Same script, different day
Do you ever get sick of working with the same script that you are loathe to even look at it anymore? If so how do you get a tenth wind to reset your perspective?
I’ve gone through six drafts and am still incorporating changes from someone’s notes. This script was my world for nine months and I’d like nothing better than to move on to my next project full-time, but I feel like Pacino in Godfather III.
Any suggestions?
– John
Kansas City
Here’s the thing: writing sucks. It’s difficult on a good day, and intolerable on most others. That’s why I’ll gladly answer your question rather than spend these 20 minutes of staring at the scene I ought to be writing.
First drafts are hard, but at least they’re exciting and new. Second drafts have the advantage of problem-solving, and feel like forward progress. Every draft after that is a slog. And I mean slog in the most onomatopoetic sense: boots sinking in mud to your ankles, a thick slurp with each exhausting footstep. Sure, you want the draft to be good, but you mostly just want it to be done.
When you’re getting paid for it, you can sometimes muscle through a rewrite by calculating how much you’re getting paid per page. Even imaginary income works for this. While I’m annoyed by the lottery mentality with which a lot of aspiring screenwriters approach the craft (spec sale as sweepstakes), let’s face it: your script isn’t worth anything until it’s finished.
If you’ve promised a new draft to someone whose opinion you value, picturing his or her face can be a motivation. Better yet, promise exactly when you’ll deliver it. Deadlines help, as do consequences.
Consider rewards. For every three pages you finish, you get to watch a Dollhouse on the DVR.
Beyond that, I can offer a few suggestions that are not of the carrot-or-stick variety:
Challenge yourself to remove one seemingly important scene. Imagine what would happen if the actor you needed died during production, and that scene never got shot. Could you work around it? Could you make the movie better for its absence?
Push yourself to use better words. Particularly in the back half of a script, there’s a tendency to get a bit sloppy and repetitive. Make that scene description on page 98 as sharp as it was on page 13. Here’s a test: Are you using “there are?” If so, you could do better.
Imagine a secondary plot that we’re not seeing. Like Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, perhaps there’s an offscreen adventure taking place that a reader will never see. Only you as the writer will know it’s there. Dangerous? Sure. But on your fifth draft, a little danger may be what you need.
Will you reach a point at which it’s simply impossible (or self-defeating) to keep rewriting? Yes. But don’t confuse the standard difficulties of writing with true burnout. Here’s the difference: When you’re burned out, you simply don’t care. You’ll make a scene worse just to get it done. That’s when you need to quit and write something else.
Articles
May 19th, 2009 at 9:44 am
You read my friggin mind! I’m starting a 3d rewrite today. I love a lot of what I have but I know I still have some problems to solve. This post is just what I needed to get me off YouTube and onto my screenplay. Thanks!
May 19th, 2009 at 9:59 am
Another hint: Think of how lucky you are right now.
I mean, imagine yourself 6 months from now. You’ll be working with the same LOGLINE that you are loathe to even look at it anymore.
THE MIGHT MIGHTY SALAD MAN:
John goes to the market and buys himself some lettuce… Goes!? Doesn’t feel right.
No, John IS at the market where he buys himself some lettuce… Better, but no great.
What about… John likes lettuce, so he goes to this market where… Too passive.
They are selling lettuce at this market… Damnit, I wanna kill myself! :-)
May 19th, 2009 at 10:14 am
Thanks for this. I’m feeling burnt out on my novel revision, but your last paragraph really hit it home for me: this is not true burn out, because I still care.
May 19th, 2009 at 10:25 am
It’s refreshing how honest you are about the fact that writing can even be difficult for you. I know that many readers are probably under a delusion that at your level of success it’s always second nature and easy as pie to do and I truly appreciate that you respond like a genuine human being and are so truthful. I actually recently featured you in a blog post I did about sharing knowledge:
http://advicefromapa.blogspot.com/2009/05/share-your-knowledge.html
It sort of hits the point home that I’m trying to make here.
May 19th, 2009 at 11:45 am
John said:
Can “we see” be placed in the same arena?
May 19th, 2009 at 12:06 pm
w/r/t “there are”
I understand what you are trying to say, but could you go into a bit more detail (and possibly provide a few more examples) of words like these–these, I guess, “lazy phrases?”
Great post!
