Screenwriting : Rewriting and redrafting: how do you approach it? by Elizabeth Elston

For me even with feedback and focus of a project work on something else honing your skills then come back to it. I'm getting to the point of really only working on 2 or 3 projects at once but I truly believe when honing the craft a circular process works best. I used to have cluster's of idea's in all stages at once that I would work on. Slowly at least for me it got to the point of 2 or 3 projects and honestly it could take you up to a year to finish. I used to rewrite 6-7 times but now it's more like 4. You are talking short film too and really that is something I never tried. I write skit type idea's 3-5 minutes all the time but short film maybe somebody with a lot of experience with short film could advise you better. In general, overall I believe honing yourself as screenwriter in what I call a circular method is better. Some may tell you to stop thinking about it and just write too. I always think it is healthy to have a "What are you working on currently or next" project in addition to the main project you are working on. Main thing is don't get discouraged it's not a race and just a goal you set for yourself. Hope I didn't talk too circular and good luck with your endeavors Elizabeth.

I find that, to get myself in the right mindset, I have to save a copy of what I have (effectively bank it) and then get in there and start hacking the script up. There's always a strong temptation to just go in and make tweaks without disturbing what's there and that makes things harder in the long run.

I'm not alone is saying the first draft tells you what the story is really about -- as opposed to what you may have thought you were writing. That's true even if you were following a fairly detailed outline. Now that you know what the story is and who your leading characters are in much more depth, I'd suggest you try something that will seem risky, even daring, but is what some of the best writers do: set aside that first draft, open a new file with the title and an added identifier like Title2, and start writing the second draft without referring back to the first draft. This may seem scary at first, but the results will probably be a pleasant surprise. You can always go back to that first version and salvage the "good parts" after the second (or third or fourth) draft is done. Be sure that first draft and all subsequent drafts are backed up to an external disk (thumb drive, burned to CDR, TimeMachine, or similar): even the best -- and newest --computers can give up the ghost at the most inopportune times.

For myself, I like to put my first draft away for a few days to a few weeks. Then I can come back with fresh eyes - once brilliant dialogue becomes idiotic :) I also tend to edit better when I print it out on hard copy. Always save your first draft - each edit needs to be saved as it's own thing. You never know what you may want back so it helps to have a record of it. Good luck! The re-writes are my favorite part - and they never stop!! First drafts are like the foundation and each re-write builds the house better.

Thanks everyone! Awesome suggestions - going to put them to work now. Appreciate the help! :)

well I approach redrafting and rewriting, by drinking, chain smoking and pulling my hair out. and that's just BEFORE I start the rewrite!

Emma thompson says she cries a lot then gets to work

Yep there has been a bit of that Richard!

Hi Elizabeth! You have received so many good and funny comments . Well, I save my original which is already suggested then start fixing the targeted parts. I too need to print out my scripts and read them on paper. I save each version again as already suggested. One of the best books I have is called Rewrite by Paul Chitlik. It's amazing and very helpful even before you write. I am in the process of rewriting now, yikes. It's tough to do but like others suggest to walk away for bit. Clear your mind then when you are ready go back to it. Basically it's - welcome to the world of writing I think....wishing you all the best. I am sure your rewrite will be fabulous! :) Cheers to Cherie! hee hee

I like Richard Toscans input. Reminds me of when the computer ate my files at a newspaper, the editor said just write it again, it will probably be better. Since we're going to write the second draft from scratch, that feels freeing that the first draft can totally suck. Also in that speech Emma gave, she said she writes the first several drafts longhand because when it looks all pretty on the computer it's harder to rip it up or throw it out

I agree with many comments here. I usually write the first draft, then let it sit for a few days. Then read it again to get a clear mind about what it looks like at the moment. For some reason, if you read it right after you wrote it, you can't concentrate on a single word lol. So sometimes during that break in between finished first draft and reading it again, I have new ideas, that come in clusters kinda, usually weirdly enough under the shower or when I'm driving (probably cause you're relaxed doing that), so I have a writing pad in the bathroom and one in the car (don't write, while you drive, pull over). I'm writing those ideas down and forget about them. Then after my break from the first draft I first read the story again, then pull out those ideas and kinda try to work them into the story, which becomes my 2nd draft. That's pretty much it. Then I do the same thing that I did with the 1st draft with my 2nd draft. I wait a few days, write down new ideas. After my break is over I read that 2nd draft again, then the ideas and work em in. Boom! 3rd draft! And so on... Good luck!

