Voluntary Amnesia

Collapse

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Voluntary Amnesia

    I'm tempted to bang my head on my desk as hard as I can until I've completely forgotten my latest draft. I need to read it as though I've never seen it before. I'm worried that banging my head will cause other side effects like pain and dementia so I'll soldier through yet another reading pretending to be surprised. I sure wish I could see it through the eyes of a first-time reader though. Aside from actually finding a first-time reader, any know of a way to trick yourself into seeing something fresh? I've waited several weeks and that helps a lot but I need more.

  • #2
    Re: Voluntary Amnesia

    Originally posted by Lyle Estevan
    I've waited several weeks and that helps a lot but I need more.
    Try months after you've written, and finished, a whole different first draft for a different project. Months. by then you'll have forgotten what blanks you're filling in when you read it. also, get notes from several different people, but don't read them until just before you're going to re-write it after waiting for several months.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Voluntary Amnesia

      Painters sometimes turn their canvas upside down so they aren't distracted by the image, but can then on focus on color or composition.

      Okay, that wasn't helpful, but it is interesting.

      What are you reading it for? Sometimes if I'm trying to see words and not sentences, I look right to left and start at the bottom of the page.

      If I want to read the whole script and see it whole, I print it and go to a place where I can sit and read while smoking and drinking coffee (though the options for that are becoming increasingly less). It helps if it is a place I don't usually go, but the sounds are not unfamiliar.

      Late at night, if you're a morning person. Early morning if you're a night person. Bottom line: a new perspective requires a new space and an unfamiliar time, I think.

      Good luck

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Voluntary Amnesia

        If your screenwriting software has a voice feature, you could try enabling that and then listening to your script being "read." Having a friend or group of friends read it aloud would be even better. But hearing the script rather than reading it can definitely give you a fresh perspective.
        The difference between the almost right word & the right word is really a large matter -- it's the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning. - Mark Twain

        Comment

        Working...
        X