May 19th, 2009 at 12:06 pm
Rafael: loglines are the bane of my writing existence. It’s the only time I find myself looking at a screenplay I took great pains to make complex and original, and screaming “WHY CAN’T YOU BE MORE FORMULAIC?” Agh. I hate doing them so much.
May 19th, 2009 at 12:18 pm
So I find that when you’re dealing with late-stage rewrites, the problem is boredom/pain/woe more than creative uncertainty/anxiety.
Something that works for me sometimes is you tell yourself writing FEELS AMAZING. That it’s a pleasure and indulgence like getting your boyfriend drunk and showing him Firefly for the first time.
Don’t bother “willing yourself to believe it” unless you’re a trained hypnotist. Just literally say the words out loud in your head: “god this is going to be great.”
It’s similar to the advice that when you’re sad, one thing to do is simply smile. Don’t try to willfully transmogrify your mood–you’ll only be disappointed when it doesn’t work. Just literally smile. By choice, with your face. It helps.
May 19th, 2009 at 12:27 pm
@ Emily C – ha ha, I do this at the gym. When I’m struggling I make myself think: ‘This is great. I could do this all day’. And it actually helps. Never thought to apply this to writing. Thanks!
May 19th, 2009 at 12:28 pm
I hate to do this, because I’ve made silly errors commenting on this site, but I think the question mark in John’s here’s-a-test sentence goes outside the quotation marks. Rare case, I admit. Most punctuation symbols, like commas and periods, added by the author of the sentence go inside quotation marks (unless you’re writing and publishing in England). But not question marks and exclamation points. Examples:
In Hemingway’s short story called “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place,” the young waiter says, “I have confidence. I am all confidence.”
Only when the question mark is part of the original quotation should it be placed inside the quotation marks:
The old waiter asks the young waiter, “Why didn’t you let him stay and drink?”
But:
Did you like Hemingway’s short story, “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place”?
So, for screenwriters: In Act III, are you using tired signal-phrases, like “there are” and “we see”?
Picayune, I know.
May 19th, 2009 at 12:49 pm
i wish there was a way to ‘digg’ articles on your website john! this would be dug in a heartbeat.
May 19th, 2009 at 1:25 pm
That was EXACTLY my question today. …exactly. The only reason I didn’t demand that someone fix it for me is that I’d feel more like I was griping than asking something substantial. – Glad Kansas John did it first. :)
May 19th, 2009 at 1:36 pm
@grahamtallman:
I turned on the social bookmarks, so you can now Digg or Facebook or Twitter articles to your heart’s content.
May 19th, 2009 at 1:37 pm
One other thing I’ve found helpful when rewriting is to print out 12 or 13 pages and read that much to yourself and work with only that much for a day. After a couple drafts I usually find the structure is set and it’s more about trying to pump up the dialouge, make each scene tighter, and polish the descriptions and this is a good way to do that. It gets you into a specific portion of the script where you can concentrate on just a few scenes without getting lost in the other 88 or so pages. A 100 page script is basically broken up into 8 12/13 page sections so in a week and a day you can get through the entire script.
A heard a great quote once that went something like this: “A script is never finished only abandoned.” If it’s a spec script sometimes it’s time to just move on.
May 19th, 2009 at 1:44 pm
Reading snippet of draft 1: Tears of awesome.
Reading snippet of current cadence problem: Gizmotic-hydro-mitosis: The specific feeling of being a wet Gremlin, multiplying.
May 19th, 2009 at 2:39 pm
@ Emily Carmichael,
I love you! I never heard that if you’re feeling bad you should just smile. So much easier than trying to force yourself to think happy thoughts (Which truly? Never works.)
@ Ashley at Selling,
Great tip. I’m especially excited that you broke down how you can get through the script in a week. That’s inspiring! Makes it not seem so daunting. Also helps me get my butt in gear. If I think of it as “this week I’m rewriting this feature” and then I do it, how inspiring that must be. Then going back for another draft is not such a big deal. After all, it only takes a week — and even if it’s two weeks, so what?. The point is that you’ve broken through a mental block for me and all I can say is THANK YOU!!!!!
