Rewriting Help
Okay. I am going to get this second draft done.
I think that this script has potential, but it needs some serious tweaking. Where do I start? Right now, I have a three-column list labeled keep, lose, and add. I am trying to figure out what stays, what goes and what else I need.
A big problem in the first draft is character motivation. Halfway through, I realized it needed to be stronger so I made some changes. Didn’t work. I am probably going to lose half of the story and my dark comedy is tuning into an ensemble comedy.
If anyone has some words of wisdom on the rewriting process, I would love to hear them.
-S
I think that this script has potential, but it needs some serious tweaking. Where do I start? Right now, I have a three-column list labeled keep, lose, and add. I am trying to figure out what stays, what goes and what else I need.
A big problem in the first draft is character motivation. Halfway through, I realized it needed to be stronger so I made some changes. Didn’t work. I am probably going to lose half of the story and my dark comedy is tuning into an ensemble comedy.
If anyone has some words of wisdom on the rewriting process, I would love to hear them.
-S
posted by Scott at 12:01 PM
2 Comments:
Rewriting? What's that? You do more than one draft? How silly. Everything I write is perfect the first time.
And my excrement smells like roses, too.
Rewriting sucks. That's all there is to it. You just gotta slog through it and cut a lot of shit that you don't want to cut. It's so freakin' hard. Honestly, I tried to do a rewrite of this one script, and I got about 40 pages into the rewrite and I got totally stuck.
The beginning was better, the ending was fine to begin with, but that middle act, I couldn't do anything with it to save my life. I've been meaning to go back and take a look again, but I'm trying to concentrate on school, not writing, right now.
But, you know, if losing half the story is what it takes, then that's what you have to do. It won't be fun, but it'll probably be necessary.
I am readying a blog post about my own re-writing rituals but what I do is on the first draft, is ask myself questions at the end of each scene.
What do we need to know here? What did we learn? Do we need to show the gun yet? Does Frankie know Becky-Sue is his sister at this time?
I carry these questions down the whole script, but I keep going, not going back yet. Then on second draft re-write I read over the questions again and make changes, but then adding new questions. Hopefully by draft 3 or 4 I won't have too many questions left.
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