Featured Playwright of December #1 Q & A 

   Congratulations to Samantha Oty, Featured Playwright of December! As a follow-up to her play "Long Abandoned", she has agreed to answer some questions about her writing journey.

Question #1:

   How long have you been writing plays?

Samantha:

   I wrote my first play Demolition Lovers my sophomore year of high school after several unsuccessful attempts at writing a novel. Demolition Lovers was selected as one of the eight winners of Virginia’s 2010 SPARC playwriting contest, so I figured I found my niche. 

   That was about...ten years ago now. Oof.

Question #2:

   Is there a particular theme or idea you like writing about?

Samantha:

   I like writing about people; therefore, I focus on character-driven stories. I want them to be believable in their actions. One of the compliments o frequently receive on my full-length New Year’s Eve at the Stop-n-Go is how authentic they are and that they remind readers/audience members of their own group of high school friends.

   Your characters are the heart of the story and their actions impact every aspect of the plot. Make them matter because nothing kills a play or book faster than crappy characters.

   So, I guess the “human condition” as pretentious and borderline generic that sounds. That’s even present in Long Abandoned as the story was inspired by Gina Renee Hall, whose remains still have never been recovered after forty years (no matter what some might say.) I just thought about how lonely she must be, wherever she is. 

Question #3:

   Do you mostly write plays, or do you write other types of creative work?

Samantha:

   I’m in the process of outlining a mystery novel, I wrote the original screenplay for the film adaption of New Year’s. But we’re not going to talk about that shitty experience.

Question #4:

Do you like to write during a certain time of day?

Samantha:

   Usually at night because I’m a night owl or during my lunch break at work. Inspiration always strikes when I should be doing something else.

Question #5:

   How do you overcome writer's block?

Samantha:

   I have other creative and non-creative hobbies. When I’m not working on anything, I’m either working on a new needlepoint project or playing a video game. 

   I also pretend to be a film critic. (I don’t publish because...imposter syndrome,) so I watch a lot of movies, so it’s easy to “refill the well” as some people say. Mostly indie and horror movies. Sometimes Lifetime and Hallmark. 

   Okay, Lifetime and Hallmark a lot of the time. 

   Oh, and reading. Reading is important if you want to be a writer. Read a lot and read everything. Especially your chosen genre. 

   Thanks, Samantha, for taking the time to answer my questions!