Been there. Done that. Gone back for seconds.
People sabotage themselves daily. I think it's one of the more difficult walls one has to face because you have to be honest as to why in the world you are slitting your dreams.
There's two forms of sabotage:
1. Direct sabotage
2. Indirect sabotage
Both are lethal to the writer. One of the most important parts for a writer is to be well equipped for battles. As instructors of writing I think often times we lure human bodies to just get to writing, but not necessarily tell them what monsters are hovering over them to prevent them from excellence. As with direct sabotage, sometimes we do in fact corrupt our own writing. I would attest that there are two main causes for this: (1) a fear of failure; and (2) a more potent fear of success. I think there's this false idea that if one doesn't write then he or she cannot fail or succeed; therefore, one does not have to deal with the weight of the consequences. We screw up great opportunities all the time because it overwhelms us. At the end of the day, because we know it could change whatever status quo we've found. On the other hand, failure of course can put a dent in the ego, and I think for a more mature writer this may be less of a concern since in theory she should desire criticism so as to learn what mistakes she has and eventually grow. I'm more concerned about the fear of success.
I've already seen plenty in my life that were fully capable of taking on the planet but let the wind carry them another direction. I've seen men with options of beautiful women to date but instead vied for the Velmas from Scooby Doo, simply because... the idea of a successful woman was too daunting (load of crap indeed, but more baffling than anything else).
You should never stop working. Writing... I'll bargain with you on giving yourself a break so you can recover. But at the very least, you should be doing research. Immerse yourself into the genre of what you are writing or do the opposite so as to lighten your own spirit or you could also contextualize two seemingly unrelated worlds into a beautiful whole. Regardless of what weight you have in life, keep thinking about your story world in your mind. Internalize it until it's what is pumping through your veins. Once your body knows it's surviving off story, and the one that you're feeding it, it will crave that story through and through. Kind of sounds absurd, right? If you can't write a sentence worth crap then make yourself daydream about your story world and the characters for at least an hour a day. Think about it in bed if you refuse to get up -- then you're not so lazy resting there! You are using your noggin and exploring it in complex ways. Try exercising and thinking about your story world at the same time so your body doesn't become sedentary, and this can also have similar muscle building responses for your mind.
Indirect sabotage in my opinion has to do with the other aspects of your life bleeding over to the point that it cuts into your writing time. This can be controlled to some degree, but at times tragedy happens and sometimes celebration's necessary too. Also, you do occasionally need to pull away from words to be with people. Without knowing people -- what really resonates with their hearts and minds -- how do you expect to reach them with a story? Sometimes the best ideas and truths are going to come from everyday conversations from beautiful, perfect strangers. I deplore nonfiction writing in fiction, so I encourage you not to use your personal life for vignettes of scenes. If you must, that's your own business. But I think you should pry yourself away from this practice to expand your writing capabilities.
Besides sabotage, you know what's the most annoying phrase I've heard in writing since a kid? Push the envelope. I hate it. How far does this magical envelope have to be pushed? I think we need to stop thinking in merely wide terms and go more vertical, go deeper in our search and quest for the inspirational, the transcendental, and the beautiful. Personally, if you're going to go for rancid violence or sex (these are fine avenues, but often what people are referring to in the 'envelope') it better be well connected to the point of the plot or (as stated on a previous post) it's pointlessness. If you're going to push the envelope make sure to dig deep at the same time; both axes are needed for strong storytelling.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
10. Tips from Poetry that are Applicable to Screenwriting
I'm going to steal some tricks from the poetry kids.
1. Your first line needs to grab attention. I'm not sure if this is as critical in screenwriting as it would be in poetry, but I think the first page of a screenplay should be enough to keep the reader turning to the next page. Get straight to the point. Don't dilly-dally. Keep to four lines. Make your characters be quiet if they're being loquacious. Open it up in a different way. Thousands of people have had to read the same bloody nothingness. Avoid alarm clocks and other cliches. Put your characters inside a giant talking teddy bear that's about to explode! In media res it up. Don't wait for the action to happen, start on the action.
2. According to the poetry kids, you need to earn your fireworks. Make sure you are giving enough attention and development to the plot being developed. If you jump quickly from a death, there needs to be reason otherwise it could end up sloppy, or cause the audience to lose emotion. There needs to be connectedness from miracle to miracle. I mean honestly, that's what a script should be -- stars (miracles) being connected into a constellation. Don't just place something in a room to be cute, use the gun if it's been mentioned. And perhaps use it in a way that we the audience were not expecting.
