Re: Rewrites - how do you stay fresh?
So many screenwriters feel the urge to cling. They cling onto what they have had since the first or second draft like grim death just because it was the original stuff. But sometimes that is like clinging onto a sinking ship. They just tweak the original stuff indefinitely when what is really needed is a full removal and transplant. Some think writers do this out of laziness, but it is really done out of fear. Fear that they will not be able to come up with anything better. Fear that making large changes will make their entire house of cards fall down. The fear over admitting their original ideas may have not been so brilliant.
Remember that it is called RE-writing, which literally means to write it all over again. It's not called "Tweaking" or "Adjusting". Think of every draft as creating the story all over again, but a lot better this time. I think using computers had contributed greatly to the habit of tweaking rather than rewriting. Back in the typewriter days, the writer would have to literally write every single draft over again.
Remember the story of Noah from the Bible? Even God didn't get things perfect the first time. So he kept what he liked and wiped out the rest to start over. Sometimes you need to do a Noah Draft.
So many screenwriters feel the urge to cling. They cling onto what they have had since the first or second draft like grim death just because it was the original stuff. But sometimes that is like clinging onto a sinking ship. They just tweak the original stuff indefinitely when what is really needed is a full removal and transplant. Some think writers do this out of laziness, but it is really done out of fear. Fear that they will not be able to come up with anything better. Fear that making large changes will make their entire house of cards fall down. The fear over admitting their original ideas may have not been so brilliant.
Remember that it is called RE-writing, which literally means to write it all over again. It's not called "Tweaking" or "Adjusting". Think of every draft as creating the story all over again, but a lot better this time. I think using computers had contributed greatly to the habit of tweaking rather than rewriting. Back in the typewriter days, the writer would have to literally write every single draft over again.
Remember the story of Noah from the Bible? Even God didn't get things perfect the first time. So he kept what he liked and wiped out the rest to start over. Sometimes you need to do a Noah Draft.
Comment