You are a successful writer if readers need your mind, even if you do not need theirs.

Many people think that creativity is easy to access, simply because everyone has it. The truth is, in order to fully awaken your creativity, you must be emotionally violent on yourself, as you must be in awakening your psychic abilities.

Creativity and psychism go hand in hand.

Beautiful penmanship is a reflection of a beautiful personality.

Dramaturgy for TheatreWorks Singapore

Your e-mail message:

"Hello Tony
regarding tge script '___________________________' you gave comments on, i did not make the neccessary amendments for the following reasons.
"1. My health turned for the worst in the last one month.
"2. I lost the drive and inspiration in those weeks as i struggled with a new posting at work.
"3. Making amendments to the ethnic and production issues are fine but strangely, i am unable to articulate more reflections of the key characters, because i think i am experiencing numbing loss within myself of the present dimension. I am afraid i did not spare resources for the script.

"I thought of withdrawing from next ___________________'s session with you.
"What do you think?

"___________________________

My answer:

Hello _________________________!

Don't lose hope. I taught you that there is no such thing as writer's block--neither is there such a thing as "inspiration".

There is a reason why our workshop was what it was; drama is other people, and, before you can know other people, you must first know yourself.

I note that you have manic-depressive moods. You must be able to deal with this not only as a playwright but as a human being. I cannot remember whether I told you this in person, but the root of it all is your sense of identity.

In one of our lessons, I taught you the 30 defense mechanisms. You need to use the defense mechanism called compartmentalization. Build a separate and special compartment for your play-writing so that other aspects of your everyday life won't affect it.

Finally, here is a visualization that you can do. (I didn't teach this to your batch but to the one after it): 

1) Make a clean drawing/painting or a model of your ideal writing room. Pay special attention to the furniture, the walls, the window and what it looks onto. Is it a period room or a modern one? What accessories are in it? Is it full of art or is it bare?

2) Before commencing a creative work, visualize yourself entering this room and writing.

3) Re-read your play draft and begin revising it.

I know that this will work.

It is astounding to me that many writers and artists know nothing about psychology.

It is equally astounding to me that writers and artists who do know something about psychology are terrified of parapsychology,

There are two, immediate sources of creative energy: a personal crisis and boredom.

As a general rule pencils should be reserved for drawing and pens, for writing--not because pencils are not versatile enough but because there exists a whole range of smooth pens for writing in the market.

It is your duty as a writer and an artist to be directive and not submissive.

There are bureaucrats in literature and in art. They continuously attempt to make rules and establish standards, offering grants and awards at the same time. Their foremost goal is to control writers and artists and keep them within the perimeters of their own religious beliefs.

Never fall into their traps.

Take the Lead With Adjectives

Writing is a way of teaching people how to talk.

Avoid using trite adjectives such as "wonderful", "great", "awesome", "perfect", "robust", and, of course, "amazing".

If you use fresh, new adjectives frequently enough, people will begin to use them in their everyday conversations too.

It is useful for a creative writer to believe in reincarnation, whether spiritually or psychologically, because his/her works are filtered through only a single lifetime's frames of reference.

A prolific creative writer draws from selves from other lifetimes, and, therefore, from a variety of frames of references.

In the last analysis, it is the content that matters.

Phraseology is an art.

Every workshop is a personal adventure, because it is a journey into the self.

Ivan's Photos of "Writing from The Heart" with Migrant, Bangladeshi Workers at Dibashram, Little India, Singapore (Sunday, December 9, 2014)

Brendan's Photos of Dramaturgy in the Flesh with Lishan and Day1 of "Writing from The Heart" for TheatreWorks Singapore (Monday, December 1, 2014)

"Writing from The Heart" for Low-Wage, Bangladeshi Migrant Workers at Dibashram, Little India, Singapore (Sunday, December 7, 2014) / Part 5

The theater group rehearses a play.

Mohsin is being interviewed for a TV feature.

Mohsin, the editor of the Bengal newsletter

Bangla was recently declared an international language. This is a shrine to Bangladesh and Bangla.

This electrician aims to save up money and take a degree in Visual Media.

The kitchen

"Writing from The Heart" for Low-Wage, Bangladeshi Migrant Workers at Dibashram, Little India, Singapore (Sunday, December 7, 2014) / Part 4