Before they were Night Vale: Why it is good we are all not cats, reason no. 21 (Patreon)

I love writing prompts. Any kind of structure or restriction that helps me focus my imagination. Blank screens are really daunting, because there's nothing there to tell you what to do next. So having some kind of framework can really help.

Of course, in longer-form writing, we outline. That helps fill up the open field of the word processor with fences and rivers and hills and mountains. A real landscape that shows us where and what we can build. 

But how do we even get to the point where we have an outline? This question is getting dangerously close to the unanswerable "where do you get your ideas?" which is impossible to answer. Ideas come from our histories, our brains' unique biologies, our environments, and so on. It's pretty nebulous.

There is one other place where we get ideas though, and that's from technique and practice. This was indirectly taught to me by my many years in the Neo-Futurists, which (as I've mentioned many times before) made whole shows out of tiny plays. And we had to write new tiny plays each week.

And sometimes those plays were fully formed narratives full of themes and stage design and movement. They were provocative and rich. And sometimes those plays were just brief sketches. 

My friend and fellow Neo-Futurist Adam Smith wrote a play in 2010 called "Why it is good we are all not cats: reason no. 2318008." which featured Adam screaming for me to come onto the stage and play with him. When I finally entered the stage and got near Adam, he ran off. The end. 

Over the years, there were dozens more of these "Why it is good we are all not cats" plays. And, listen, I'm not here to tell you any of them were profound playgoing experiences. They were mostly quick sketches that made light of how strange cats are by putting their behaviors into human bodies. 

I will tell you, though, that from the writer point of view, "Why it is good we are all not cats" was brilliant because it gave us a template for short plays. They each still had a beginning, middle, and end. They told a story (however brief and silly). And most importantly, they were a wonderful exercise in just getting something done. 

Completing even the tiniest of plays is satisfying. Because while I didn't spend hours, days, or months, crafting the words, I did spend a lot of time crafting the stage picture. The physical directions. The beats. And then there's rehearsal and performance. 

Even famous painters enjoyed having a pencil and pad in their pocket. So here was my effort at Adam's "Why it is good we are all not cats." Again, nothing profound here. Just an example of how fun it can be to start your writing with some structure. Even if the prompt is just "What's a reason it's good that we're all not cats?"

Why it is good we are all not cats: reason no. 21

Jeffrey & Ashley sitting at table; Christopher stands stage right staring at nothing

AB: Christopher.

JC: Hey Christopher.

AB: Christopher!

Christopher does not respond at all. He starts gently tapping something on the prop shelf

JC: [cautiously scolding] Christopherrrrr....

AB: No, Christopher.

JC: Christopher, no.

AB: Christopher!

He turns stares at her. After a long pause he slaps the shit out of the prop.

Beat

CURTAIN