Tag Archives: screenplay

Something happened during the script rewrite

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I’ve made Black Lotus my priority this year until this [hopefully] superb rewrite is done. I must admit, that even at this early stage (I’m still tweaking story and structure)  it’s already 100% better story- and structure-wise than it ever was.

My dear friend Mary Cavaliere, who is one of only two people beside myself who have read every version and incarnation of the story, remarked that she couldn’t believe that there was room for the story to get better.  I think she’ll be pleasantly surprised.

It’s not that I went in, gutted and changed things. I used what was there and in each scene asked, how can I make this more challenging for the hero (protagonist), and how can I ratchet up the emotional content.

In the rewrite teleconference we talked about fulfilling your vision.  This means going back to the drawing board when you first decided to write the damn script and remember the visual and visceral elements. Chances are things have changed over the days, weeks, months and years.

So I went back to the places in the story that I imagined would be very emotional and visceral. Then I tweaked the structure and wording to create exactly the image I wanted. It’s tough because I ALWAYS see it, but I have to make sure the reader sees “it” too.

I moved scenes around, took what was already emotional and pumped even more emotion into it.  And I have literally taken the main character through the ringer and back.

If you cried during a passage in the previous script you’ll cry harder. If you got angry, you be outraged. If you were sad, you’ll despair.

Something happened during the script rewrite; the script got better.

The Screenplay Rewrite Process: Better than Basics

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I’m in the middle of rewriting my most ambitious script to date, Legend of Black Lotus. As part of my rewrite journey I’m reviewing information from all sources on the craft of screenplay rewriting.

Today’s teleconference class was the 21 Steps to a Professional Rewrite given by Hal Croasmun and ScreenwritingU. The call lasted three hours and was very much a real class.

We went through the 21 Steps and I was able to immediately see a dozen ways to  apply what I learned to my current screenplay.

ScreenwritingU offered a handout to use for notes during the call. Even without the  benefit of the teleconference, reviewing the handout will get your mind thinking about the rewrite process in ways you’ve never considered before.

Handout is at http://www.ScreenwritingU.com/rewrite2.pdf

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During the 21 Steps to a Professional Rewrite phone call, we covered the following things:

- The 21 Step Professional Rewrite Strategy.
- The most important Rewrite Process you can use.
- The reason most rewrites never produce more than a 15% improvement.
- Six ways to tell if your story works.
- And more.

I’m excited about how my overall writing skills and specifically my script Legend of Black Lotus will benefit from this new information