Rewriting depends on if I'm tweaking one of my own, or if I've just gotten notes from a producer. If they are from a producer, I push down the urge to cry and wail "I SUCK!! I'M a FRAUD!" and remember that they are just opinions...the opinions of the person who, if he does not like my script will A) not give the director I work with the budget he wants, B) may urge the director to hire someone else to do the rewrite. So then I panic! But my next step is to calm down, breathe and really look at the notes and if I think they are nit-picky (I actually had a producer complain that a script that takes place in 1963 had a character say "Thank goodness!" The note actually said, "Who says that?") then between discussions with the director explaining how I feel about the notes and truly listening to what he thinks the producer (someone he knows better than I do, for sure) is looking for, I proceed from there. I must be doing something right. The last time I sent in rewrites, the director I was working with said, "I'm going to give you a compliment that might not sound like a compliment...but it is! I've worked with a few other writers. No one else handles rewrites like you!" He's had others who complain or try to convince him that their work is perfect. So now that I've gone on and on let me end by saying, if you are editing for yourself, wait a few days, re read it and see if you still love it. If you get notes, it doesn't mean you suck, it just means the script won't work as it is for someone else..and this is a collaborative business, so if the notes are from the folks who may or may not make your script into a film, do take them under consideration and don't be insulted or disheartened. See it as a way to learn the way a producer or director thinks (is it for budget? An actor they have in mind that you don't know about?) and change things that you feel make sense and explain why you are hesitant to change other things. Maybe you have something they have not considered too!

OK Elizabeth I'm going to give you some insight on an exact process that works for me. This is not something a texbook can teach you yet will resonate many elements discussed within and hopefully be put together making some sense. Mind you this is a process I learned without formal training and may or may not resonate well with you. So basically here goes. I submitted a draft of a story I thought was beautiful to the Nichol Fellowship. I can't divulge content but I can divulge process. I had probably been screenwriting for a year or so self taught just thinking what I was doing was correct. It wasn't but that's another story. So after a year or so and taking some on the side courses I broke out what I thought was Spielberg, Pixar, Dreamworks worthy, looked at it and thought what a piece of crap!. Did I really think this was good! So back to process I knew I had a good story really embodying science fiction at it's current best but my lack of format knowledge and just lack of knowing what I was doing in general really became apparent with the draft the way it was. So what did I do? I broke out the original script and set it by my computer as reference and the odd thing was I didn't look at it probably more than twice during my rewrite. So the piece of crap I thought as good I left by my computer, I created what was called a working draft which on a good day was 10-12 pages on an average day was 4-6. This working draft I printed out in hard copy form 4-6, 10-12 pages everyday then edited it and rewrote it again until it what I call a table read ready draft so we are talking 4-6, 10-12 pages every two days getting the draft to where I think it should be. Eventually that table read draft became thicker and thicker and after about thirty days you know what I got a rough draft perhaps table read ready that is nearing two years in process. Mind you this is feature writing but you have to be willing to put at least that minumum into your work. During that thirty days and after two years this work was my primary focus but it still wasn't my only focus. Will my commitment pay off will I have a Spielberg worthy screenplay I honestly don't know but the commitment alone makes me feel like I am a worthy screenwriter not so much to everyone but even more so to myself. I had help and absorbed all I could along the way staying unique unto myself and thinking that my non-humble know-it-all attitude was right but in hindsight even if you become one of those writers that do know most it does you no good until you understand and can put into perspective what you know. Instead of taking that inch and make a mile I'm learning to take thast mile and disect it into understandable inches and feet. So perhaps I'm a bit backwards. LOL! Good luck Elizabeth and something tells me you have this learning ability required without shooting yourself in the foot unlike how many times I have done.

Thanks everyone for the great advice. Have started with a fresh draft. Let's see how I go. Cheers

I do a rewrite for specific things. I'll do one for dialogue alone, where I have friends read it aloud with me and change it, I do rewrites for actions, descriptions, I break it all down that way, with character in mind, arcs, making sure each scene has a beginning middle and end, then my true second draft is a rewrite when taking everything into consideration after I've already done a rewrite thinking about the specifics.