Why You’re Not Writing Every Day – And How to Start

by Cate Cammarata | Jul 21, 2025 | Community, Theater, Writing Tips

For Playwrights and Musical Theatre Writers Who Want to Keep the Momentum Going

Let’s be real: you want to write every day.

You’ve got this show in your head that deserves to be on its feet—living, breathing, moving people. Your characters show up in your dreams, talking to you, begging you to make them come alive.

But when you sit down to write, you look at the blank screen, your mind races, you have a zillion other things to do and suddenly it’s 10:30 PM, you’re exhausted, and Netflix wins once more.

You’re not alone.

Writing daily is one of the most common struggles among playwrights and musical theatre writers. The pressure to be brilliant, the emotional vulnerability of putting words on a page, and the sheer time-suck of everyday life—it all adds up.

But here’s the thing: writing every day isn’t about discipline or punishment. It’s about building momentum, one actionable moment at a time. And getting produced is somewhat of a numbers game – the more great shows you have, the greater your chances of getting seen.

Let’s break down why it’s so hard to write everyday —and how to flip that script.

1. You Think You Need a Lot of Time

Many writers believe they need a full, uninterrupted hour (or three) to do some real writing.

But face it, long sessions are rare and unsustainable. Most of our lives are crazy busy these days. How do you find those undistracted moments to focus on your play even once a week, much less every day?

Here’s the thing to remember: You don’t need to write the entire Act I today—you just need to get something down.

What to try:

Set a 15-minute timer. That’s it. One focused sprint. You’ll be amazed at how much clarity can come from a short burst.
Keep a “daily scene” document: one page, one moment per day. No pressure to connect everything yet.
Make a promise to yourself to write badly. Take the pressure off yourself to be brilliant. Just write every day. Watch what happens when you just show up.

2. You’re Waiting to Feel Inspired

Ha! If you’re waiting to feel “inspired,” you may wait a long time.

But here’s the truth. There’s power in just showing up. If you only write when the muse strikes, you’ll end up unfocused, depressed, and thinking you should just give up.

Inspiration is not the starting point—it’s the result of showing up consistently.

What to try:

Create a ritual before you write: light a candle, put on a specific playlist, or make tea. Cue your brain that it’s time to enter the world of your show. Make the ritual repeatable at the same time every day (or most days).
Keep a running list of scene or song prompts (e.g., “Write a confrontation,” “Write a song of longing,” “Write the moment before they kiss”).
Before you sit to write, get into the next moment in your show visually first, in your head. I find this mental transition (while doing other things before your writing time) helps “prime the pump” of inspiration.

3. You’re Afraid It Won’t Be Good

Perfectionism kills momentum. First drafts are supposed to be messy. If you’re judging your work before it exists, it will never exist.

One thing I always tell my writers: Writing and editing are two separate processes. Don’t combine them.

What to try:

Write in a “sketch draft” mindset—you’re not writing the final script, you’re just sketching what might happen.
Automatic writing for 15 minutes. Use a pen and notebook to trick your brain into being less formal. No one ever has to see this version. Some people call this the “vomit” draft. Just get it on the page.
As to worrying about being good, that’s part of the process. Allow yourself to write badly. Writing is just re-writing, always refining the work. It will keep getting better and better if you persist.

4. You Don’t Know What Will Happen Next

Feeling stuck in your story is a legit momentum killer. But you don’t need to have it everything all figured out right now to keep going.

Just stick to your 15 minute writing routine and get something on the page. You’ll figure it out as you go along.

What to try:

Jump ahead. Write a later scene you do know.
Write a character monologue about what they’re feeling right now. Clues about your next scene often live inside your characters.
Know where you’re going. What is this play or musical about? What message are you trying to give over to the audience at the end?

5. You’re Going It Alone

Writing is solitary, but theater is collaborative.

If you’re trying to do this all by yourself, it’s easy to lose energy. Find someone to share your progress with.

What to try:

Join (or start) a small writers group with weekly check-ins. It’s remarkable what holding yourself accountable to a writers’ group will do for your process. CreateTheater has many to choose from.
Share short pieces with a trusted friend or fellow theatremaker to create momentum and accountability.
Hire a dramaturg to review your work and offer suggestions to move it forward.

