Bookwriting - Part II

There are two writers to whom I regularly return for inspiration and solace when I’m writing:
Sarah Ruhl and Rick Rubin.

In essay 21, “The Necessary,” in 100 Essays I Don’t Have Time to Write, Ruhl says:
“What seems like the least necessary thing in your play might be the most necessary thing.”
She elaborates: “The soul of your play might reside there, quietly, inconspicuously, glorying in its unnecessariness, shining forth in its lack of necessity to be.”

In his book, The Creative Act: A Way of Being, Rick Rubin says:
“Perfection is finally obtained not when there is no longer anything to add, but when there’s no longer anything to take away.”

I love the synergy of these ideas: Keep only what’s necessary, but with the understanding that that may require keeping what appears to be the least necessary thing. With respect to Regretting, our musical comedy about marriage, I think of the following conversation, in which Anne and Clay are competing to be the grandparent most in the know:

ANNE
But how about what happened in the bathtub?

CLAY
You mean the incident with the duckie?

ANNE
Which one? There’ve been so many duckie incidents, it’s hard to keep them straight. There was the yellow duckie incident… And the turquoise duckie incident… But you’re probably talking about the pink duckie incident.

CLAY
Light pink or dark pink? Amanda sent me videos of both.