Rewrites

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  • #16
    Re: Rewrites

    Originally posted by chuckhustmyre View Post
    So Jeff, is there a tipping point where you have so many changes that it makes sense, like a 60% or 75% rewrite? Or do you always work off the latest draft saved with a new title?
    Again, I can't believe I'd ever feel like retyping 25 to 50 pages (hell, 5 pages) is a good use of my time...

    You've published novels and sold movies, right? Seems like you have a system that's working for you.

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    • #17
      Re: Rewrites

      Yeah, Jeff, I have sold some books and movies, and you're right, my system is working for me. But I have one script that is coming out of an option that has tied it up for years, so now I want to do a major rewrite, making fundamental changes to the storyline. I'll probably keep less than half of the existing story. So I thought perhaps it would be easier to open a new blank file, set the old draft beside it, and start typing from scratch.

      Also, I'm up for a rewrite job that while not a page-one rewrite will require ditching about 75 percent of the scenes and rewriting almost all the dialogue. So again, I'm at a point where maybe it would be best to open a blank FD file.

      So I'm trying to develop a rule of thumb for myself, maybe if I need to rewrite 50% or 60%, I just bite the bullet and start from scratch. I recently bought a 23-inch monitor so it's easy to have two full-sized documents side by side, which makes that kind of rewrite easier.
      www.chuckhustmyre.com

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      • #18
        Re: Rewrites

        Chuck, in your situation, I would suggest first sketching out a tight outline or treatment of how I want the new version to go.

        Then I would pull up the old version of the script and save it under a new title so that I don't get the new draft mixed with the old version.

        Given your large sized monitor, you could have your outline/treatment on one side of the screen for reference while you go through the "new" version of the script, sketching in roughly where you're going to add new scenes and characters while deleting swaths of scenes you know you won't be using. After you've done that, you'll have a down-and-dirty rough draft. (Like Jeff, I prefer not to re-type entire scripts, heh.)

        Late Night Writer

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        • #19
          Re: Rewrites

          If it's a major, major rewrite, as in tackling the story from a new angle, major structural changes, completely different characters etc, then yeah I start a new document. Then I'd copy and paste bits I wanna keep from the old draft.

          You can do that with computers now.

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          • #20
            Re: Rewrites

            Originally posted by JeffLowell View Post
            Retyping a script from scratch seems like an incredible waste of time to me, but, as with all things, YMMV.
            Here's the comment in the thread to which I alluded earlier (one of them, at least) from the "Basics" section under the thread entitled "Rewrites":

            Originally posted by Ronaldinho View Post
            I think I've shared that I heard a very successful writer (I think it was Eric Roth - this was over a decade ago, but I think I was hearing him talk after a screening of "The Insider") say that he started every single day on page one, starting in a new document. If he was on page 98, he started the next day rewriting on page 1.

            Whenever I share that story, people are skeptical. That skepticism is exactly what every writer in the room expressed to him. I remember it precisely because of how absurd it sounds.

            To each his own.
            “Nothing is what rocks dream about” ― Aristotle

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            • #21
              Re: Rewrites

              Originally posted by Bobby Dazzler
              Had to retype a few hours work yesterday.

              After saving the up-to-the-minute latest draft, I went off and did some other stuff. Then came back to work on it some more. Reopened the script aaaaand...

              It was gone. All that work was gone. Inexplicably gone.

              Where? F@%ked if I know. The Final Draft Black Hole or something.

              Now just retyping those relatively few pages shat me to tears.

              If I had to retype the whole shebang...
              Check to see if your Mac auto-saved it to its default location.
              “Nothing is what rocks dream about” ― Aristotle

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              • #22
                Re: Rewrites

                Annotated hard copy of the original draft on the right side of my keyboard, old document on the right side of my screen, fresh document on the left of the screen, and a new, color coded outline (to show which sections/scenes are new, which are staying after moderate revision, and which can pretty much be copy/pasted over from the old draft) to the left of my keyboard.

                Works for me.

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                • #23
                  Re: Rewrites

                  The writer I've heard of who does this is Guillermo Arriaga. In an interview, he said he throws out each previous draft, doesn't even look at it, and starts rewriting, thinking that if the material is "good enough" to be remembered, it's good enough to be in the script.

                  Crazy. But, he's brilliant. So, who knows?

                  If it's a major overhaul I'll start fresh, but I'll also copy and paste chunks from a previous draft if a few sequences remain generally the same.

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                  • #24
                    Re: Rewrites

                    I had an expository writing teacher (essays) in college who made everyone do a page-one rewrite -- even if he gave you an A the first time around. His theory was -- the brain subconsciously works on a better, deeper version even after we handed in the first draft. One of my fiction writing teachers had the same approach.

                    When I graduated and started working at my first ad agency job, my CD made us throw out our first few concepts for a given campaign. Writers and designers alike. Delete the file, tear up the hard copy, and start over with a blank page. He also felt there was a better version buried in the mind. But if we grew too attached to our first round of ideas, the killer idea remains buried.

                    I have to say, this type of training not only became a habit for me, I found it works more often than not.
                    Advice from writer, Kelly Sue DeConnick. "Try this: if you can replace your female character with a sexy lamp and the story still basically works, maybe you need another draft.-

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                    • #25
                      Re: Rewrites

                      Originally posted by sc111 View Post
                      I had an expository writing teacher (essays) in college who made everyone do a page-one rewrite -- even if he gave you an A the first time around. His theory was -- the brain subconsciously works on a better, deeper version even after we handed in the first draft. One of my fiction writing teachers had the same approach.

                      When I graduated and started working at my first ad agency job, my CD made us throw out our first few concepts for a given campaign. Writers and designers alike. Delete the file, tear up the hard copy, and start over with a blank page. He also felt there was a better version buried in the mind. But if we grew too attached to our first round of ideas, the killer idea remains buried.

                      I have to say, this type of training not only became a habit for me, I found it works more often than not.
                      I like this, but tearing up every copy of a work would scare the s--t out of me.

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                      • #26
                        Re: Rewrites

                        Thanks for all the insight. It's always helpful to get other writers' perspectives.
                        www.chuckhustmyre.com

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                        • #27
                          Re: Rewrites

                          Originally posted by BenJacoby View Post
                          The writer I've heard of who does this is Guillermo Arriaga. In an interview, he said he throws out each previous draft, doesn't even look at it, and starts rewriting, thinking that if the material is "good enough" to be remembered, it's good enough to be in the script.
                          He talks about it here -- http://guru.bafta.org/guillermo-arri...-lecture-video

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                          • #28
                            Re: Rewrites

                            Originally posted by Eric Boellner View Post
                            I like this, but tearing up every copy of a work would scare the s--t out of me.
                            Well, the college essays and short stories were five pages, tops. At the ad agency, what was torn up was a page or two of headlines and a few notes for graphic ideas. I found the other thing it taught me was not to be too precious about everything I write and the ability to detach emotionally. Developing that detachment helps build the skill of self assessment. When working with other writers, there, it was clear some couldn't see the flaws in their own work. They could see when someone else's work sucked but, when it came to their own work, they had major blind spots and, imo, that makes it harder to improve.

                            With that said, I could never never bring myself to tear up 100+ pages as described above.
                            Advice from writer, Kelly Sue DeConnick. "Try this: if you can replace your female character with a sexy lamp and the story still basically works, maybe you need another draft.-

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                            • #29
                              Re: Rewrites

                              Yes, it does not seem practical at all to tear up your first draft and write another from scratch.
                              www.chuckhustmyre.com

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