✨ Try This: The “Daily Show Builder” Ritual

(5 Steps, 20 Minutes Max)

Step 1 (2 minutes): Review what you wrote yesterday (no editing—just read).

Step 2 (1 minute): Write down today’s scene or moment goal.

Step 3 (15 minutes): Write. No deleting, no second-guessing.

Step 4 (1 minute): Jot down tomorrow’s “next scene idea.”

Step 5 (1 minute): Celebrate. Out loud. Yes, even just “I wrote today!”

Final Thought: Small Progress Is Still Progress

Living a creative life is all about the process.

Some days you’ll write three pages. Some days, just a single line of dialogue. It all counts.

Progress in theater isn’t linear—it’s built in scenes, in stumbles, in sticky-note revelations.

So don’t wait for the perfect moment.

Don’t wait to feel ready.

Just write the next beat.

Your characters (and audiences) are waiting.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Want a free downloadable version of the Daily Show Builder Ritual of your own?

Let me know and I’ll send it your way.

Get the Daily Show Ritual Builder!

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Down Time

by Cate Cammarata | Dec 16, 2024 | Inspiration, The Working Playwright, Theater, Writing Tips

The Working Playwright

by Melissa Bell

I know the deal.

You wake up. Maybe you hit the gym. Deal with hungry kids and needy pets. Work a full
day. Walk into work to find 85 email messages in your Inbox. Work a full day. Make dinner. Afterwards
maybe you find time to write a scene in your play.

Or maybe you’re working on a commission or making revisions after a read-through and preparing it for a staged reading. You’re going over every line, every stage direction – but you’re drawing a blank and your head feels blanker than the sheet in front of you.

When I took a Logic class in college, the professor gave us some advice: If you get stuck on a problem,
don’t try to solve it by trying harder. Get up. Take a walk. Move your body. Read a book. Then return
and try it again.

And dang, she was right. It worked every time.

It’s the same with playwriting.

Maybe you’re stuck. Or done for the day but there are still problems to
solve. Get up. Go to the gym. Or the grocery.

I was on the elliptical and got an idea for a new scene between a college bound teen and her father who
gambled away her college savings account. I was taking a walk when my feet started a rhythm that led
to a chant that became the song to lead a parade filled with puppets and stilt-walkers.

You may have heard the adage that humans only use 10% of their brains. But it’s not true. Our brains
are constantly, furiously working, regulating our bodies and solving problems while awake or asleep.
Like a security program that your computer runs in the background, part of your brain is always running,
looking for connections, fitting the pieces together. It just needs a little space and for the anxiety—the
true reason for block in the first place—to stand down and let the neurons flow.

There you’ll be, standing in the grocery aisle, reading the label of ingredients and bam — that ending
line you were searching for all day comes waltzing in over a can of pink beans. That button that sums up
the scene, untangles the knot and lets the words flow comes watching your kids shoot nerf darts at each
other in the park. You scramble to find a piece of paper, or run to the nearest exit, repeating the idea
over and over until you get home then feverishly add it to your script. (Don’t worry, you got it!)

This is why when characters have their Sherlock moment in a play or movie, we believe it. Because in
life, like art, we experience our own AHA! moments, and they come at unexpected times. Most of all,
they likely come when we are at ease, doing something else.

So don’t underestimate the value of down-time.

When the kids challenge you to a game of nerf darts, don’t demure or tell them you need to crack this scene. Get up. Put on those safety glasses. Play the game. You might hit a bull’s eye in more ways than one.

Melissa Bell’s work has been featured in The New York Times and been nominated for Best Adaptation &
Modernization by New York Shakespeare and awarded Finalist for Henley Rose Playwright Competition
for LADY CAPULET and awarded Honored Finalist for the Collaboration Award by the Women in Arts &
Media Coalition for COURAGE. Read her work on the New Play Exchange and on her website, themelissabell.com.

Be Specific

by Melissa Bell | Nov 11, 2024 | The Working Playwright, Theater, Writing Tips

The Working Playwright

by Melissa Bell

It’s All in the Details

Do you know your character’s favorite color? Favorite dish? The street they lived on as a child? What was the game their mother played with them when they were five? Why do they keep an item in their pocket and when do they take it out and stroke it? What memories does it provoke? What emotion does it conjure in your character?

