Please don't do this: a list

There are a lot of places to find broader writing advice like "show not tell," but here are some smaller things that make a big difference:

1. Don't give more than two characters names that start with the same letter. Especially if they are all introduced on the same page. I'm sure Jamie, Jaime, Jackie, and Jordi are all their own complex, fascinating people, but I can't fucking tell with my eyes crossed like this.

2. Don't get too symbolic with your names, unless you're writing one of these and it's the 15th century. Especially not by translating those names into words from languages that you don't speak. If your reader speaks that language, you are going to look like a tool.

3. Don't design your play while writing it. There are people who are going to do that, and they probably have better design skills than you. They are capable of translating your themes and ideas and characters into sets and lights and costumes; have respect for their jobs.

4. If the last play you read was The Crucible and you were 17, read thirty or forty more (written after 1995). Then throw out whatever you were working on and start over.

5. Don't use a piece of writing to get revenge on your ex. Everyone can tell. And we are all creeped out.