I recently rewrote the first 19 pages of a script and was surprised at how much better I could make it, even though the ideas had long been nailed. That’s why 99% of writing was rewriting. I also took a lot of joy in it, which can be hard if you’ve been with a script for awhile, but it was a different kind of joy — the joy of craftsmanship, versus the joy of pure creativity. What I’m learning about the joy of craftsmanship is that it is actual joy. There’s something deeply satisfying about having the skill to make something that’s good into something that soars. And it takes time. I was at an Academy Award nominee panel at the Writers Guild a few years ago and the moderator asked the nominees how long they’d worked on the scripts they were nominated for. The answers ranged from 1 1/2 years to 6 years! That inspired me because my agent always wanted a new script every 6 months, and I really didn’t know how that was possible. I thought I was slow. Of course, now I can churn ‘em out that quickly, but my best work still takes longer. I find that on later drafts, I’m discovering little tiny things that make a huge difference.
May 19th, 2009 at 2:43 pm
Hi John, This is a very timely post for me as the thought of 12 drafts has been driving me crazy. I guess it’s a semantic issue in that I never rewrite a whole movie….yet. I have heard too many and had too many horror stories involving changes to a screenplay.
My question then is “what do you consider a draft?” any subsequent additions or changes, total rewrites with or without changes. etc?
I ask because I write all of my minor drafts in outline form and try to gleen the type of elements I can put in each sequence – I use the 4 Act, multiple sequence structure.
I just learned after several reads, that only a person who is paying should prompt you to change anything. If you aren’t satisfied after you READ it, you won’t be after changes.
Like you say John, you have to some kind of nut to even want to do this in the first place. It’s frustrating, doesn’t pay until it pays and then it’s not like a regular paycheck as residuals can’t happen until after the thing comes out, after it gets made after it gets cast, after it gets optioned, after it’s gets greenlit.
My god I must be a masochist. Well, no just an aesthete with cinematic tendencies.
May 19th, 2009 at 3:14 pm
Isn’t it amazing how quickly a script can go from being “greatest idea I ever had, the movie I’ve always wanted to see, it’s going to be a dream to work on this” to just “ugh… back to the salt mines” ?
And it happens every damn time! This is all very good advice, John, and reminiscent of what actors and directors talk about doing to keep things fresh after 15-20 takes of a scene.
May 19th, 2009 at 3:16 pm
If this was Stephen Gaghan’s blog, this post would’ve been revised at least a dozen times.
May 19th, 2009 at 4:57 pm
John,
I can relate to the burnout factor. I never used to understand filmmakers that said they never looked at a project again once they were finally finished. But after my last couple of projects, I understand totally.
For me to get through, a self imposed deadline a few days ahead of the real deadline is the carrot that works for me.
But once that sucker is locked and in the can, I’m done.
May 19th, 2009 at 6:21 pm
Writing sucks.
May 19th, 2009 at 6:38 pm
Hi John,
Can you elaborate what you meant by the following? Thanks!
“While I’m annoyed by the lottery mentality with which a lot of aspiring screenwriters approach the craft (spec sale as sweepstakes)…”
May 19th, 2009 at 7:05 pm
I am commenting on the excellence of your post instead of writing.
May 19th, 2009 at 7:51 pm
John, I’m in the middle of writing the second draft of a detailed treatment and have done a similar thing to “imagine a secondary plot that we’re not seeing” – but now that plot wants to be part of the main action. Is that what you mean by dangerous?
Of course, at treatment stage it’s easier to accommodate than the third draft of a script.
May 19th, 2009 at 8:03 pm
Great advice! I’m currently (and I use that word loosely as I just hit 1 year on this project) writing a film for a producer who is also a screenwriter. Being held up to another writer’s ideals of what does and does not pass has been exceedingly difficult. Although I’m happy to say the process has improved my craft even if it’s taken years off my life.
I’ve lost count of the number of drafts I’ve done, and there have been some dark days, but my motivation has always been that we have a good shot at getting this made. I even made a one-sheet (just for myself) to help me visualize an end result that would keep me writing.
Another trick is to promise a draft to your manager or agent (or friend/spouse/dog) a few days before the official due date. That way you’re forced to do the pages, but have time to go back and revise, tighten, etc…
My final trick? Visiting this blog. Even as a working writer, I visit this site to keep myself inspired and forging ahead. Thanks John!
Okay…back to work. :)
May 19th, 2009 at 11:16 pm
I was the first to comment on this post this morning and totally forgot to leave my 2 cents.