3. Be fresh. Avoid stale language and cliches. These poor readers who are coming across your scripts have seen many of the same darlings you've dabbled with. Cliches are really placeholders that beg for better ideas to take their place. You could easily have your main character wake to an alarm clock, then upgrade it to a rooster, then upgrade it to a robotic chicken. I think going even bigger would be helpful. If we keep making the same boring product, we'll bore the audience. So get rid of the crusty ole' cliches. Astronauts in space? Try astronauts on go-karts. Or try astronauts in your house waking you up with robotic chickens.
4. The next is... was the audience actually moved? Was their a refusal to transcend or did it actually transcend? Regardless of the originating material, a piece should go well and beyond just the simplicity of someone's first relationship. Big Fish transcended what would we think of as normal reality, and yet it feels heartfelt (at least to me). One of my favorite scenes from this film is when everything freezes at the circus and the Ewan McGreggor character is the only one who can move and he tries to make it to his future wife, but time catches up and everything speeds away. It's relatable! Even if we know deep down that time generally (I'm keeping some hope here) doesn't move that way.
5. Endings in my opinion are the most important part. They are the payoff. They are the gift of it all. I've seen transformative endings that went well above the mark. Endings shouldn't feel like something was slopped together and taped at the end. They should be organic and yet well connected to the rest of the piece, as if it was always meant to be. No, everything doesn't need to be wrapped up. Anti-climatic is a big no-no. What tends to work is have the ending play off the opening three pages. It really is all in the ending, just as in our own lives it is all in the death. What is behind the door of death? Or have we even begun to live? Is this all just an epic prelude? A terrible ending can destroy the rest of what may have been seemingly perfect. Unless you're making a sequel, don't try to go a whole new direction at the end. I think knowing the ending before writing is important. If you don't know the destination, you may end up in the wrong place entirely with not enough gas to get to the real end.
1. Your first line needs to grab attention. I'm not sure if this is as critical in screenwriting as it would be in poetry, but I think the first page of a screenplay should be enough to keep the reader turning to the next page. Get straight to the point. Don't dilly-dally. Keep to four lines. Make your characters be quiet if they're being loquacious. Open it up in a different way. Thousands of people have had to read the same bloody nothingness. Avoid alarm clocks and other cliches. Put your characters inside a giant talking teddy bear that's about to explode! In media res it up. Don't wait for the action to happen, start on the action.
2. According to the poetry kids, you need to earn your fireworks. Make sure you are giving enough attention and development to the plot being developed. If you jump quickly from a death, there needs to be reason otherwise it could end up sloppy, or cause the audience to lose emotion. There needs to be connectedness from miracle to miracle. I mean honestly, that's what a script should be -- stars (miracles) being connected into a constellation. Don't just place something in a room to be cute, use the gun if it's been mentioned. And perhaps use it in a way that we the audience were not expecting.
3. Be fresh. Avoid stale language and cliches. These poor readers who are coming across your scripts have seen many of the same darlings you've dabbled with. Cliches are really placeholders that beg for better ideas to take their place. You could easily have your main character wake to an alarm clock, then upgrade it to a rooster, then upgrade it to a robotic chicken. I think going even bigger would be helpful. If we keep making the same boring product, we'll bore the audience. So get rid of the crusty ole' cliches. Astronauts in space? Try astronauts on go-karts. Or try astronauts in your house waking you up with robotic chickens.
4. The next is... was the audience actually moved? Was their a refusal to transcend or did it actually transcend? Regardless of the originating material, a piece should go well and beyond just the simplicity of someone's first relationship. Big Fish transcended what would we think of as normal reality, and yet it feels heartfelt (at least to me). One of my favorite scenes from this film is when everything freezes at the circus and the Ewan McGreggor character is the only one who can move and he tries to make it to his future wife, but time catches up and everything speeds away. It's relatable! Even if we know deep down that time generally (I'm keeping some hope here) doesn't move that way.
