Re-Write-O-Rama: Day 3
Re-Write-O-Rama: Day 3.
January 1: Type FADE IN / The Beginning.
January 31: Type FADE OUT / The End.
31 days. 1 script. Movie script. TV script. Whatever.
Goal: Rewrite an existing draft.
I’m doing it with a Zero Draft I knocked out in November. You’re invited to join me on your own script.
NOTE: If you want to use the month to prep a story or write a zero draft, that’s fine. The point is for you (and me) to use Re-Write-O-Rama to kick off 2016 with a bang and make progress on a script!
To learn everything you need to know about the Re-Write-O-Rama: Winter 2016 Challenge, go here.
Hashtag: #RW31SCRIPT
You may download a calendar here to track your progress.
Join the conversation in Comments here, Twitter, and the Zero Draft Facebook Group (over 500 members) for a chance to win a daily prize: The Hecht Award!
Today’s Writing Quote
“I think that almost any story
becomes a visual enactment of the psychological dilemmas
faced by the lead character. If you can make that connection,
you elevate your characters
to a mythic level.”
— Arash Amel
This is a key thing to bear in mind in the rewrite process: What is going on in the psychological domain of your key characters, particularly the Protagonist? How are you visualizing those inner dynamics as they play out as conflict in the external world?
Check out my 10 part series: Rewriting Your Script.
Today’s Inspirational Video
If you’ve never seen the PBS series “The Power of Myth” featuring Joseph Campbell interviewed by Bill Moyers, you simply must. It’s brilliant. Here is Volume 1 of six.
If you have a writing quote appropriate for the Re-Write-O-Rama challenge, post to Comments here, Twitter (#RW31SCRIPT), or in the Zero Draft Facebook Group.
If you have a video to inspire or perhaps give us a laugh, same thing.
But here’s the biggie: Let’s support each other!
How many pages did you rewrite in the last 24 hours? How are you feeling about your story? Are you loving or hating your rewriting process? Did you have a good day or a bad day? Do you have any questions about your writing process? Ready to give a virtual hug… or maybe you need one.
Use Go Into The Story, Twitter, or Facebook to bolster your creative efforts. And remember: Every day I’ll be handing out the coveted Hecht Award to the best Comment, Tweet, or Facebook post.
Hopefully we’ll get a lot of great photoshops like we did with the Zero Draft Thirty Challenge.
Finally each day in January, I’ll be dishing out a special batch of Re-Write-O-Rama flavored creative juju for everyone who posts.
Nothing else to say. Just. Rewrite.
Onward!
UPDATE: While there are many goals we should have in mind when rewriting a story, Yvonne Paulin reminds us of one of the most important:
Find the heart of the story, its emotional center. Talk to any studio exec, producer, agent, manager, director, or other talent, and they will tell you when they read a script, they want to feel something. If you can create an emotional connection between your story and your reader, you are way ahead of the game.
For this reminder, Yvonne is today’s recipient of the vaunted Hecht Award!
About Ben Hecht (1894–1964): Hecht was an American screenwriter, director, producer, playwright, journalist and novelist who wrote thirty-five books and created some of the most entertaining screenplays and plays in America. He received screen credits, alone or in collaboration, for the stories or screenplays of some seventy films, and was Hollywood’s top hired gun to rewrite movie projects.
Congratulations, Yvonne!
In the spirit of Ben Hecht, let’s get to that rewriting!