Details. From the larger, to the smaller, and from the smaller to the larger, details make the character specific and unique. This unique person is facing the challenges you give them, the puzzle to solve, or the recognition they must make to bring catharsis to the play. What are the details of the character’s life, and how will those details help them obtain the thing they want or be the obstacle that stands in their way?

In Sophocles’ tragedy Oedipus Rex, the king, Oedipus, has vowed to cure his city of a pestilence by finding and exiling the murderer of the previous king, Laius, late husband of his wife Jocasta. To discover who this man is, Oedipus consults many people: Oracles, herdsmen, and slaves who offer clues to the murderer’s identity. But the most telling clue is a set of scars on his ankles. Oedipus bears the same scars on his own ankles, which had been pierced by his father who sent him away as an infant to be killed. The herdsman given this grim task took pity on the baby and passed him along to another herdsman, who then passed the baby along to his king, and Oedipus, named after his swollen feet, grew up not knowing his true identity or heritage. When Oedipus learns that the murderer bore the same scars he carries, Oedipus realizes that a man he once killed in a roadside brawl was none other than King Laius, Jocasta’s first husband, and that he (and his actions) is the cause of the plague on his city. Moreover, he discovers that Laius was his true father and that Jocasta, his wife, is his mother. This had been predicted by the Oracle at his birth and had now come true.

Wow. Talk about why detail matters. It was the clue that solved the entire puzzle, unlocking his past, present and future.

Your character may not be a king who murdered his father, but they do have a want and a need and those wants and needs will lead your character on a journey of consequences and reckoning.

The same rule applies to objects. Does an object have a special meaning for your character? What does it symbolize? Is it shared by another? How is it used for them or against them?

In Shakespeare’s Othello, the Moorish military general Othello is manipulated into suspecting his wife, Desdemona, of adultery. While wooing her, Othello gifts Desdemona with a handkerchief, which she cherishes. When she accidentally drops it, her maid finds it and turns it over to her husband, Iago, who uses it in his manipulation of Othello as revenge for denying him a significant military post. When Othello asks Desdemona to show him the handkerchief and she is unable to produce it, Othello becomes convinced of her infidelity and smothers her. It is only after her death that he realizes the significance he had placed upon an object as easily lost as a handkerchief, which allowed him to be manipulated by an evil and cunning opponent.

What are the details in your character’s lives? What do they represent to the character and to the theme? How does the physical enhance the metaphysical? In a play, every detail matters.

Try to give your characters details that reveal and reflect their journey. Are you working on a play right now? Have you finished a play? Make a list of the details that you have used to support the theme of your play and make sure they are placed in a way that affects the outcome. The details often provide the “button” that your audience can hold on to after the curtain goes down.

Melissa Bell’s work has been featured in the New York Times and has been awarded Finalist for Henley Rose Playwright Competition and nominated for Best Adaptation & Modernization by New York Shakespeare for LADY CAPULET and awarded Honored Finalist for the Collaboration Award by the Women in Arts & Media Coalition for COURAGE. Read her work on the New Play Exchange.

One Step at a Time

by Melissa Bell | Aug 13, 2024 | NPD, The Working Playwright, Theater, Writing Tips

The Working Playwright

A monthly column by Melissa Bell

One Step A Day

Writing is hard work. It takes time and energy. Sometimes we feel overwhelmed by the process. Our day jobs require most of our energy. Our family commitments take up the rest of the time. When do we have time to write, develop and promote our creative work?

There are some weeks when I never seem to be able to sit down and focus on my art. Like today. I just returned from a weekend trip to a family event. The suitcase is still unpacked, the laundry sits in the basket and the fridge is empty. Yet my brain is ticking and my fingers are itching for the keyboard. Something has to give.

