By Caroline Jester

1. Go and see as many plays as you can. Think about what excites you, what works on stage and what doesn't.

2. The play you write should be something you would like to see yourself. Choose an idea or subject matter that really excites you.

3. A play is what takes place. A novel is what someone tells us took place. You need to make every second of the play interesting. The narrative must be moving forward at every second.

4. Theatre is visual - if you can show something without saying it, cut the line.

5. You don't have to rush in to grab the audience's attention. You can do almost anything in the first five minutes and it will be interesting. You don't want exposition here. There is a need to draw people in, a gradual building into it.

6. Think about dramatic structure. Structure defines what you are saying. What is the appropriate structure for your play?

7. Leave the biggest and most crucial action, choice or decision until towards the climax of the play. You might decide early on what this is going to be and work towards it from the start.

8. See your characters as part of a constellation. Every character should meet every other character. Different identities pull each other in different directions.

9. Good writing is scenes that actors can play.

10. When sending your play to a theatre, do your research. Find out what the submission policy is for unsolicited scripts before you send your play in. This varies from theatre to theatre.

Caroline Jester is Literary Manager at the Birmingham Rep Theatre.

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