As you begin writing your one-act play, you should bear in mind several key (maybe obvious?) characteristics of writing these shorter, snapshot-like works of drama:
1. You need a conflict. Your plot is propelled forward by a creative conflict that will implicitly develop the themes of your play. Your conflict should express meaning. Remember that an intriguing conflict is that includes opposing forces with equal strenghts. It's not very satisfying in the end if a conflict is resolved too easily because one character has a visible advantage over whatever is opposing them.
2. One Incident: One-acts aim to dramatize a single incident or action. The brevity of a one-act doesn't allow you the space to develop other incidents and their resolutions effectively.
3. Time Lock: What makes the action of your play urgent? Why must it be resolved now?
4. Number of Characters: Keep your cast of characters relatively low (2-4). Too many characters for a one-act will result in flat characters. The brevity doesn't allow the playwright to do in-depth characterizations,
5. Remember the Unities- Maintain unity of action, place, and time. Remember, your single incident requires urgency for whatever reason. Therefore, keep the action in a single location at one time. If you notice that there are many breaks in your play, reconsider the conflict and its level of tension. The tension should be great enough so that prolonging its resolution would seem senseless, or, at the very least, awkward.
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