Posted by: scriptlitchick on: July 28, 2009
Does anyone else besides me get panicked when it’s time to REWRITE? Who here (don’t raise your hands all at once – lol) gets this feeling in the pit of their stomach after they have stepped away from their draft and know it’s time to roll up their sleeves, put their hands in deep and dig out the perfection in their piece? I say this because I have just finished a very very cool script, a romantic comedy, and I let it sit for a few days and now I know what I must do.
The funny thing is, I always get this way when it comes to rewriting. Why? Because rewriting takes patience and focus. Most of you on here know what I’m talking about. We wish that we could bang out a first draft of something and have Picasso, Rembrandt, Toni Morrison, Ernest Hemingway. But, alas, when was or is that the case?
Most times when I look back at my work, I’m like– that was a little clunky. Wow, that’s not quite how I envisioned it. And then I remember, HEY, I LOVE WRITING. This is what I was made to do.
It reminds me of a dentist. Sometimes when you get a filling, it might not have been put in quite right and you have to go back. Or, a lawyer. They could write up a contract or legal argument, only to have a colleague correct a few points. So is the case for writers. We must have a few trusted mentors or fellow writers (NOT MOM– mom unless your mom is a fabulous professional writer like my mom! lol). The point is mom, or hubby, or wifey, if they do not have that training will just say, “I love this.”
But what we need is a trained eye. That trained eye will be able to look at the inner-workings of the piece to see if we (the writer) have fulfilled what a reader/audience wants and needs. Then, we must also be our own trained eye. Leave your script or manuscript alone for a few days and print it. Go to a coffee shop, or sit uninterrupted on your couch with a cup of tea and read. Read. Make notes. Pretend your are not you! LOL. Do you like it? Do you love it? This is like a mother going to her daughter’s dance recital, or son’s soccer game. A gentle balance is needed between critiquing your own work and beating up on yourself. Don’t. Just make sure you get through the whole thing, then let it sit for a few more days then come back at it fresh. After that it’s…
Time for the REWRITE.
And no matter how much you love your masterpiece, I would suggest you should rewrite at least once and polish at least once before your ever send it out to anyone, or before you publish it.
We are all here together to be Premiere Writers. And that means the best.
So as I tackle my rewrite, wish me luck!
Camille
For more about me, my classes and consulting come to–www.thescriptrighter.com
***********************************************************
A graduate of UCLA with a degree in English/Creative Writing, Camille Tucker entered the Entertainment Biz as a runner at Walt Disney Studios. In 1992, along with her former writing/producing partner, Kim Greene-Williams, Camille co-wrote and produced “Sweet Potato Ride,” a short film Executive Produced by Bill Duke (PREDATOR, SISTER ACT II). Camille then met Robert DeNiro, who was so impressed with the short that he became the producer her first film deal.
In all, Camille has optioned four screenplays and a TV Pilot to the major studios: Sony, Universal, Fox TV, and New Line Cinema; and has been a writer-for-hire for Touchstone Pictures and countless other clients. Camille busies herself as Head Consultant at The Script Righter, a screenwriting-consulting firm. She is currently penning a romantic comedy, while also getting her master’s degree. In her free time she runs, shops, travels, does pilates and keeps promising to take up golf.
July 28, 2009 at 10:10 pm
Actually, I like rewriting. I can usually come up with a much better piece once I have stepped away, cleared my head and have taken a second look.