A true dramatist lives and breathes his craft, even when doing interviews. Today we have the showcases of Walter Joseph Schenck, Jr. His answers the usual questions with his humor and flair for prose. His play, Blemished, The Stage Play, won Gold in the 2019 Royal Palm Literary Awards. Read on to learn more about Walter and be entertained with his witticisms.
Walter’s Writing Journey
On the moment of conception my consciousness awoke with the grand vision of writing epic fantasies, poetry, biographies, stage plays, endowed specifically with the anointed task of recasting religious biblical stories into genuine realities of bringing forth hidden truths. The moment the doctor held me in his hands, spanking me for such vain ideologies, his ink pen fell out of his pocket into my hand: thus declaring to the world: Into this world is born a dramatist.
The Winning Entry, Blemished, The Stage Play
Logline: The experimental play, utilizing surrealism, revolves around the rape of Lucretia by Sextus Tarquinius, in 509 B.C.E. and the overthrow of the Roman dictator, creating the Roman Republic.
I lean strongly toward incorporating current events with historic events, each fraction of time always wavering to grasp itself again into an interwoven cycle of life’s continuance. My poetry is jammed with political commentary—from a conservative perspective—while hammering in overt language without regard to a reader’s sensitivity. I am not politically correct in anything I write. I never compromise. I would insert an example, but if I do so, this blog may be banned forevermore.
As to the award – it justifies my existence as a writer of alternative angles into the ways things were, should be, and can be. To delve into my world, one needs an oxygen tank.
“Dear Me,” (Advice to My Younger Writing Self)
Disregard the critics.
Love the copy editors, especially if they have the talent for content editing.
If you can’t accept pain, anguish, and suffering in your writing life, watch TV instead. While it is extremely difficult to write a novel, writing a stage play is monstrous. You can’t hide within a narrative or lean upon it to move you forward. If you can’t write dialogue, you can’t write a play. Stick to nonfiction. Meter is essential. Visualizing movement is absolutely necessary. Each character must be essential to enhance the finalization of the product.
Other Works by Walter
I am a Shakespearean enthusiast, having published everything he ever wrote, as well as a Greek Classical lover. I also have profound appreciation for Marlowe, Syne, Congreve, and Faust, also having published their works. Since I am a glutton for punishment, I am going to place myself in hell again and write another play and a new book of poems. I just completed another biblical epic which required such extensive research, my computer went into a death spiral. I also completed a detective novel which needs serious overhauling. However, as one never knows enough, I determined to prepare myself for my new play by taking quite an arduous course in acting and directing. The problem became: how to keep women from fainting when such a magnificent presence like myself adorns the stage and how to contain the jealous, enraged husbands. It is not easy walking about with an eternal flame akin to Adonis.
Learning More about Walter
I am not worth learning about. A dead fly is more interesting than me. However, if one wants to journey unto the paths of unconventional, meritless thinking, you can discover my total abysmal waste of time and paper on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Please do not Google me on Plays Written and Edited by Walter Schenck as your heart will explode with the voluminous displays of time-consuming unworthiness.
More about RPLA
The Royal Palm Literary Awards competition is a service of the Florida Writers Association established to recognize excellence in members’ published and unpublished works while providing objective and constructive written assessments for all entrants. Judges include literary agents, publishers, film producers, current or retired professors, teachers, librarians, editors, bestselling and award-winning authors, and journalists from across the nation. Entries are scored against the criteria set by RPLA using rubrics tailored to each genre. Winners are announced at the annual FWA conference during the RPLA awards banquet. To learn more about RPLA, click here for the guidelines.
Ellen Holder
Walter Schenck sounds bold, colorful, and unafraid. The kind of writing I love to read. This makes me want to read everything he’s written!
Danielle Cook
I chuckled and even laughed out loud reading this blog. Walter sounds like a character, the kind of person I’d want to invite to my dinner parties (if I gave them). I like his self-deprecating humor and his self-described lack of “political correctness”. His work sounds interesting and I look forward to reading it.
Max Obando Pradella
You can tell from his literary work Walter Schenck is a versatile and passionate writer. All his creations from books for children to novels are something to enjoy.