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.)
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