musical book Archives | MusicalWriters.com

26 Musical Theatre Books, Librettos, and Biographies You can Borrow for FREE (save $468)

As a musical theatre writer, your craft is both an art and a science. You need to have a strong...

Summer Reading Books for Musical Writers

Catch up on relevant musical writing books this summer, including ideas for public domain material, how-to books, and books on “the making of a musical.”

Curtain Up, Light the Lights – Writing Opening Numbers

When constructing “curtain up” moments and opening numbers, you must be clear, clever, and able to convince the audience to stay with you for the ride.

Story Design: The 7 Plot Points

The 7 Plot Points are often used in creating narrative structure for novels, films and musicals. Use them to evaluate, refine and polish your script.

The Superobjective: Keeping Your Story on Track

It is the pursuit of a protagonist’s “grand goal” or superobjective that grabs us and keeps our attention. Stay on track and never lose focus of that goal!

3 Writing Tips from Wicked Creators Winnie Holzman and Stephen Schwartz

The people who created the musical Wicked did many things right. They ended up with a mega-hit...

Another Show, Another Opening Number!

Most writers know they have to tackle certain structural must-haves, but there is one in particular that tends to be the most elusive: The Opening Number.

The Research Phase – Essential to Musical Writing

When David Hein and Irene Sankoff decided to write the new Broadway musical Come From Away, they realized that interviews would be key to their success. Musical writers today may be tempted to rely on Google searches and social media, but traditional research is still valuable for exploring ways to transport the audience into the world of a show.