I'm entering a short play contest and currently thinking of storylines. I heard that a storyline should be able to be explained in one sentence. For example; Man 1 is thrown into a foreign situation and struggles to hold onto his morals with fatal results (or something good) Do people agree with this?
How short is the short play? I've written a lot of 30 - 40 minute plays, and tend to get a basic idea (and characters)to start with, then it usually develops as I write. the one sentence thing may well be true, but if I sat around and tried for that, I'd never get on with the writing! Maybe that's just me.
the play is 15 minutes
If it's fifteen minutes it's a sketch rather than a play I feel.
Just do what you think is best.
You shouldn't need help for such a short piece. Is your heart really into writing?
It is certainly widely touted that you should be able to sum up your storyline in a single sentence - it's the acid test for proving you really know what it's about. But I'd say it's something to arrive at rather than start from.
Give us your story in more than one sentence and I am sure someone here can help you boil it down to one sentence.
Man walks into a bar, it's a mars bar.
Dyslexic cop he spells elbuort
Dyslexic cop 2, the man who doesn't know the meaning of the word danger.
Innumerate cop 3. 'I'm sorry sarge but something about this case just doesn't add up!'
to both. Dyslexic cop 4 dials U for murder.
ADHD cop. No I'm a fireman, no I'm an astronaut, lets ride bicycles!
OCD cop - I thought I'd washed my hands of this case.
OCD Cop 2, he can't remember if he washed his hands of that case.
Sadomasochist cop, he's through beating himself up, it's your turn!
Myopic cop. 'I'll look into it sir!'
Munchausen syndrome by proxy with accute paranoid scizphrenia cop - Somebody's after my commisioner's job and I'm gonna find out who! Arrest everyone. - Er, you can't, you're only a traffic warden.
Colour blind cop. 'That's okay, Sir. You're free to go.'