5. Endings in my opinion are the most important part. They are the payoff. They are the gift of it all. I've seen transformative endings that went well above the mark. Endings shouldn't feel like something was slopped together and taped at the end. They should be organic and yet well connected to the rest of the piece, as if it was always meant to be. No, everything doesn't need to be wrapped up. Anti-climatic is a big no-no. What tends to work is have the ending play off the opening three pages. It really is all in the ending, just as in our own lives it is all in the death. What is behind the door of death? Or have we even begun to live? Is this all just an epic prelude? A terrible ending can destroy the rest of what may have been seemingly perfect. Unless you're making a sequel, don't try to go a whole new direction at the end. I think knowing the ending before writing is important. If you don't know the destination, you may end up in the wrong place entirely with not enough gas to get to the real end.
Sunday, October 21, 2012
9. Tease and Act I
I am on blog entry #9, although should it be #10? I'm losing track of my weeks. Too many days are blurring together.
To my joy, with this absurd pilot, I wrote my tease and first act in 14 pages. The tease met a perfect five pages. There are a total of 39 scenes. And in these first 14 pages, 12 main characters are introduced. I would like to say, regardless of how strong this first run happens to be, that is a feat. My biggest concern is that with such tight writing that such a great deal of compression took place that I might not be screaming as much white as may need be. White as in page participles without words. Not some other white concept.
Over this fall break, my muse has been spouting off gold, so I've pushed myself to write further into the script than usual. I like to keep to deadlines and not go too far ahead because then I feel like I'm not appreciating the pages I should be focusing on. This time however, since the muse came knocking on the door, I decided I would just keep pushing forward until I tire myself out.
My future self will thank me when I realize that the more difficult action descriptions have already been mulled through. I want to keep bursting with creativity; whatever source it happens to be I want it to keep on flowing. Many of the variables of this pilot were already set in my mind long before thinking of the script's plots. I knew my characters and story world intimately. What's been fascinating for me is seeing how my mind develops an idea, then translating into an outline, and then translating into the script. This has been one of the better processes I've had in keeping all these different mental mediums together. I was pretty pleased with the outline, but now writing the script has this euphoric feel to it. I'm excited to get to the later acts when admittedly I found the tease and first act the weaker parts of the whole deal.
Clarity of vision here is helping me substantially. I think knowing the story in my mind in a deliberate, organized has allowed me to write, at least in this first attempt, with more ease. I think these past 2+ years in graduate school have served me well. I think they were perhaps what I wanted all along when I moved to Springfield.
I recently watched an interview with writer Amy Tan. There were some brilliant pieces of advice that she offered. One of the best was that creativity is a form of survival. She commented that through her painful situations it was creativity that was needed and that she began to explore her craft in more intensive of ways. I definitely think there is validity to this. A number of artists have attested to the same reason for creative energy. I don't entirely understand, and I don't recommend forcing a tragedy for results either. I think when we are suffering, more aware of death and the finiteness of life, we war against these terrors with as much beautiful thought as we can muster almost as to say death has no hold on us. Unfortunately, these more sour events can also distract us from actually committing to our work.
I think one of the obvious reasons why creativity is so helpful is it allows in some sense for the mind to process through whatever event has befallen. Personally, I think much of these underlife experiences for the writer don't always bleed out into the world they create. Perhaps with less developed writers this is more evident where it's easy to tell in a short story how it all connects to someone's fear of rejection, the death of a father, or some heinous crime. I think I could easily write a short story with a whirlpool of meaning about pigs playing poker and no one would know it's really about, as a figure of speech, how I've had a broken heart for several months. For me, that kind of writing is joyous. I don't expect that for all. And some stories may be great where the writer's tragedy is clear throughout the narrative. At the end of the day, before I get lost in the absurd, I think it's important to remember that there is a correlation between creativity and survival.
One last side note with story writing and craft, I saw Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes which is one of the bands I used to help me figure out the protagonist of this whole mess. I couldn't find Caden in writing. It was in innocence, music, and bizarre art that I've been able to piece this character because I haven't seen this in television or film yet. I could only hope that something as beautiful as what I'm envisioning for this character could be portrayed through my writing and beyond. I think seeing the Edward Sharpe band let me know that what I'm sensing in my gut for this character is right. I really felt like the 12 piece band I saw out in the middle of Kansas City on some cold night in fall -- is honestly the encapsulation of Caden. Cool.
