After receiving several sets of quality notes on the animated fantasy-comedy, the task of applying the most suitable and workable ones into a new draft is well underway.

I had a strong suspicion that the page count would increase, which it has, but as I approach the midpoint of the script, its not as high as I feared it would be. What began as a 97 page script is now 103, so a final tally of 110 or thereabouts seems like a fair estimate. There will most likely need to be some additional tweaks and edits when this draft is done, but for now it’s all good.

What’s also been exceptionally helpful is that each set of notes has a handful in common with the rest. Those are the ones I really took to heart. If two or more people make the same comment, then that’s something you need to really examine.

I was initially concerned that a higher page count would be a negative, but since most of what’s being added in is necessary, I’m not as worried. For a story like this, including a few more details should work in my favor.

Some of the notes were about the story logic, the main character, and the world-building. I’ll admit that some of the points being made were things I hadn’t thought about before, but now that they’d been mentioned, how could I not see it? This is one of those times when taking a step back and examining the bigger picture really pays off.

I’m always a little cautious when I start a new rewrite or polish. How much is going to change? A little? A lot? Can I do more than just a metaphoric rearranging of the furniture? I find it helps to map out what’s going to happen in the scene, along with figuring out the conflict and how the scene fits in in regard to the sequence of events. I’m doing what I can to ensure that where and when a scene takes place in the story is exactly right.

It’s also been somewhat surprising to be able to come up with new ideas for a scene, either a totally new one or a new take on one already in there. A lot of the notes ask questions that can only be answered by creating something new that not only answers the question, but helps solidify the overall story.

I’m not usually one for deadlines, but progress is pleasantly moving forward, so hoping to have this draft done in the next few weeks, followed by cleaning it up.

After that, I’ve got a few ideas for what to do with it.