gutenberg is not a single author but a nonprofit digital library founded by Michael Hart in 1971 and one of the world's earliest free ebook platforms. It relies on volunteers to digitize, proofread, and freely distribute public-domain works and is now operated by the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Its collection contains 2,692 works, mainly religious texts, epics, and story collections, including the King James Bible and the Douay-Rheims volumes, the epic Mahabharata, a literal translation of the Arabian Nights, and Danish editions of the Old and New Testaments. Public information is limited, and its nature is closer to a public-interest compiling and dissemination body; these texts are open to the public, easy to consult and circulate, and have had a profound influence on the spread of ebooks and the preservation of public-domain resources.