Writing Compelling Monologues
Hansen Publishing Group
Writing monologues for playwriting, screenwriting, fiction, or any genre is an art that deepens character and story. Whether funny, emotional, or intense, a compelling monologue engages audiences and readers. One Bold Voice teaches you to shape a monologue as an arc with an ending that lingers. At its core, this book guides you through twelve elements in crafting voices that reveal desire, truth, and connection.
The blank page can be scary when you’re writing a monologue, but Charlene Donaghy’s One Bold Voice: Writing Compelling Monologues dissolves fear with practicality, structure, and clarity. Whether you’re new to dramatic writing or have spent a lifetime in the business, Charlene Donaghy will get you thinking in useful new ways about monologues for playwriting, screenwriting, fiction, and more: how they work, and how to craft them.
Jef Hall-Flavin
Director, MFA Supervisor
Royal Central School of Speech & Drama, University of London
Endangered Species Theatre Project & Confidence Theatrics, Frederick, MD
Rikki Howie Lacewell, Director.
Starring: Katie Barnett & Danielle Curry as Becca, Rebecca Husk as Kim, Pamela Northrup & Marissa Liotta as Tammy.
Omaha version nominated for the prestigious 20th Annual Omaha Entertainment & Arts Awards for “New, Original Local Script”.
“4 a.m. Friends offers a refreshing reminder of why it’s worth the hard work to cultivate close friendships — to have people who know you well enough to challenge you, to support you, and to love you, even at 4 a.m.”
Morgan Feddes Satre, DC Theater Arts
100 Monologues from Women over Forty
“These women…are at the height of their craft. These are tight, complex, nuanced pieces of writing…These are important writers, and important plays.”
—Theresa Rebeck, from the introduction