Editing and overwhelming

[dlevanchuk]

Finished my first vomit draft. I left it to "cool down" for a couple of days. Now its time to edit. As i'm reading the whole things and making notes on what needs to be edited and how, I have an overwhelming feeling. There is so much that needs to be reworked!
How do you guys suggest to rework the first draft? Scene by scene? I just get the feeling as i'm editing one scene, another scene needs to be edited or added as well, so i end up jumping back and forth. At the end of the day I have a feeling that little has been accomplished, and my head hurts lol

Is there a specific technique that you guys can suggest when editing your first draft? Do you just edit OVER your script in your writing software, or you save your old scripts for references..

Thanks again!

 

[danjama]

Personally, I do a thorough going-over of the action/descriptions.

Then another go through looking at the dialogue.

Maybe keep notes as you go through the first time if you get any ideas for dialogue, but don't actually implement them as it distracts from the task.

You'' be done before you know it.

 

[theauteur]

Show it to some people and take notes of what they say. Then sit down and read your script. Find the scenes which you think are the weakest. Find out plot holes. Then correct them. Good luck

 

[Ccolebrook]

Just start. The work will do itself from there on out. Before you know it the sun will be going down and you will have been editing all day.

Do that for a few weeks and you'll start to notice some of your earlier re-works need more work, and so on and so on for what seems like forever until certain scenes start to stick (likely the scenes you've written while inspired).
Coaxing that inspiration out is the daily process of reworking and editing. At least for me. I write a lot of scenes knowing I'll be changing them 10 times, but that if I waited for the great idea to come to me instead of plugging away on scenes I'll be throwing out, I'd never have stumbled upon that gem.
I guess my point is that a string of bad scenes can lead to a good one as long as you keep throwing them out and holding on to whatever speck was good about them. It's like washing a piece of coal for weeks on end and you find a tiny diamond that was worth all the scrubbing.

Knowing how you'll rework a scene is the hard part. Fixing it on the page is easy. Just monotonous.

 

[Buddy Greenfield]

I use my own checklist of things I look for and know I’ll have to do, then after every few sessions of revisions I go through the checklist again and tidy up, after the initial once over it's easy to keep it in shape.

Also, at the end of my scripts I add additional slug lines, like:

INT. CHARACTERS
EXT. NOTES
INT. OUTTAKES
EXT. TO WORK ON

In my software I can jump right to those slug lines to work on stuff or to park scenes I’m replacing but still want the original until I am done, or to keep brief character arcs, this way I’m not scrolling all over town looking for what I’m working on and I’m not deleting things I might still need.

-Thanks-

 

[MitchThompson]

Personally I hate re- writing and having to go through every scene and fit in every little change I make, so now what I started doing is, writing my first draft on paper and typing it up,ecspecailly since I'm not getting payed based on dead lines, it makes it seem like you're actually working towards something

 

[Padnar]

Even I am at a loss while rewriting .I also feel rewritng lessens my flow of the story .By nature I speak my mind . I wont think and talk. Even my characters are outspoken . I don't know how to improvise it , Any suggestions are welcome
padma

 

[barnaclelapse]

For some reason I seem to be much better at editing screenplays (cutting down the length and so forth) than I am at editing fiction or reviews. It's just that basic concept of tackling one thing at a time. Occasionally I even make a list of what I feel are the most pressing issues that I need to address in the second draft.

 

[escher]

Keeping a notes file really helps. I recently completed a rough draft screenplay with two other people, collaborating via Google Docs. We'd use a communal notes file (using different text colors to indicate who wrote which notes), toss ideas around, and whoever's turn it was to edit the screenplay would implement the changes.

 

[polfilmblog]

"vomit draft?"

How does one edit vomit?

Usually it gets flushed.

I'd say that unless you plotted and outlined somewhat, you're screwed. Now, maybe you have some decent ideas. The term "vomit draft" is pretty colorful.

Have you ever watched a stream of consciousness experimental art film?

They do try the soul.

So, anyway, the only thing we're sure you have so far is vomit.

Perhaps step back, forget the existing draft, and try to tell the story straight through in a couple of pages, so that it makes sense. This will reveal its weaknesses hopefully, and go from there.

 

[escher]

Do you just edit OVER your script in your writing software, or you save your old scripts for references..

Yikes! Missed the the first time through.

