ABSTRACT
This is the second of three Novels of Life in the Text Action series. Up to this point, objectivity and textual precision has been demanded. But now, the actor or director can activate all that stored knowledge through imaginative writing or making things. Novel of Life II is a subjective account of the character, often seemingly written or made by the character about their life. This can take many forms: letters, diaries, birthday remembrances, drawings, photographs, and the like. While hard facts of the play must be embedded, this is where the numerous unanswered questions you have accumulated can be tested – through creative artistry. I have called these exercises “psycho-autobiographies” in that there should be interiority, private thoughts, secrets previously untold, and emotions about people, Events, and so forth. It is important, as happens with any good author or artist, that your own personal affective memories seep into your character’s “novel.” No one but you should know what those moments are, but they should be alive and pulsating for you.
