In this episode, I speak to playwright Paul Braverman about developing your own local playwrights' guild, obstacles in playwriting, and how detailed one should go when writing stage directions. We also discuss the use of parentheticals, using long-form improve to write short plays and how it can also benefit full length pieces, the tricks of rereading pdf formats of your work, and the process of creating characters and developing plot. I learned a lot myself from this interview, and I hope you walk away with just as much if not more. Paul Braverman is a Bay Area playwright whose plays have received dozens of readings and productions, both nationally and internationally. He has been a wildcard finalist three times at Short & Sweet in Sydney, Australia and is a past finalist for the Heideman Award. Paul's one-act play Sins Borne was presented at the Edinburgh Fringe and the Last Frontier Theatre Conference in Valdez, Alaska. Other plays include Captive Audition, Stuck in the Middle, The Alpha Bindleman, and the Frankie Payne noir trilogy. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild and is a co-founding member of the Pear Theatre Playwrights Guild. To watch the video version of this interview, visit the link below - https://youtu.be/arkON7IEnA4 Links and resources discussed in this episode - Pear Playwrights Guild - https://www.thepear.org/guild Bay Area Theatre Sports - https://www.improv.org City Theatre Miami - https://www.citytheatre.com The Last Frontier Theatre Conference - http://www.theatreconference.org New Play Exchange - https://newplayexchange.org Contact Info for Paul Braverman - [email protected] Websites and socials for James Elden, Punk Monkey Productions and Playwright's Spotlight Punk Monkey Productions - www.punkmonkeyproductions.com PLAY Noir - www.playnoir.com PLAY Noir Anthology – www.punkmonkeyproductions.com/contact.html James Elden - Twitter - @jameseldensauer IG - @alakardrake FB - fb.com/jameseldensauer Punk Monkey Productions and PLAY Noir -  Twitter - @punkmonkeyprods                   - @playnoirla  IG - @punkmonkeyprods        - @playnoir_la  FB - fb.com/playnoir         - fb.com/punkmonkeyproductions Playwright's Spotlight - Twitter - @wrightlightpod  IG - @playwrights_spotlight Playwriting services through Los Angeles Collegiate Playwrights Festival www.losangelescollegiateplaywrightsfestival.com/services.html