Never overwrite your previous drafts. Each major revision pass I makes gets a new version number. Sometimes minor revisions get letters after the number:

(from my screenplay directory)

CWMP Rough Draft v1.fdx
CWMP Rough Draft v2.fdx
CWMP Rough Draft v3.fdx
CWMP Rough Draft v4.fdx
CWMP Rough Draft v4b.fdx

 

[Padnar]

Keeping a notes file really helps. I recently completed a rough draft screenplay with two other people, collaborating via Google Docs. We'd use a communal notes file (using different text colors to indicate who wrote which notes), toss ideas around, and whoever's turn it was to edit the screenplay would implement the changes.

That is a good idea
padma

 

[VPTurner]

I print a hard copy and mark it all up in red ink. And I never overwrite the original. I save as a different copy for each major edit. That way I can go back if I change my mind on anything.

Once I am halfway satisfied with it, I let others read it to get their impressions. Based on their reactions or their questions, I may revise some more. If something is unclear, I make it clear. If something makes them laugh, makes them upset, confuses them, etc., I make a note of it.

Third stage is to have it read aloud into a tape recorder and listen to the dialogue. That was one of the most helpful stages for me. It was a screenwriter's workgroup in Austin. Wish I could find something like that in Houston. I'll need it again at some point.

And when all of that is complete, I have my "First Draft".

 

[kjones]

Lots of good suggestions here...

I set drafts aside for at least 2 weeks. Then my mind is really fresh, and it allows me to catch up on life or work on something else.

In terms of showing it to others, also think you ought to edit until the polished draft "sings" for YOU. Just you. The first draft is the only chance we screenwriters have to tell the story the way we want *before* taking comments from others.

Every writer approaches editing their own way, but I think you're feelings are valid and normal.

 

[Gonzo_Entertainment]

I take the script in hard copy form and read it, taking notes in the margins. Pretty much linear, though I may jump back to make a note on something that needs change earler in the script based on something I did later. Then I rewrite based on those notes.

I take the script in hard copy and read it, taking notes in the margins...

Lather, rinse, repeat about 5 or 6 times.

 

[FrankLad]

I recently completed the first draft of my first script, so I can't honestly say this is the advice of a "seasoned" writer. But - as someone who is easily overwhelmed - this is what has worked for me.

For starters, you might give some thought to doing a one-line outline. It will allow you to see the big picture on a single page.

I got the idea from William Akers' book, Your Screenplay Sucks. He says "A Zen description of what happens in every scene is the only way to approach story."

For example:

Farm. John Smith carries on daily work. Tends to animals. Chops wood.
Smith home. Kitchen. Jill Smith pours iced tea. Sounds lunch bell.
Smith home. Dinner table. John reveals concern over family income.
...etc...

That's off the top of my head, but you get the idea.

You could also start each line with "EXT. FARM -- DAY", etc. if sluglines are more clear. There's really no correct way, except to keep it simple. The key is to get the gist of each scene right there so you can see it all at a glance, without having to wade through the script.

I want to mention also that you can generate this outline from your existing first draft. No need to worry that it wasn't done from the beginning. ...just get that "snapshot" of where you're currently at and then study it.

What would overwhelm me is trying to rework from the script itself. I found that it was WAY easier to reorder or combine scenes using an outline. Then you can use the outline as a guide when rewriting.

Which brings me to the second draft...

I prefer to start with a blank page (screen) and - using the first draft and outline - type it completely from scratch.

This kinda forces you to question what really needs to go back in. If you're looking at the first draft and just deleting/changing the script here in there, you'll have a tendency to keep stuff you shouldn't.
Another screenwriting book I read said to "pretend the pencil is 50 lbs" (or something to that effect), so that you WANT to reduce what goes back into the next draft. Remove the fat, keep it lean.

From the get-go, I focused on short and snappy dialog, but my scene descriptions ran long. So I've set a goal of having two-line scene descriptions in my second draft. It is much harder, but it forces me to get creative with the words. It's amazing how much excess stuff can be whittled away. ...and this helps reduce the frustration when working on later drafts, since you won't have as many WORDS to trudge through.



Hope that helps!

 

[escher]

My friends and I used both a rough outline of necessary events that had to happen, along with a short backstory to define the world the script takes place in, and both helped immensely.

For my sci-fi script, I have no notes and no outline. I can see the shots so vividly in my head I just watch it play out in my brain and I write down what happens. (Keep in mind that I have a rough outline of shots in my head and had the entire major plot arc figured out before I ever sat down to write it.)