fraeon
Films
BrowseTop 250
Series
TV ShowsAnimeTop 250 TVTop 100 Anime
Games
BrowseTop 100
Books
BooksMangaTop 125 BooksTop 100 Manga
For youTrendingTier ListsThe ArchiveLeaderboard
Log inSign up free
fraeon

Everything you watch, play and read — tracked, rated and remembered in one library.

Explore

  • Films
  • TV
  • Anime
  • Games
  • Books
  • Manga

Discover

  • Trending
  • Leaderboard
  • Find people
  • Lists
  • Tier lists

Company

  • Tour
  • About
  • Community guidelines
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Contact

© 2026 fraeon. All rights reserved. ·

Metadata from TMDB, RAWG, Jikan & Open Library. This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB.

Questions or ideas? mehmet@avortas.com

HomeFeedProfile
How to write a play

How to write a play

by Lajos Egri

1942SchrijvenTechniqueDramaCreative writingPlaywriting
5.0
Open Library
Open Library

First lines

A MAN sits in his workshop, busy with an invention of wheels and springs.

About this book

Among the many "how-to" playwriting books that have appeared over the years, there have been few that attempt to analyze the mysteries of play construction. Lajos Egri's classic does just that, with instruction that can be applied equally well to a short story, novel, or screenplay. Examining a play from the inside out, Egri starts with the heart of any drama: its characters. All good dramatic writing hinges on people and their relationships, which serve to move the story forward and give it life, as well as an understanding of human motives--why people act the way that they do. Using examples from everything from William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet to Henrik Ibsen's A Doll 's House, Egri shows how it is essential for the author to have a basic premise--a thesis, demonstrated in terms of human behavior--and to develop the dramatic conflict on the basis of that behavior. Using Egri's ABCs of premise, character, and conflict, The Art of Dramatic Writing is a direct, jargon-free approach to the problem of achieving truth in writing.--Back cover of paperback reprint.

Themes & subjects

SchrijvenTechniqueDramaCreative writingPlaywritingToneelstukken
First published 1942

Author

Lajos Egri

First published

1942

Pages

305

Read time

≈ 8h

Editions

28

Language

English

Publisher

Simon and Schuster

ISBN

9781434403872

Where to buy

TR
Amazon Bookshop

Reviews

No reviews yet — be the first to write one from the Log screen.

Quotes

No quotes yet.

Discussions

Similar books

A short guide to writing about film

Schriftliche Arbeit · Filmrecensies

A short guide to writing about film

Timothy Corrigan

1987

Making sense

Report writing · Rhetoric

Making sense

Margot Northey

1987

News reporting and writing

Reporters and reporting · Journalism

News reporting and writing

Melvin Mencher

1977

MLA handbook for writers of research papers

Handbooks · manuals

MLA handbook for writers of research papers

Joseph Gibaldi

1984

Evaluating children's writing

Ability testing · English language

Evaluating children's writing

Suzanne Bratcher

1994

Broadcast news handbook

Handbooks, manuals · Television broadcasting of news

Broadcast news handbook

C. A. Tuggle

2000

Writing about art

Kunstbeschouwing · Art criticism

Writing about art

Henry M. Sayre

1989

Works and Lives: The Anthropologist as Author

Ethnology · Anthropologie

Works and Lives: The Anthropologist as Author

Clifford Geertz

1988

The science of writing

Cognition · Rhetoric

The science of writing

C. Michael Levy

1996

Teaching and evaluating writing in the age of computers and high-stakes testing

Ability testing · Composition and exercises

Teaching and evaluating writing in the age of computers and high-stakes testing

Carl Whithaus

2005

The curious researcher

Handbooks, manuals · Report writing

The curious researcher

Bruce P. Ballenger

1993

Writing to inform and engage

Reporters and reporting · Authorship

Writing to inform and engage

Conrad C. Fink

2003

Television and screen writing

Motion picture authorship · Television authorship

Television and screen writing

Richard A. Blum

2001

Hamlet

performing arts · Stage history

Hamlet

William Shakespeare

1603

Madame Bovary

literary fiction · French literature

Madame Bovary

Gustave Flaubert

1856

To the Lighthouse

Fiction · Married people

To the Lighthouse

Virginia Woolf

1927

Poetics

Early works to 1800 · Aesthetics

Poetics

Aristotle

1536

Essay concerning human understanding

Theory of Knowledge · Early works to 1800

Essay concerning human understanding

John Locke

1689

Similar across media

Same mood, other forms — books, series, anime, games and beyond.

Film
The Green Mile

A supernatural tale set on death row in a Southern prison, where gentle giant John Coffey possesses the mysterious power to heal people's ailments. When the cell block's head guard, Paul Edgecomb, recognizes Coffey's miraculous gift, he tries desperately to help stave off the condemned man's execution.

4.3

The Green Mile

1999

Series
When Life Gives You Tangerines

In Jeju, a spirited girl and a steadfast boy's island story blossoms into a lifelong tale of setbacks and triumphs — proving love endures across time.

