The first edition of The Playwright's Survival Guide made life simpler for writers by offering an emotional, spiritual, and commonsensical approach to the profession and, most important, to their own writing. Now Gary Garrison returns and makes life even easier with a fully updated and revised New, Improved edition of his bible for aspiring and established playwrights. Garrison's how-to guide includes inspirational stories, tricks of the trade, and reassurance, and it now incorporates new information on dramatic structure, synopsizing a play, and avoiding the perils that can sink well-intentioned staged readings—all while maintaining the candid, enthusiastic, and, sometimes, salty voice that made the first edition so popular. Demystifying the playwriting process, Garrison speaks directly to practitioners, offering the lessons of the craft in his trademark blend of honesty, humor, and horse sense. He explores the questions that playwrights face every day, including: uncovering inspiration - dealing with criticism - turning off the internal critic - finding teachers and mentors and then maintaining relationships with them - self-promoting the smart way - triumphing over writer's block - staying healthy in the art and the business after your fingers are off the keyboard. Don't just make a living at playwriting. Read The New, Improved Playwright's Survival Guide and make a life of it. “The honesty and humor make me laugh out loud with tears of joy and pain streaming down my face. I want to give it to everyone I know - its such a life lesson.”– Carolyn J. Griffin, Managing Director, Metro Stage “The fundamental value of this book is that it outs the playwright as a vulnerable human, living in the messy and dirty real world . Chatty, not analytical, more Ethel Merman than Antonin Artaud, this book is good company.”– Mike Kenny, Research in Drama Education Gary Garrison is a published and produced playwright fearlessly slugging it out in New York City. His plays include Old Soles , Oh Messiah Me , Cherry Reds , An Angel in the Early Bird Special , The Big Fat Naked Truth , and When a Diva Dreams . He is Artistic Director and Division Head of Playwriting for the Goldberg Department of Dramatic Writing at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, National Chair of Playwriting for the Kennedy Center's American College Theatre Festival, and the recipient of the 2005 Outstanding Teacher of Playwriting for the Association of Theatre in Higher Education.