Tennessee Williams on the Three Stages of Playwrighting

A playwright goes through three phases. First, he is submissive. He is a nobody. He is afraid to assert himself. Everybody cuts his play. Or orders him to build up a part for himself. He yields.

            In his second stage he has become a purist. Everything is a threat to his integrity. He throws his weight around.

            And in the third he is a veteran. He has learned to accept the collaboration of other creative minds.

—Tennessee Williams