So I satisfy the most urgent need. The need to write and create. And I follow a technique that has worked for me over the years: One Step a Day. When put into effect, it can be a powerful process. It means diving in and starting with creativity. Taking a short amount of time to write or create without stopping for 5 minutes, 10 minutes, or 20 minutes. Just do it. Don’t stop. Get those ideas on paper. Make a list. Start a dialogue. Work for without stop for your chosen time. Set your timer. Create. When the timer goes off, stop work. Then load the laundry. Go to the grocery. Hit the gym. Walk to work. Do whatever it is you need to do. After you’ve done chores, made dinner, put the kids to bed, answered your emails, THEN take a moment to review what you wrote earlier. Read it. Allow yourself to reenter the piece and make some edits. Clarify it. Rework it. It slowly begins to make sense.

During the day, while you were out doing other things, your brain continued working subliminally. You unleashed the urge, pushed something out, and walked away. But your brain kept the fire going. And when you gave it a little space, you came back clearer. You’ve made a new connection. Take a few moments and reflect on what you created. Respect it. Then close down for the day. You’ve done your work, one step at a time. Every journey begins with a step.

Melissa Bell’s work has been featured in the New York Times for Farm Arts Collective; LADY CAPULET was nominated for Best Adaptation & Modernization 2020 & 2021 by New York Shakespeare and as a Finalist for Henley Rose Playwright Competition; and COURAGE was awarded Honored Finalist for the Collaboration Award by the Women in Arts & Media Coalition. ZOE COMES HOME is available to view on the CreateTheater YouTube channel.

Interested in Joining Us? Click Here for More Information

The Working Playwright

by Cate Cammarata | Feb 26, 2024 | NPD, Theater, Writing Tips

(This is a new monthly column on CreateTheater.com – thank you, Melissa!)

FIND THEE A WRITER’S GROUP

When I speak with aspiring playwrights or writers of any genre, the first piece of advice I give is “join a writer’s group.” If you can’t find one, create one. A writing group has been essential to my growth as a playwright, and it will be for yours as well.

Why? Writing groups offer both a dedicated time to write and a dedicated time to present and receive feedback to your project.

The consistency of selecting and presenting a 10-12 minute section or scene of your play helps you focus on your play one scene at a time, deeply and succinctly. You see the way the scene operates in and of itself and the way it functions within the play wholistically. If you present 10-12 pages per week, within 10-12 weeks you will have detailed notes and comments that will help you edit the play, focusing on what is working and eliminating what is not working.

I have been a member of a writing group that meets once per week, for three hours, 10 months per year since 2015. That’s nine years! I’ve developed each of my plays using these methods and all of them have been presented as staged readings or productions once completed. It’s a method with proven results.

HOW: To function well, a writing group needs commitment, consistency, and structure.

Rule One:

Set and maintain a schedule and hold each other accountable for attendance whether once per week, once every two weeks or once per month. The group can’t function if no one shows up. Each member should have a project they seek to create or revise using the momentum a working group provides.
Set the length of the meeting to allow for a 10-minute check-in, followed by 20 minutes from each writer. So if your group has 4 writers, your meeting should be 1 ½ hours. If you have 8 writers, your meeting should be 3 hours.

Rule Two: Presentation and Feedback.

Set rules. Each writer can present up to ten minutes of new or revised work. The writer “casts” the players from the members or bring in actor friends. The group might invite a few actors to participate regularly—it helps them too!
After the reading of the selection, the floor is open for comments. This is not the time to rewrite the play, offer “advice” about what you would do, or talk about your own work. This is the time to tell the author what you heard and what you know from the scene. List the events and how you experienced it. What did you like. What didn’t you understand. What confused you. Don’t offer prescriptive advice.
Writers: LISTEN. Reserve the right to remain silent. This is your chance to learn about your play! This is not your time to explain the plot or answer comments.
Don’t reveal your intention. Take notes. Write down everything that is said. If one member is confused, let other members answer their questions.
At the end of the discussion, if you have one or two questions, ask them, but again, don’t explain. If you don’t get the responses you want, it’s time to rewrite and re-present until the scene works.
When people ask me a question my favorite answer is “what do you think?” They often have a response, and surprisingly, it often is the response I was hoping for.

In addition to listening to your own work and hearing responses to it, you will grow by listening to other’s work and responding to it as well. It’s all about learning and listening.