To my joy, with this absurd pilot, I wrote my tease and first act in 14 pages. The tease met a perfect five pages. There are a total of 39 scenes. And in these first 14 pages, 12 main characters are introduced. I would like to say, regardless of how strong this first run happens to be, that is a feat. My biggest concern is that with such tight writing that such a great deal of compression took place that I might not be screaming as much white as may need be. White as in page participles without words. Not some other white concept.
Over this fall break, my muse has been spouting off gold, so I've pushed myself to write further into the script than usual. I like to keep to deadlines and not go too far ahead because then I feel like I'm not appreciating the pages I should be focusing on. This time however, since the muse came knocking on the door, I decided I would just keep pushing forward until I tire myself out.
My future self will thank me when I realize that the more difficult action descriptions have already been mulled through. I want to keep bursting with creativity; whatever source it happens to be I want it to keep on flowing. Many of the variables of this pilot were already set in my mind long before thinking of the script's plots. I knew my characters and story world intimately. What's been fascinating for me is seeing how my mind develops an idea, then translating into an outline, and then translating into the script. This has been one of the better processes I've had in keeping all these different mental mediums together. I was pretty pleased with the outline, but now writing the script has this euphoric feel to it. I'm excited to get to the later acts when admittedly I found the tease and first act the weaker parts of the whole deal.
Clarity of vision here is helping me substantially. I think knowing the story in my mind in a deliberate, organized has allowed me to write, at least in this first attempt, with more ease. I think these past 2+ years in graduate school have served me well. I think they were perhaps what I wanted all along when I moved to Springfield.
I recently watched an interview with writer Amy Tan. There were some brilliant pieces of advice that she offered. One of the best was that creativity is a form of survival. She commented that through her painful situations it was creativity that was needed and that she began to explore her craft in more intensive of ways. I definitely think there is validity to this. A number of artists have attested to the same reason for creative energy. I don't entirely understand, and I don't recommend forcing a tragedy for results either. I think when we are suffering, more aware of death and the finiteness of life, we war against these terrors with as much beautiful thought as we can muster almost as to say death has no hold on us. Unfortunately, these more sour events can also distract us from actually committing to our work.
I think one of the obvious reasons why creativity is so helpful is it allows in some sense for the mind to process through whatever event has befallen. Personally, I think much of these underlife experiences for the writer don't always bleed out into the world they create. Perhaps with less developed writers this is more evident where it's easy to tell in a short story how it all connects to someone's fear of rejection, the death of a father, or some heinous crime. I think I could easily write a short story with a whirlpool of meaning about pigs playing poker and no one would know it's really about, as a figure of speech, how I've had a broken heart for several months. For me, that kind of writing is joyous. I don't expect that for all. And some stories may be great where the writer's tragedy is clear throughout the narrative. At the end of the day, before I get lost in the absurd, I think it's important to remember that there is a correlation between creativity and survival.
One last side note with story writing and craft, I saw Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes which is one of the bands I used to help me figure out the protagonist of this whole mess. I couldn't find Caden in writing. It was in innocence, music, and bizarre art that I've been able to piece this character because I haven't seen this in television or film yet. I could only hope that something as beautiful as what I'm envisioning for this character could be portrayed through my writing and beyond. I think seeing the Edward Sharpe band let me know that what I'm sensing in my gut for this character is right. I really felt like the 12 piece band I saw out in the middle of Kansas City on some cold night in fall -- is honestly the encapsulation of Caden. Cool.
Saturday, October 13, 2012
8. Marketing More So...
I think film (as well as many creative venues) will be experiencing changes of transition for the next 10, 15, to 20 years. I find this exciting and it is clear that the digital age is what's shaking up the scene. I think it's pertinent for all creative pioneers to study the status quo while thinking ahead; my bet is there will be more of a push for self-publishing and self-promoting. More people are relying on the internet and less on their televisions; as with once upon a time radio loss favor to the dawn of television.
I would love for more markets outside California to be created. For one, then I wouldn't have to move near as far. Also, I think if we have more markets than we'll see less of a monopoly on ideas as well as more representation of ideas we haven't been as exposed to (i.e. different countries portray films in different ways -- as do states). I love that New Mexico is pushing for people to come their way. Granted, it's going to take awhile before I think another market in the U.S. can even compare or be as organized and efficient as L.A. I have a friend who is a SAG actress and she's out in Austin loving it, but her gripe is that for where community should be building there's too much disorganization in an area that seems to be thriving off independent movements.
