There will be questions

I’ve recently been involved with a few script swaps – some motivated by me asking for notes on a new draft, some instigated by new connections.

I always enjoy giving notes because it allows me to see the talent and creativity on display from other writers, and also enables me to develop my analytical skills which I can then hopefully apply to my own stuff.

Like I ask my readers, I try to identify what works for me and what doesn’t. Regarding the latter, it’s never “I don’t like this” or “this is wrong”; more of a “I’m not sure what you’re trying to say here” or “I’m a little confused about this. Can you clarify it?”

The biggest contribution I can make is to ask the writer questions. Lots of questions. They know their story much better than I do, especially since they’ve been involved with it since day one and this is the first time I’ve ever seen it. That means there’s a good chance something they may think is obvious isn’t to me, so I need to ask about it.

I’ll also make suggestions of how something could be done – especially if it accomplishes the same thing they already have on the page, just in a different manner. “What if your protagonist did THIS instead?” or “What if THIS happened?”

Taking it one step further, I’ll never tell a writer “This is how I would do it” because it’s not my script. It’s their script and needs to be in their voice. If my questions and/or suggestions help them in any way, then mission accomplished. What writer hasn’t gotten a note that makes them think “I never thought of it that way before”?

Like with contest judging, notes are all subjective. You might get notes you think are absolutely 100 percent spot-on, and some where you think the reader barely made an effort. And even when a note seems totally wrong to you, it’s still worth asking “Why did the reader say this?” (AKA The Note Behind The Note). Is there something in what they said you could still use?

Remember: the reader is there to help you make your script as good as it can be.

Also important: no matter what a reader says about my script, I always make sure to thank them for taking the time to do it. Reading a script and giving notes on it is a real commitment, and they should know how much you appreciate that (along with offering to return the favor, if you haven’t done so already.)

Reading scripts is already important to becoming a better writer. Reading a script and asking the writer about it helps both of you become better.

There it is!

The past few days have been all about doing some major rewriting on the animated fantasy-comedy.

A lot of it has remained the same, but I can also say that a lot has changed about it, and coming up with new stuff – or at least new approaches to what was already there – seemed more effective this time around.

I started with the mindset of “do what needs to be done, no matter what”. Apart from the core of the story, nothing was safe; not even material that had been there since the very first draft. I knew what was needed and would do what I had to to get there.

It wasn’t as tumultuous as I expected. In fact, it was a bit surprising how much ended up being changed, and even more surprising was how easy it was to come up with new stuff; almost as if some kind of door had been kicked open and the ideas wouldn’t stop coming in. If only it could be like that all the time, right?

This is the part of the writing process I truly enjoy. Just being creative and putting it on the page. It felt like I’d lost touch with that, and got a real kick out of experiencing it again.

Next up – sending the script to some beta readers. Fingers, as always, firmly crossed.

The timing of this burst of creativity was also fortuitous because I’ve been feeling very non-productive lately, so this was a nice remedy for that. Being able to recharge one’s batteries is an underrated skill.

With this rewrite now in the past, I can now focus on a few projects that got put on hold because of it.

Looking forward to taking on all of them.

RIP, darlings

One of my biggest challenges when it comes to rewrites has always been letting go of what’s on the page now and making whatever changes are needed.

It’s taken time to learn to get better at this.

Such was the case with the current rewrite.

I was going through the previous draft, marking up what needed to be done.

I got to a scene that I loved, but ultimately realized that it simply didn’t need to be there. Broke my heart to take it out, but I had to do what was best for the script, not me.

There were a few scenes that had to be adjusted a bit as a result of that, which in retrospect was a pretty good thing. Those scenes are now tighter and help keep things moving along.

And it’s not like I can’t use the content of the cut scenes again. They’ll just be stored away for potential use in the future – for this script or possibly another.

Cutting that one scene has also resulted in being more open to doing more with other scenes. I’ve enjoyed working with the mindset of “Is there a different way to do this?” and then exploring the possibilities. It’s not uncommon to go through several versions before finding the one that works.

Don’t know how long it’ll take to get through the rest of the script, but I’m quite happy with how it’s going. This in turn makes me want to work on it more, so there’s a chance it could even be done sooner than expected.

I honestly think the end result will be a much better script. All because I was willing to get rid of/change material I thought was already good.

Did it before. Can do it again

The biggest note I’ve received on the animated fantasy-comedy is that my protagonist needs to be more involved; be the thing that drives things forward, and how what she does affects those around her.

The challenging part is figuring out how to do that while keeping a lot of important story details.

Challenging, but not impossible.

Just as I imagine this task becoming more insurmountable the more I think about it, I’m reminded that I did a major overhaul on my western that involved the same thing. The protagonist needed to be more proactive in driving the story forward.

The end result had A LOT of changes that required a new approach. It took some time, but I was able to accomplish that, and the script ended up being better for it.

No reason to think I can’t repeat it this time around.

Thus the revising is underway. Slow, but steady.

I’ll get there.

Spark: re-ignited

Despite how busy I’ve been the past few weeks, one of my ongoing projects has been the animated fantasy-comedy. It’s been rewritten and polished many times, but I knew it still needed at least one more draft.

A slow but steady influx of exceptionally helpful notes will make a significant contribution to this effort.

More than a few of the notes had the same thing to say, and after some intense analysis and evaluation, incorporating the intent of those notes into this new draft could have a major impact on really elevating the quality of this script.

I don’t say this from a place of ego or hyperbole; just about all the notes said the script was really good, but with a few tweaks and adjustments, it could be really, REALLY good.

How could I refuse?

Although extensive rewrites are sometimes necessary, going into this draft having a much more established idea of what I need to do – along with a few ideas of how to do it – fills me with a renewed sense of excitement and enthusiasm.

Suffice to say I am really looking forward to taking this one on.

This is the part of the writing process I’ve always enjoyed – having fun with putting it all together. It probably also helps that I love the story and the characters, and want to present it all in the best possible way.

I’m also glad I decided to skip this year’s contests because now I have more time until the next round of deadlines to get this thing into shape (along with saving a decent chunk of change).

The initial round of planning and outlining is already underway, with confidence levels running strong. Definitely looking forward to see how this all plays out.