rewrite

You can’t rush this kind of thing

Maximum Z confidence, creativity, editing, feedback, Movie of the Moment, productivity, proofreading, rewrite, screenwriting, writing
Almost what being really productive feels like

We’ve all been there.  After countless hours of slaving away on a project, you’re closing in on finally being done. Hallelujah, the end is in sight! The urge to steamroll your way through whatever’s left and be done once and for all overwhelms you. That is an option, but it’s also one of the worst things you could do.

My work on the current polish/rewrite is about 20 pages from being done. While the ambitious part of me is ready to start researching professional script analysts, and maybe some agents and managers, the more rational part is saying “Hold on there, speedy.”  When I finish this draft, I’m going to go through it at least 2-3 more times with the proverbial fine-tooth comb, as well as get additional feedback from my trusted colleagues.  A fresh pair of eyes on something you’ve practically memorized by now can be extremely helpful.

Even during this current stretch, I’ve found a few story points that needed a little touching up and some typos here and there.  Nothing major, but I want to make sure everything is how it’s supposed to be. Even though all of this is pushing back the inevitable sending out, it’s more than worth it.

You’d think it would be common sense for somebody to make sure their work was as perfect as they can make it before submitting it to a professional. But this happens all the time.  There are countless tales of somebody reading a script and easily identifying problems with it, both in terms of appearance and execution.

When you’re presenting something this important, wouldn’t you want it to be the absolute best it can be? Of course you do. Then check it as many times as possible to make it that much harder for somebody to say ‘no’.

-Movie of the Moment: Jam-packed edition!  With V out of town, my movie-viewing has been plentiful.

-PROMETHEUS. As a friend put it, “A big hot mess.” Such a letdown, especially after all the hype. I didn’t like it. Pretty to look at, but a muddled plot that raised too many questions (as in “Would a person with any common sense really do that?”). Especially disappointing because of bad writing. Expected more from co-writer Damon Lindelof.

-MOONRISE KINGDOM. Loved it. I don’t have a problem with Wes Anderson’s style, but it did seem a little too similar to his earlier works. Still, a great story with perfectly-cast actors in each role. Nice to see Bruce Willis once again exercise his acting chops. The two leads, 12-year-olds who’ve never acted before, were really impressive.

-THE WOMAN IN BLACK. Wonderfully creepy gothic horror with a surprisingly spot-on lead performance by Daniel Radcliffe. What I liked most was that it seemed as if half of the scenes were dialogue-free, relying on mood and sound to raise goosebumps. Best when watched in the dark.

-TUCKER & DALE VS EVIL. I’m not a fan of slasher flicks, but this was a clever spin on the “college kids in the backwoods” story. Funnier than I expected.  Maybe one more run at the script wouldn’t have been a bad idea, so call it almost-great.

Hacking my way through the rewrite jungle

Maximum Z confidence, creativity, Dreamship, editing, feedback, ideas, rewrite, screenwriting, story, writer's block, writing
Yeah, it can feel like that sometimes…

Man, this rewrite is just zooming along, especially with the much-appreciated, very helpful feedback I’ve received. Spending so much time plotting things out before churning out pages really paid off. I tried to make sure any possible questions that arose could be easily answered through the course of the story.  One or two small issues may still need a little work, but looks like they can be handled without too much heavy lifting.

Nevertheless, confidence levels still running high.

Most of the edits took no time, but the biggest challenge was changing how the antagonist’s story ends. This has been in place since day one, but I’ve received more than a few comments saying it seemed too intense compared to the rest of the story.  So change was necessary.

I must have spent around two hours trying out at least a dozen scenarios until I finally came up with something I like. It may need a little fine-tuning, but the execution is pretty solid and I think it fits in nicely with the rest of it.

You know how a writer’s mantra is/should be “write every day”? I’ve tried to adhere to that as much as I can, and it really feels like it’s paying off in terms of being able to think my way out of potential writer’s block situations. Getting stuck trying to figure something out isn’t as much of a hassle as it used to be.

Cliched as it sounds, your creativity really is like a kind of muscle. The more you exercise it, the stronger it gets. And you don’t even have to break a sweat.

So close I can taste it

Maximum Z Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Dark Shadows, Doctor Who, editing, Johnny Depp, Movie of the Moment, plot, productivity, rewrite, Richard Walter, screenwriting, story, subplot, writing
Not my first choice for a celebratory meal

You know that feeling when you’ve been working on something for a very long time, and then you get to the last part? The little voice inside you saying, “Don’t stop! You’re almost there!”

That’s where I am with this edit/polish.

One scene remains to be rewritten. I did a lot of last-second rewriting throughout the whole thing over the past couple of days, but this one’s pretty important – wrapping up some minor subplots. It would be too easy to fall into the trap of putting too much into it, so this is going to take some planning.