My thought is that with more online networking and writing opportunities through the internet that the underground will be able to make itself clear throughout concentrated areas in the country and that the writing community is going to face the problem of: an even more overabundance of writers fighting while also more chances to be heard / recognized against the masses. The internet is getting better all the time. If we reflect back to the 90s when e-mail was hotmail, moving GIFs were everywhere, and chatrooms escalated... we can see that the once toddler industry is gaining speed and maturing. Research for me as a graduate student has substantially more ease in comparison to not only the "time before the internet" but even 10 years ago, or 5 years ago. Bottomline: access is changing. I think it's of value to look on a more economical view for this blog post (rather than some theoretical ideas I like to toss around) so as to be practical and also innovative.
I think there's three essential ingredients for the writing business: (1) have excellent writing skills, (2) have connections, (3) be organized. If you can't write or haven't gotten up to speed on where you need to be -- what are you doing? And if you can write the most eloquent masterpieces for society -- granted you may not want them published -- though if you want any profit... you'll need an agent / publishing house / somebody who knows somebody.
Self-publishing seems like a more practical avenue than ever. The websites for this are taking off and booming. In just the past five years, it's become far more of a feasible approach. Lastly though, I think it takes some amount of a battle plan both in what you are going to write and who you are going to use to get the word out there to be published.
Organization and time management are screenwriters best friends. These are the kind of best friends that you fight with and can take you down a notch or two. But without them... you are a lonely, wandering mess without a sail. It's important to come up with goals on how much you will write, how the beast will be structured, and how you plan to market the sucker.
I would love for more markets outside California to be created. For one, then I wouldn't have to move near as far. Also, I think if we have more markets than we'll see less of a monopoly on ideas as well as more representation of ideas we haven't been as exposed to (i.e. different countries portray films in different ways -- as do states). I love that New Mexico is pushing for people to come their way. Granted, it's going to take awhile before I think another market in the U.S. can even compare or be as organized and efficient as L.A. I have a friend who is a SAG actress and she's out in Austin loving it, but her gripe is that for where community should be building there's too much disorganization in an area that seems to be thriving off independent movements.
My thought is that with more online networking and writing opportunities through the internet that the underground will be able to make itself clear throughout concentrated areas in the country and that the writing community is going to face the problem of: an even more overabundance of writers fighting while also more chances to be heard / recognized against the masses. The internet is getting better all the time. If we reflect back to the 90s when e-mail was hotmail, moving GIFs were everywhere, and chatrooms escalated... we can see that the once toddler industry is gaining speed and maturing. Research for me as a graduate student has substantially more ease in comparison to not only the "time before the internet" but even 10 years ago, or 5 years ago. Bottomline: access is changing. I think it's of value to look on a more economical view for this blog post (rather than some theoretical ideas I like to toss around) so as to be practical and also innovative.
I think there's three essential ingredients for the writing business: (1) have excellent writing skills, (2) have connections, (3) be organized. If you can't write or haven't gotten up to speed on where you need to be -- what are you doing? And if you can write the most eloquent masterpieces for society -- granted you may not want them published -- though if you want any profit... you'll need an agent / publishing house / somebody who knows somebody.
Self-publishing seems like a more practical avenue than ever. The websites for this are taking off and booming. In just the past five years, it's become far more of a feasible approach. Lastly though, I think it takes some amount of a battle plan both in what you are going to write and who you are going to use to get the word out there to be published.
Organization and time management are screenwriters best friends. These are the kind of best friends that you fight with and can take you down a notch or two. But without them... you are a lonely, wandering mess without a sail. It's important to come up with goals on how much you will write, how the beast will be structured, and how you plan to market the sucker.
Sunday, October 7, 2012
7. Rewriting for the Screenplay
I love rewriting. I love it because it invites for the writer to dig deeper. Whether your first draft was total crap or you've already got a pretty good piece -- rewriting brings in a whole new level of direction. It's like going to an eye doctor with what you thought were already good eyes and leaving with X-ray vision with lasers shooting out your sockets. It's the holy ingredient for writers.
