Getting a contract in the mail is fun, but getting a rejection letter isn’t. Receiving my royalty check this year was quite an ego boost, until I looked at the printout and saw that one of my plays didn’t have a single production all year, and a couple others are nearing the end of their shelf-lifespan. But most of all, my favorite and least favorite part about being a playwright is the writing process itself. Working on a new project is like falling in love. It takes all my attention, waking and sleeping. I imagine spending time in the world of my play. I get to know my characters’ innermost feelings and thoughts. If I’m away from my computer for any length of time during these periods of creativity, I long to get back to it. Last month my laptop and I went away for a week together in the mountains, and I wrote a new medieval Christmas play called “O Holy Knight.” I came back from that creative getaway dancing with honeymoon giddiness. My wife once called the computer “my mistress.” If she only knew… On the other hand, when I’m in between projects, with no ideas forthcoming, I sulk and brood. I do the laundry and wash the dishes. My laptop ignores me, cycling the screen saver through images of places I’d rather be than at home, sitting down to write. Sometimes I can almost hear it mocking me. “You call yourself a playwright? So why aren’t you writing?” I grumble and complain at the prospect of having to actually “work” at writing. I read through some of the half-hearted, abortive attempts at ill-conceived play ideas I’ve come up with and throw them down in disgust. That’s when I know it’s time to chat with my theater friends, or visit the library and browse the stacks for fairy tales, myths and legends. Sometimes I’ll listen to soundtracks and cast recordings of my favorite musicals. But by far the most inspiring thing I can do during those doldrum times is go see a play. Live theater. An actual production with real actors. Lights, curtains, an audience laughing (or crying), and best of all, a story come to life. And like magic, my spirit is restored and I fall in love all over again. My “mistress” beckons, and the romance begins afresh. | 