It was a challenge to go through this as both writer and editor. Not only did I have to make sure everything was working in terms of the plot, story, character development, and that kind of thing, but also had to keep an eye out for spelling mistakes, overuse of prepositional phrases, repetitive dialogue, etc.  End result – leaner, tighter, faster-moving pages.  I hope.

Also nice – page total down 4 to 111, and I already know a few things here and there that could be taken out, or at least changed.  Part of that will also depend on the feedback and comments I get from the select few I’ll ask to read this latest draft. Count me among those who appreciate constructive criticism.

-Movie of the Moment – DARK SHADOWS (2012). Entertaining, but poorly written. Too much tell, not enough show. Lots of set-ups without payoffs, and vice versa. Characters disappear for 30+ minutes. Didn’t like the ending either.  Just because you like the guy who wrote PRIDE, PREJUDICE & ZOMBIES or ABRAHAM LINCOLN, VAMPIRE HUNTER doesn’t mean you should have him write your movie. Incidentally, the trailer for the latter made K laugh harder than anything in the movie we came to see.

I thought Johnny Depp did a pretty good job as Barnabas, but I wonder how he would do in a non-quirky role. (Although I am interested to see the forthcoming LONE RANGER, but not because of Depp).

Not necessarily something I was looking forward to, but glad I only paid $6 to see it. Also – way too many trailers!  Ben Affleck’s ARGO looks really good. Adam Sandler’s THAT’S MY BOY looks like total shit.

-If you’re in the Westwood area of Los Angeles this summer and want to get really serious about writing a screenplay, you can’t go wrong by clicking here.

Not necessarily the slog I was expecting

Maximum Z creativity, editing, rewrite, scenes, screenwriting, writing
On the plus side, I’m that much closer to being finished

I didn’t consider how much work was in store for me when I started this edit/polish. Not to say I thought it would be easy, but I was ready to jump in feet-first and charge ahead.  At first it was extremely daunting. “This is gonna take forever!”

Fortunately, it got a little easier. Change this. Move this around. Words, phrases, chunks of scenes were being tossed aside. Doesn’t serve a purpose? Out it goes. Why is this scene even here? Why did I even write that? Is this fixable? Yikes! How can I rewrite this so it still fits?  Could I introduce a character here, rather than 8 pages from now?  All this and more over the past few days.

But it hasn’t all been stress and cartoony sweat drops.

Reading through the pages with a more critical eye has really helped me get a better idea of how to put a scene together. It’s getting easier to see what works and what doesn’t. Simply put, it comes down to “What’s the best way to get the point of the scene across?”

It’s also been surprising how I’ve become a bit more adept at figuring my way out of a progress-halting situation. Rather than fret and worry about how this is messing up my progress, something in my brain activates and helps me work my way through it.

I’m happy to say it hasn’t been as strenuous as I thought.  Then I think about whether any agents, managers or producers will like it

Now THAT’S stressful.

Getting left and right brain to work together

Maximum Z analysis, Attack the Block, Movie of the Moment, movies, rewrite, scenes, screenwriting, Shawna Benson, Star Wars, story, The Avengers, The Muppets
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It’s like they’re looking inside my head!

I have a deadline in place. I’m striving towards being completely done with the edit/polish by the end of the month, so I work on it when I can.  A scene or two here, a few pages there.  It’s coming together.

A key part of this is making sure each scene does what it’s supposed to and fits where it’s supposed to. A member of my old writing group used to say, “Each scene should advance the plot, the theme and the character.” A reliable chestnut, indeed.

It’s also been a good exercise to look at the components of each scene and figure out if there’s a way to do it more effectively. Do I need a stronger verb? Can the character say this in one sentence, rather than two? Does it fit within the framework of the story? (I’ve written before about the economy of the scenes in STAR WARS. Lucas was able to say a lot with a minimal amount of words. I need to work on that.)

We watched ATTACK THE BLOCK over the weekend (an unexpected absolute blast – smart and original, but watch it with subtitles on). One thing that really stuck with me were the character arcs, especially for the leads. This was done in a very subtle, non-in-your-face way. Very impressive.  This reminded me that I need to make sure this happens with my characters as well.

-Another great interview on The Script Adventurer! yesterday. Talked with writer Shawna Benson about her background, as well as some of her current exploits. Really interesting stuff. The show will play again here Sunday at 7pm PST.  Don’t mind the occasional technical difficulties.

-Apart from ATTACK THE BLOCK, other Movies of the Moment include: THE AVENGERS. Wow. The closest we’ve come to a live-action comic book. Further proof that Joss Whedon can do no wrong. We saw it as a family at a small 2-screen neighborhood theatre. Perfect setting. Everybody liked it, even to the point I may even seek it out on DVD.

The other movie was THE MUPPETS. It was okay, but a little disappointing. It felt like they were relying on the nostalgia factor almost as much as the script. Too many jokes were aimed squarely at adults (a reference to the TV show BENSON? Really?), which didn’t help. V watched it with a friend, and both seemed bored.  Apparently there’s a sequel in the works. Hopefully they can get back on track.