I have a few tricks up my sleeve for rewriting screenplay drafts. I think it's important to be objective, not completely abandoning any sense of emotion or soul, but honestly being able to be critical. It's important first to come up with a plan before hacking away at any draft; otherwise, you might miss what exactly is the true problem. Always set goals for yourself -- I am a big believer in setting up goals that are impossible that way you'll end up pushing yourself as far as you can to where you actually need to be. One of the better goals to stick with is coming up with a rough number of how many words you need to cut. No matter the script, it's probably not in the most lean shape it could be. By committing to word cutting, you're doing your script a favor and getting out fat that's unnecessary. This also allows you're already stronger points to become even stronger because they're not watered-down by less salient ideas.
Look for words that you keep repeating and replace them with fresh, original words. Especially verbs. I tend to make my characters run all over the place, so I have a thesaurus ready for when they need to gallop, dash, and explode out the door. Occasionally, I goof up and put some archaic word in the mix, but it's not something to cry over. Most situations are "spilt milk" situations, especially in writing, so don't get your feelings too estranged. Be willing to face the problems and cure them. Honestly, learn to love the problem children. Not just in writing, but in life. You'll find yourself a whole lot happier. Holding onto the crap in your writing is pointlessly selfish. You have to be willing to grow. So find the inner attitudes that speak to you and make them happy so that you're not writer-blocking yourself into an idle corner.
Another important lesson: on a separate document, give percentages of how much is totally being written per character (for the whole of the draft). This will be revealing in who you may be favoring, and perchance, who you shouldn't be favoring. If the protagonist of the script isn't getting the highest percentage, you have a problem. Now, if you have multiple protagonists this could be another story; you do need to decide who is the meat, the cornerstone of it all. For instance, Frodo needed his space; the other characters in the Lord of the Rings series did too -- but it's his journey that gives meaning. Without him, the whole show fails. How are we supposed to experience the wrath of the ring without Frodo? Perhaps Gollum? The two in many ways are one in the same, but Gollum is really there to shine light on Frodo's character. He isn't a direct mirror to Frodo; Gollum has his own story and through Sam and Frodo listening to him and giving empathy the trifecta of drama deepens.
Lets move away from LOTR. The whole point of rewriting is to dig deeper. If we as writers just stop at the same wall and never push past it, we will continue to struggle to come up with new, invigorating ideas that challenge and enlighten society. It's not because I'm a perfectionist that I think that writing can continually be better; it's that I believe there's infinity out there somewhere -- and so there's always room to reach farther. My cluttered room which hardly bothers me while I write this entry shows that I lack in the perfectionist department.
We have to see past the tropes and the cliches. When rewriting, make sure to go through and ask yourself deeply how you are being cliche. We don't need to see people waking up to alarm clocks anymore. It's been visually incorporated so many times that in my own life I want to create a new alarm clock system to rid myself of this tireless ritual. Cut to the chase and don't dilly-dally with white walls. There's a gigantic appetite right now for creativity, and for creativity to be a solution to problems small and large. By offering the same panacea in stories we're essentially showing the public the same mathematical formulas they already know. How many times do we have to teach them about 1 + 1 equalling 2? Perhaps endlessly? I suppose it's necessary to anchor in the basics...
Instead, I think we need to apply the basics and go beyond so as to find the most inspiring formulas for storytelling. If we settle for our ideas on love from 1970s dating books, alas, we will continue the same relationship mistakes as a society when we really could be curbing domestic violence, rape, women seen as second-class citizens, etc. Romance is written so poorly these days and is unfortunately so much of what people attempt to imitate and then project that I wonder incessantly on how we can make progress here so as to have better fulfilled relationships. Personally with writing, I don't let my characters fall in love willy-nilly. They have to fight for it, and I mean, literally speak through the white paper vortex to me and say how much they need love before I cave because it's a terrible injustice to take a perfectly rounded, diabolical character and ruin them by putting them in a flat romance. This is actually my number one pet peeve of television and film alike. 90 some odd percent of the time the writers don't get how to really write romance and make the characters sweat for it. This is creating a void of missed opportunities for true character growth development. When the relationships need to rise, they will, for it's inevitable chemistry. Seriously though, separate the love prospects from each other and let history build until at last there's no other option but for love to be the door to open. Otherwise, you're playing risks with being anti-climatic. Therefore in rewriting, make sure to check that your characters have the relationships and growth that they deserve. (Refuse the fast food written development and shoot for organic storytelling.)
