---
product_id: 348818
title: "The Dramatic Writer's Companion: Tools to Develop Characters, Cause Scenes, and Build Stories (Chicago Guides to Writing…"
brand: "will dunne"
price: "€ 48.54"
currency: EUR
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 8
category: "Books"
url: https://www.desertcart.sk/products/348818-the-dramatic-writers-companion-tools-to-develop-characters-cause-scenes
store_origin: SK
region: Slovakia
---

# The Dramatic Writer's Companion: Tools to Develop Characters, Cause Scenes, and Build Stories (Chicago Guides to Writing…

**Brand:** will dunne
**Price:** € 48.54
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** The Dramatic Writer's Companion: Tools to Develop Characters, Cause Scenes, and Build Stories (Chicago Guides to Writing… by will dunne
- **How much does it cost?** € 48.54 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.sk](https://www.desertcart.sk/products/348818-the-dramatic-writers-companion-tools-to-develop-characters-cause-scenes)

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## Description

Review
        	
        	
        		
        		
	        		
						
			        		&#x201C;Dunne has taken everything he knows from the powerful dual standpoints of an award-winning playwright and a master teacher to create the book we&#x2019;ve been waiting for. It&#x2019;s all there&#x2014;from every angle and every perspective&#x2014;how to bring fascinating, fully-developed characters in conflict out into the light and onto the stage.&#x201D; (Susan Stauter, artistic director, San Francisco Unified School District)&#x201C;Dunne mixes an artist&#x2019;s imagination and intuition with a teacher&#x2019;s knowledge of the craft of dramatic writing. It is an irresistible combination, producing a book which is simultaneously astute and imaginative. . . . No one can teach anyone to become a dramatic writer. But it is possible to learn how to improve your writing skills. It is possible to be provoked into thinking differently, into adding different colours and dimensions to your ideas, to extend the range of images in your head, to startle your imagination; in short, to be inspired into trying new approaches and methods. The Dramatic Writer&#x2019;s Companion has the potential to do all of that for a writer.&#x201D; (May-Brit Akerholt, award-winning dramaturg)&#x201C;A breath of fresh air. Whether you&#x2019;re working on your first play or your fortieth,&#xA0;preparing a first draft or polishing up a finished piece, The Dramatic Writer&#x2019;s Companion offers challenging, thought-provoking&#xA0;exercises rather than formulaic &#x2018;how-to&#x2019; solutions. This is the kind of book that not only makes plays stronger; it makes writers stronger&#xA0;as well.&#x201D; (Jeni Mahoney, artistic director, Seven Devils Playwrights Conference&#xA0;and playwriting program head, Playwrights Horizons Theater School)&#x201C;The practical genius of Dunne&#x2019;s writing lessons proved invaluable to me in the development of the script for my own film, Mean Creek.&#xA0;I have read many books on scriptwriting, most a bunch of intellectual blather about themes and structure, whereas Dunnesl&#x2019;s approach to writing is grounded in specific and useful exercises that a writer can actually employ at the moment of creation.&#x201D; (Jacob Estes, recipient of the 2005 John Cassavetes Award, Film Independent&#x2019;s 20th Spirit Awards for his film Mean Creek)&#x201C;Will Dunne lays out all the right questions with great precision and elegance.&#xA0;In the process he coolly demystifies all the dramaturgical demons; they become nothing more than the routine technical challenges faced by any craftsman.&#x201D; (Dennis J. Reardon, professor emeritus of playwriting, Indiana University)&#x201C;Dunne meets the writer on his or her own terms, eye to eye. Unique, ambitious, and comprehensive,&#xA0;The Dramatic Writer&#x2019;s Companion contains practical writing exercises underscored by well-developed dramatic theory.&#x201D; (Art Borreca, head of Playwrights Workshop and Dramaturgy Program,&#xA0;University&#xA0;of&#xA0;Iowa)&#x201C;In his new handbook for writers Dunne adheres to the idea that character development is essential to telling a story. . . . Dunne employs his wealth of experience as the current resident playwright at Chicago Dramatists, a Charles MacArthur Fellowship honoree, a former O&#x2019;Neill Theatre Center dramaturg and an award-winning author of such plays as How I Became an Interesting Person, Love and Drowning, and Hotel Desperado to give writers a blueprint on how to examine their ideas in depth in order to develop their plays and screenplays.&#x201D; (Judy Samelson Playbill.com)
						    	
					    	
						
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        		About the Author
        	
        	
        		
        		
	        		
						
			        		Will Dunne is currently a resident playwright at Chicago Dramatists, where he develops plays and teaches workshops. He also has led over fifteen hundred workshops through his San Francisco program, served as a dramaturg at the O&#x2019;Neill, and twice attended the Australian National Playwrights Conference as guest instructor. His plays, which include How I Became an Interesting Person and Hotel Desperado, have been presented in Russia, Australia, and Croatia as well as in the U.S.
						    	
					    	
						
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## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐ Not for Everyone
            
*by T***. on April 4, 2018*

Not to say that this book isn't useful, but it's dull. The "voice" of the book feels very outdated. It reads like a text book and isn't very reader friendly for a lay-person to use as a handbook. I recommend a more contemporary book such as "Playwriting Seminars 2.0" which breaks things down in a way that is much easier to follow with many more modern references to make examples of the terms. The illustrations in PS 2.0 also help give a visual explanation. If you are a playwriting connoisseur - go ahead and buy this book. If you want guidance that is plain and simple and to-the-point, buy something else - like PS 2.0.
  

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Also for fiction writers
            
*by J***N on August 4, 2010*

Will Dunne's The Dramatic Writer's Companion: Tools to Develop Characters, Cause Scenes, and Build Stories is one of several books I've read that target playwrights and screenwriters. In this case I think that's a shame, as the exercises in this book, especially for character development, are useful to anyone who creates fictional worlds.Like Roy Peter Clark's Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer, this book has you apply the exercises to your work in progress, rather than to synthetic prompts.For that reason, this is my go-to book for those moments when nothing is working.The Dramatic Writer's Companion stands out because of the way it is organized. Many chapters are only a few pages long, and discuss the development of your story or characters out of a particular need you have. For example, take the chapter "Finding the Character's Voice." As in every chapter, Dunne provides a description at the top to let you know what it's about:FINDING THE CHARACTER'S VOICETHE QUICK VERSION: Hone and contrast the unique voices of two charactersBEST TIME FOR THIS: Any time you need to know a character betterThese "Best time for this" tags are invaluable. Here are some others:During early story development or any time you add a new characterAfter you are well into the storyAfter you have a working sense of the main characterWhen a character seems like nothing more than an evildoerDuring scene planningetc...In fact, these "best time for this" descriptions are so useful, I hope there will be an index of them in a future edition.For my writer friends fond of using the Dramatica Theory of Story to build story structure and characterizations, I have found that Dramatica maps easily into these exercises, which provide intense focus on relationship.
  

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A Wise Companion
            
*by R***Y on June 30, 2015*

There are many good books that teach you how to analyze the elements of a great script. But understanding why a masterpiece is great does not make you a great writer. Dunne's book is different. It doesn't stop at telling you what a script should contain, but is filled with practical exercises that show you how to create and develop your material.  I turn to this book often. It is like a wise friend who always asks the right questions to help you define and solve your problem.
  

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*Last updated: 2026-02-25*