Rewriting Your Script (Part 1): Set It Aside
In November, upward to 1,000 writers — myself included — took a crack at pounding out a script as part of the Zero Draft Thirty Challenge. Many of them reached FADE OUT / THE END. They’re probably like me, staring at my 86 pages of diamonds-in-the-rough amidst pages and pages of verbal manure pondering this question: How the hell do I rewrite this mess?
So I thought it would be helpful to do a GITS series on the rewrite process.
The first thing to acknowledge is that the same thing applies to rewriting as to writing: If there is no right way to write, there is no right way to rewrite. Every writer is different. Every story is different. And every rewrite is different.
That said, this week and next, I will lay out some keys to the rewriting process. If they help you, great. Use them with my blessing. If they don’t help you, feel free to chuck them… and find your own way.
But know this: Starting January 1, I invite you to join me in Rewrite Draft Thirty One: 31 days devoted to rewriting an original script. Hashtag: #RW31SCRIPT.
I will be hacking my way through my zero draft. If you have a draft from the recent ZD30 challenge or any script in need of revision regardless of its origin, mark your calendar. Take part in a communal effort to take our stories to the next level in this time-defined challenge.
Rewriting Tip (Part 1): Set It Aside.
So you just typed FADE OUT / THE END. Draft done. Huzzah! What a bear that was. Days, weeks, months of work.
You feel good about getting through the draft, but you know the script needs work.
First step: Set aside your script for at least two weeks.
That’s right: At. Least. Two. Whole. Weeks. Even if you have to put your script under lock and key.
No peeking! Why? Several reasons.
#1: You need to celebrate. For most writers, there is nothing harder than completing that first draft. Every single scene represented an opportunity for you to turn back, give up and stop writing. Yet you prevailed. That is a victory, my friend, an achievement that deserves acclimation.
So call up some of your friends and go out on the town. Or locate your significant other… you know that person who’s been looming at the edge of your consciousness for months now… and take them out for a really nice dinner.
Best advice: Go to Costco and pick up a bottle of Veuve Clicquot for about $45. A great champagne and if there’s one time to drink some bubbly, it’s when you finish that damn first draft!
#2: You need to recharge your batteries. Writing a first draft is like going on a hero’s journey. You have to fight against Self-Doubt, Nagging Voices, and Life Intrusions. That requires a boatload of positive energy. The whole process can be exhausting!
Before you shift into rewrite mode, you need to recharge and regenerate, restore and rejuvenate. In fact, let’s coin a writing mantra right here, right now: Recharge. Regenerate. Restore. Rejuvenate. Then Rewrite.
Rewriting is a marathon. You don’t run a marathon right after you’ve… you know, run a marathon. So use these two plus weeks to recharge your batteries.
#3: You need to get away from your story. You know this in your gut. You know this in your mind. Why? Because how many times have you finished a draft and thought, “My God! This is brilliant! Magnificent!” Then some time later, you happen to read that draft again and you can’t believe you wrote such a piece of crap.
Look, you have gone into your story, immersing yourself in that universe, falling in love with those characters. Of course, you’re going to think your script is a wondrous piece of art because you have no objective point of reference.
Use this two plus weeks to extract yourself from your story. Get some distance. Time will do that for you. If you are really good about setting your script aside, not clicking it open to read through it one more time, not spending your free time thinking about your characters, just completely releasing the story into a virtual vault somewhere, then after two weeks or so, you should be in a position where you do have what I call a fresh set of eyes.
And once you have a fresh set of eyes, you are ready for the next step: A Clean Read.
That’s where we pick up tomorrow.
DON’T FORGET! Starting January 1, you are welcome to join me in #RW31SCRIPT, a month-long challenge to rewrite an original script from FADE IN to FADE OUT. Who’s with me? If you’re into it, join the Zero Draft Thirty Facebook page here.
Comment Archive