I have a few tricks up my sleeve for rewriting screenplay drafts. I think it's important to be objective, not completely abandoning any sense of emotion or soul, but honestly being able to be critical. It's important first to come up with a plan before hacking away at any draft; otherwise, you might miss what exactly is the true problem. Always set goals for yourself -- I am a big believer in setting up goals that are impossible that way you'll end up pushing yourself as far as you can to where you actually need to be. One of the better goals to stick with is coming up with a rough number of how many words you need to cut. No matter the script, it's probably not in the most lean shape it could be. By committing to word cutting, you're doing your script a favor and getting out fat that's unnecessary. This also allows you're already stronger points to become even stronger because they're not watered-down by less salient ideas.
Look for words that you keep repeating and replace them with fresh, original words. Especially verbs. I tend to make my characters run all over the place, so I have a thesaurus ready for when they need to gallop, dash, and explode out the door. Occasionally, I goof up and put some archaic word in the mix, but it's not something to cry over. Most situations are "spilt milk" situations, especially in writing, so don't get your feelings too estranged. Be willing to face the problems and cure them. Honestly, learn to love the problem children. Not just in writing, but in life. You'll find yourself a whole lot happier. Holding onto the crap in your writing is pointlessly selfish. You have to be willing to grow. So find the inner attitudes that speak to you and make them happy so that you're not writer-blocking yourself into an idle corner.
Another important lesson: on a separate document, give percentages of how much is totally being written per character (for the whole of the draft). This will be revealing in who you may be favoring, and perchance, who you shouldn't be favoring. If the protagonist of the script isn't getting the highest percentage, you have a problem. Now, if you have multiple protagonists this could be another story; you do need to decide who is the meat, the cornerstone of it all. For instance, Frodo needed his space; the other characters in the Lord of the Rings series did too -- but it's his journey that gives meaning. Without him, the whole show fails. How are we supposed to experience the wrath of the ring without Frodo? Perhaps Gollum? The two in many ways are one in the same, but Gollum is really there to shine light on Frodo's character. He isn't a direct mirror to Frodo; Gollum has his own story and through Sam and Frodo listening to him and giving empathy the trifecta of drama deepens.
Lets move away from LOTR. The whole point of rewriting is to dig deeper. If we as writers just stop at the same wall and never push past it, we will continue to struggle to come up with new, invigorating ideas that challenge and enlighten society. It's not because I'm a perfectionist that I think that writing can continually be better; it's that I believe there's infinity out there somewhere -- and so there's always room to reach farther. My cluttered room which hardly bothers me while I write this entry shows that I lack in the perfectionist department.
We have to see past the tropes and the cliches. When rewriting, make sure to go through and ask yourself deeply how you are being cliche. We don't need to see people waking up to alarm clocks anymore. It's been visually incorporated so many times that in my own life I want to create a new alarm clock system to rid myself of this tireless ritual. Cut to the chase and don't dilly-dally with white walls. There's a gigantic appetite right now for creativity, and for creativity to be a solution to problems small and large. By offering the same panacea in stories we're essentially showing the public the same mathematical formulas they already know. How many times do we have to teach them about 1 + 1 equalling 2? Perhaps endlessly? I suppose it's necessary to anchor in the basics...
Instead, I think we need to apply the basics and go beyond so as to find the most inspiring formulas for storytelling. If we settle for our ideas on love from 1970s dating books, alas, we will continue the same relationship mistakes as a society when we really could be curbing domestic violence, rape, women seen as second-class citizens, etc. Romance is written so poorly these days and is unfortunately so much of what people attempt to imitate and then project that I wonder incessantly on how we can make progress here so as to have better fulfilled relationships. Personally with writing, I don't let my characters fall in love willy-nilly. They have to fight for it, and I mean, literally speak through the white paper vortex to me and say how much they need love before I cave because it's a terrible injustice to take a perfectly rounded, diabolical character and ruin them by putting them in a flat romance. This is actually my number one pet peeve of television and film alike. 90 some odd percent of the time the writers don't get how to really write romance and make the characters sweat for it. This is creating a void of missed opportunities for true character growth development. When the relationships need to rise, they will, for it's inevitable chemistry. Seriously though, separate the love prospects from each other and let history build until at last there's no other option but for love to be the door to open. Otherwise, you're playing risks with being anti-climatic. Therefore in rewriting, make sure to check that your characters have the relationships and growth that they deserve. (Refuse the fast food written development and shoot for organic storytelling.)
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