“Some Thoughts About the Rewrite Process”
A guest post from screenwriter Tom Benedek (Cocoon), co-founder of Screenwriting Master Class:
SOME THOUGHTS ABOUT THE REWRITE PROCESS
Personally, I tend to enjoy rewriting. Some of the time. Of course, it is not always fun to hear criticism from friend-readers, to see the glaring problems — bad dialogue, typos, thin description, incomplete characters, plot problems. But once you figure out how to solve the problems and have let all those critical voices quiet down, the writer in you (not the critic-story analyst) slides into the helm. It should always be that way. You rejoin your beloved characters and journey again with them through story. You are back inside your movie, making it better, more real, more dramatic, funnier, more suspenseful — more of whatever you intend it to be.
Once you’ve gained some momentum in the rewrite process, you will see a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. And it may approach more rapidly on a rewrite draft than on that first draft you labored over. If you are on the right track, if you have set the co-ordinates for your rewrite journey well, your script will be getting better and each successive rewrite pass will be completed with greater and greater fluidity. Setting those coordinates, the goals for the next draft, is a crucial phase, just as important as the actual writing. This process of problem solving, gathering concepts to address in the rewrite is as important as the writing of the next draft itself.
I say to myself, “This draft sucks.”
And then I shout, “Let there be rewrite.”
If you are committed to being a screenwriter, eventually you have to learn to love rewriting. You can always hate it some of the time. But still, over-all, even when it is agonizing and tough on the mind and soul, deep down you have to love it. The relationships that endure, that matter always take hard work. You and your screenplay may have a honeymoon phase but there will always be things to you thrash out. The good news is: You have your story, settings, characters. Large kernels of everything you wanted your movie to be. It just needs thought, a plan, and then for the writer to get back on the keyboard or the pad and pen to make it great. If you’ve already written a first draft, the best draft is close.
Rewriting is THE writing. It is the fun part and the agony, THE creative process in screenwriting. Sadly, there are very few automatic writers. Most of us have to start with a rough draft which we ought to celebrate before we analyze it, criticize it, and then rewrite it at least once, maybe several times.
FACT OF LIFE: Plot and character development may seem effortlessly embedded in the best movies, but, most probably, the writer and filmmakers carefully constructed these elements over many drafts through the rewrite process. Even with the most carefully structured beat sheet or story outline, it is almost impossible to write the best version of the script on the first pass. There may always seem to be missing dramatic scenes, incomplete sequences, unresolved character issues and emotions that beg to be explored.
“The first draft of everything is shit.”
— Ernest Hemingway
Chill out, Ernest. It’s not that bad. THERE IS A PROCESS TO REWRITING BUT ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL. You will discover what works best for you. This class will provide guidance, support, a methodology with guidelines plus a few requirements but we each have to find the rewrite rhythm and method that suits our individual writing practice. The only way to accomplish that is by rewriting our scripts. Onward.
Tom will be leading the upcoming session of Pages II: Rewriting Your Script which starts next Monday, October 10. For more information, go here.