MUSIC!
Before I embark on a new project I put together an iTunes playlist. I try to pick songs that make me feel like I want the audience to feel. Listening to the music is the fastest way to tap back into the intangibles that made the idea appealing oh so many months ago. The key is to make the playlist long enough so I don’t end up hating my screenplay AND the songs.
May 19th, 2009 at 11:26 pm
The better words thing definitely helps. I love the impressionist school of description (talked about earlier) because finding those few words of description that are the right mix of electricity and economy is all the satisfaction I usually need to keep going. This is one of the positive uses of twitter conditioning.
May 19th, 2009 at 11:59 pm
So true about the music. I do the exact same thing. For me, once I get those similar songs/scores compiled, things start to progress. But that speaks more to that time when an idea is exciting and fresh. Not after draft number five.
And somehow one or two of those songs always slip their way into the actual body of the script…
May 20th, 2009 at 2:01 am
Music helps me as well. Of course sometimes I take a little too long putting together my iTunes playlist.
I know some writers write only when the mood hits them. For me writing every single day in the morning helps me stay on track. I usually work on more than one project a time so that helps with the burnout/boredom issue.
Even if I don’t feel like writing, I start up my computer and I write something (after all writing is rewriting). It might be horrible but at least I got something accomplished.
May 20th, 2009 at 2:54 am
Being a screenwriter in the European film industry, we’re completely dependent on money from different film funds, regional funds, European Union Eurimage money, commisioning editors at various national film institutes etc. This means that often times, even before I get to write a first draft, I’m forced to write lengthy “author’s note of intent”-letters that have to be sent to the before-mentioned institutions. They are a pain in the behind. But a few of years down the road when I’ve done more drafts then I care to remember, those letters actually come in quite handy. Looking at them reminds me why – and what – I wanted to do in the first place. This of course doesn’t help you if you’re on your eleventh draft right now, but I really recommend taking an hour before you start your next project and putting down in writing why it will be the best film ever.
May 20th, 2009 at 11:17 am
Man, I don’t see how anyone listens to music while they write. I’m a very musical person (written a lot of songs, been in a band) and I have a hard time relegating music to the background. I don’t even particularly like to have it on when I’m doing work around the house. Sometimes AFTER I’ve written something, I might put on an appropriate song and imagine it playing over the scene. But in general, if music is playing, it takes my attention away from whatever else I’m trying to do.
I know, just a weird little personal quirk.
May 20th, 2009 at 12:27 pm
@jbryant:
No, I’m the exact same way. I can listen to music at a time when I’m not writing to psyche myself up about a certain scene or the overall tone of the movie, but when the rubber hits the road, I need quiet (or at least relative quiet).
May 20th, 2009 at 12:30 pm
I think you keep rewriting and rewriting until you reach a point where you’re no longer sure you’re making the script better. Then you show it to some people. And probably as you hand the script to them you’ll think of fifteen things you need to fix. Then they’ll tell you those fifteen things and more. Then you rewrite and rewrite until you’re no longer sure you’re making the script better. Then, maybe, you take a few weeks away from it. Give it to someone to read. They give you notes. You do one more rewrite and then send it to your only real contact in the business, wait three months for a reply (that never comes), vow never to write again, get depressed, realize the only way out of your depression is to start writing something new, so you update Final Draft software and plunge…
May 25th, 2009 at 10:59 am
And again, our posts cross paths. I like this addition though as yes, it does get tedious after the first few passes. No doubt. I’m tweeting this post to our followers (twitter.com/thestoryspot) as I’m pretty sure they adore you.
Five Tips for a Killer Rewrite on THE STORY SPOT http://www.the-story-spot.com/2009/05/five-tips-for-killer-rewrite.html
As always, thanks for putting your thoughts in the world so some of us feel a little less alone on days like today (where a loooong first draft stretching ahead). /djw
May 25th, 2009 at 6:32 pm
Great suggestions! Thanks!!
May 26th, 2009 at 1:14 am
Just turned a draft in to the studio. There are… Oh god, there are… Funny cause long before I read this, I pulled them all out. Mind you, I’ve had 4 credited movies made and I truly don’t know how many uncredited as well and I still face this 3rd act exhaustion.
An amusing damn blog.