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The screenwriting portion of the [Austin Film Festival](http://www.austinfilmfestival.com/) was the past weekend, and I was happy to be a panelist. I was in three sessions. The first was about writer’s block; the second was the action genre; the third was on editing your script.

For the writer’s block panel, I referred to a book I’d read called The Midnight Disease. I couldn’t remember the author’s name, but with the benefit of web access, I can say it’s Alice Weaver Flaherty. It’s not a self-help book per se; it’s more an examination of the syndrome, along its mirror-condition, [hypergraphia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypergraphia).

The action panel was fun, though part of me wonders if it’s really doing the world any benefit to talk about how to make expensive movies where stuff blows up real good. Hopefully, everyone who attended this panel also went to one about independent filmmaking or something character-oriented.

The final panel on editing your script was the most frustrating, both for the panelists and the audience. While it’s certainly a moderator’s right to stray from the assigned topic, his questions went so far afield I couldn’t even parse them half the time. So for anyone who sat through it, my apologies. And here’s what I probably would have said if asked:

* Editing is not the same as rewriting. Editing is a constant process of finding the right words. Rewriting is changing the story, not just the commas.

* Be careful not to over-edit as you’re writing your first draft. Many scripts are left unfinished at page 38 because the writer keeps going back and polishing the early scenes.

* Have a plan before you start rewriting, or else you’ll get confused, frustrated and despondent.

* Always ask yourself: What is important in this scene? Do you really need everything else?

On the whole, I liked the Festival. I met some great people, particularly other panelists whom I’d long admired. I only wish I’d had more time to socialize with them.