A few more things:

Don’t cancel meetings unless ALL the writers are in rehearsals or productions, which is your goal. If no one has work to present, meet ANYWAY! And use the time to write together, starting with a prompt (you can find these on the internet) and write silently for 40 minutes. You do not have to read what you wrote. Just use the time to focus on writing without interruption. Discuss the prompt, how if affected your writing, then move on.

Discuss plays that you’ve seen, plays you admire. Discuss craft. Use the time to talk about theatre. How often do you get time to do that in your life? Value it. Protect it. Use it.

Use your writing group to prepare your script BEFORE you submit or schedule a staged reading. Those steps should follow AFTER presenting and rewriting your draft within the group.

Submissions and Staged Readings will be topics for other columns, so stay tuned!

For now, keep writing!

Melissa Bell’s work has been featured in the New York Times and nominated for Best Adaptation & Modernization by New York Shakespeare, and as a Finalist for the Henley Rose Playwright Competition for LADY CAPULET. She was also awarded Honored Finalist for the Collaboration Award by the Women in Arts & Media Coalition for COURAGE. TheMelissaBell.com

Why Are You in Theater?

by Cate Cammarata | Mar 28, 2022 | Theater, Writing Tips

I know it’s not for the money.

So… what’s your why?

Part of the privilege of teaching theater on a college level is the constant re-evaluation of the art form as it shape-shifts through human history. For the Greeks it was an integral part of the social experiment to foster loyalty to and identify with the Athenian ethos. Likewise, part of the success of the Elizabethan theater was in response to and encouragement of the burst of patriotic spirit in England following the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588. Throughout the twentieth century, theater was used to express the larger need for social change, to interpret and reinterpret the human conditions in which they found themselves.

Artists make art in response to the culture that surrounds them – and use it to collectively create the social change they desire.

My students often comment on how even a cursory study of theatre history helps them to understand social movements over different time periods, and what life was like “back then” for “real people.” I explain that is because theatre can be seen as a “mirror” on the human experience from one participant’s perspective of life (the playwright) as he saw it. It gives voice to a period that no longer exists.

What needs to be voiced now, at the beginning of the 21^st century? What is your interpretation of the human experience?

What’s the Story Only You Can Write?

We live in some amazing times. Collectively I feel that paradigm shift is occurring in our lifetime.

Do you see it?

Political division in our country
A potential global conflict in the making
Little sense of the collective “we,” a loss of community spirit that unites us
Economic uncertainty
Tribal mentalities that are exclusive rather than inclusive
A loss of trust in our leaders and institutions
Shifts in attitudes regarding work and labor
A pervasive sense of grief for what was and is no more
Plus so many others – fill in your own blanks.

In every area, we are experiencing a tectonic change. A profound shift that is breaking our sense of personal continuity with “the way things are.” Referring to 2019 right now feels like a different time and place.

These feelings, both on the collective and individual level, are the 21^st century artists’ canvas.

Envision Change

Artists, especially theatre artists, have always said, “Look at yourself. What do you see? Do you like it? Do you really want it to be this way?”

My dear artist friend – what is your message? How do you see life today?

Artists are cultural changemakers, people who stand up and force us to look at who we are, in hopes of creating change.

Henrik Ibsen saw the powerlessness of women in their own homes. His play A Doll’s House sparked the women’s movement.
George Bernard Shaw saw the degradation of poverty and the exploitation of the poor around him and wrote social plays that led to the improvement of social conditions everywhere.
Erik Jensen and Jessica Blank saw the unjust conviction of prisoners on Death Row and interviewed many who were jailed for crimes they didn’t even commit. Their Off-Broadway play The Exonerated led to the overturning of the death penalty in Illinois in 2003.

There are so many more examples that illustrate that when artists’ voices are heard, social and cultural change begins to happen.

How Are You Contributing to the Cultural Conversation?

What’s the story only YOU can write, based on where you are in the world and what you are feeling right now?

What truths do you hold to be “self-evident?” What is not being said that needs to be understood?

What will future academics teach about YOU?

CreateTheater was formed help you launch the plays that need to be told right now. Create theater that makes a difference. Write the play YOU NEED TO WRITE.

I’m looking for new plays and musicals to develop.

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