4.4

When Life Gives You Tangerines

2025

Game
Alan Wake II

Shooter · Adventure

4.6

Alan Wake II

2023

Anime
Frieren: Beyond Journey's End

During their decade-long quest to defeat the Demon King, the members of the hero's party—Himmel himself, the priest Heiter, the dwarf warrior Eisen, and the elven mage Frieren—forge bonds through adventures and battles, creating unforgettable precious memories for most of them. However, the time that Frieren spends with her comrades is equivalent to merely a fraction of her life, which has lasted over a thousand years. When the party disbands after their victory, Frieren casually returns to her "usual" routine of collecting spells across the continent. Due to her different sense of time, she seemingly holds no strong feelings toward the experiences she went through. As the years pass, Frieren gradually realizes how her days in the hero's party truly impacted her. Witnessing the deaths of two of her former companions, Frieren begins to regret having taken their presence for granted; she vows to better understand humans and create real personal connections. Although the story of that once memorable journey has long ended, a new tale is about to begin. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Adventure · Award Winning

4.6

Frieren: Beyond Journey's End

2023 · 28 eps

Manga
Berserk

Guts, a former mercenary now known as the Black Swordsman, is out for revenge. After a tumultuous childhood, he finally finds someone he respects and believes he can trust, only to have everything fall apart when this person takes away everything important to Guts for the purpose of fulfilling his own desires. Now marked for death, Guts becomes condemned to a fate in which he is relentlessly pursued by demonic beings. Setting out on a dreadful quest riddled with misfortune, Guts, armed with a massive sword and monstrous strength, will let nothing stop him, not even death itself, until he is finally able to take the head of the one who stripped him—and his loved one—of their humanity. [Written by MAL Rewrite] Included one-shot: Volume 14: Berserk: The Prototype

Action · Adventure

4.7

Berserk

Miura Kentarou

1989

Film
Remarkably Bright Creatures

Through unlikely bonds formed during night shifts at a local aquarium, Tova, an elderly widow, learns of a life-changing discovery that may bring her joy and wonder once again.

4.2

Remarkably Bright Creatures

2026

Series
Heated Rivalry

Two of the biggest stars in Major League Hockey are bound by ambition, rivalry, and a magnetic pull neither of them fully understands. What begins as a secret fling between two fresh faced rookies evolves into a years-long journey of love, denial, and self-discovery. Over the next eight years, as they chase glory on the ice, they struggle to navigate their feelings for each other. Torn between the sport they live for and the love they can’t ignore, they must decide if there’s room in their fiercely competitive world for something as fragile – and powerful – as real love.

4.4

Heated Rivalry

2025

Game
Horizon Forbidden West

Role-playing (RPG) · Adventure

4.6

Horizon Forbidden West

2022

Anime
Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- Season 4

In the deadly battle at the Watergate City of Priestella, Subaru and his allies barely emerged victorious—but their triumph came at a great cost. Through the "Authority of Gluttony," Rem was put into suspended animation, while Crusch's memories and even Julius’s name were devoured. As he searches for a way to save them, Subaru learns of the "Sage" Shaula—an all-seeing being said to possess every form of knowledge. His next destination is the Pleiades Watchtower, home to the Sage, the farthest tower standing in the vast, uncharted desert known as the Auguria Dunes—a place so perilous that even the mightiest "Sword Saint," Reinhard, failed to conquer it. The fury of nature, unknown magical beasts, and unimaginable dangers lie ahead. Together with his friends, Subaru embarks on a life-risking journey to reclaim what was lost. (Source: Kadokawa, edited)

Drama · Fantasy

4.6

Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- Season 4

2026 · 19 eps

Manga
Monster

Kenzou Tenma, a renowned Japanese neurosurgeon working in post-war Germany, faces a difficult choice: to operate on Johan Liebert, an orphan boy on the verge of death, or on the mayor of Düsseldorf. In the end, Tenma decides to gamble his reputation by saving Johan, effectively leaving the mayor for dead. As a consequence of his actions, hospital director Heinemann strips Tenma of his position, and Heinemann's daughter Eva breaks off their engagement. Disgraced and shunned by his colleagues, Tenma loses all hope of a successful career—that is, until the mysterious killing of Heinemann gives him another chance. Nine years later, Tenma is the head of the surgical department and close to becoming the director himself. Although all seems well for him at first, he soon becomes entangled in a chain of gruesome murders that have taken place throughout Germany. The culprit is a monster—the same one that Tenma saved on that fateful day nine years ago. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Award Winning · Drama

4.6

Monster

Urasawa Naoki

1994 · 162 ch

Film
Parasite

All unemployed, Ki-taek's family takes peculiar interest in the wealthy and glamorous Parks for their livelihood until they get entangled in an unexpected incident.

4.2

Parasite

2019

Series
The Pitt

The staff of Pittsburgh's Trauma Medical Center work around the clock to save lives in an overcrowded and underfunded emergency department.

4.4

The Pitt

2025