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REWRITE THE HECK OUT OF IT

Congratulations on completing a first draft of your script! That’s awesome. I’m proud of you. And you should be proud of yourself too. A completed first draft is a huge accomplishment.

I wish I could tell you that now you’re ready to send your script out to any connections you may have — or to start cold calling agents and/or managers in hopes they’ll represent you. Unfortunately, you’re not quite ready to do that just yet. Most professional writers will tell you that probably 85 % of writing is rewriting. Which means you now need to do several more passes on your script to get it to the next level. I know, you’re probably rolling your eyes at me, thinking I’m wrong. Your script doesn’t need a rewrite. It’s darned good as it is. I’m sure you’re correct; your script is good. But in today’s competitive marketplace, “good” isn’t enough; it has to be perfect. Or as near perfect as you can get it. And not to be a negative Nellie, but I promise you that as you go through your first draft, you are going to find things that can be improved.

YOUR OWN PRIVATE TABLE READ

Before you start your rewrite, it’s a good idea to get feedback on your script. Please don’t ask your mother, your grandmother, or your favorite aunt. I guarantee at least one of them still has a painting you did in kindergarten and likens it to Picasso. You need to get feedback from people who are two things: objective and honest. In a perfect world, these are people who understand how television works and are familiar with the show you are writing. So if you have friends who work in the industry — or even a group of fellow writers you hang with — seek them out first. This will put you ahead of the game.

Perhaps the best and easiest way to get feedback is to have a gathering and read your script aloud. Think of it as your own personal table read. You supply some snacks and drinks; everyone else supplies notes on your script. Let me give you a few things to consider before you begin. First off, don’t give out the script ahead of time. You want to have everyone read it cold just as an executive or agent would. Once you hand out the script, assign parts to your guests. But don’t you read a thing…not even the stage directions. There is something to be said for really hearing your work read out loud. Listen to where people stumble over lines, then make a note to go back and smooth it out some. Listen to where one of your readers stops due to a typo. If your script is a comedy, listen for laughs. Are you getting lots of them? Are there jokes you thought were hysterical that fall flat? If so, make a note. You’ll want to go back and do some punch-up.

Once your script has been read cover to cover, it’s time for your notes session. Give up the floor and let people have an honest discussion about the work. If you hear things that are negative, try not to take them personally or bite off anyone’s head. Remember, it takes courage for the person giving the note to tell you the truth. Better to hear it from them than to have an agent or producer pass on your work because they came to the same conclusion. Once a friendly discussion has been had, you should feel free to ask any pertinent question. For example, if you are unsure if something is clear, ask. You can also ask for suggestions on what to improve. You don’t have to take these suggestions, but be sure to consider them. Sometimes when a writer has just finished a script he/she is married to the way it is. You have to be open to the way it could be improved. Even if that means a lot more work. If your script is a comedy, you should also ask if anyone has any jokes that might work. Don’t worry…this isn’t stealing or cheating. Professional writers seek help from each other all the time.

As you consider all of the suggestions, there are two things I want you to promise me. First — and this is so important — if people have made comments about your story not really working and thus you are going to have to go back and restructure definitely redo your outline before sitting down to do the rewrite. I can’t tell you how often I see writers who don’t do this. They figure they can fix the story as they go. Inevitably, they end up writing themselves into a hole. The script ends up in worse shape than it was as the story is all over the place. The second thing I want you to promise is that you will walk away for a day or two and think about some of the changes people proposed that you are resistant to. Often, when you hear things in the moment that conflict with how you envisioned something, you automatically discard the suggestion. But, sometimes when you walk away and think about it for a short time, you realize what a great idea it actually is… and you totally get jazzed to sit down and start making the changes.

THE ROAD AHEAD IS FILLED WITH NOTES

My guess is, there are parts of your script that you really like. You look at some of your work, and you secretly think, “Wow…did I actually write that? It’s pretty darned good.” While it’s nice to be enthusiastic about your work, it’s important that you not be married to any of it. You have to be willing to let go of stuff. The reason is, down the road, when you are on a writing staff, you will be tossing a lot of what you’ve written out the window. Writing is rewriting.

Professional writers spend a good chunk of their day rewriting. Go down to any set, and you will find writers making last minute changes and feeding actors new lines to be said on the spot. Once you become a staff writer, every day will be filled with notes from studio executives, network executives, executive producers, etc. It is your job to take these notes and incorporate them into the script…whether you like and agree with them or not. While you can certainly argue for what you believe in — and you should — you have to pick and choose those battles carefully. If you fight over every line change that you’re asked to make, you will get a reputation of being someone who’s difficult to work with, which is something you definitely don’t want. Let me give you my McDonald’s analogy. If you were working at McDonald’s making burgers, you would be asked to put certain condiments on the burgers: ketchup, mustard, onions, and pickles. Now, imagine you told your boss that you’ve decided to only put ketchup on the burgers because that’s how you like your burger. How long do you think you’d last in that job? It’s the same with writing. The executives are your bosses. It’s your job to do what they ask, give them what they want and keep them happy. That often means throwing out things you wrote that you thought were the cat’s meow.

The hard thing about taking notes is that you get a lot of them from a lot of different people. Sometimes it can feel overwhelming. Sometimes, the notes even feel like they conflict. The most difficult thing for a writer to do is to address these notes, but at the same time, keep true to the original vision and to the integrity of the script. This comes with practice. That’s why rewriting your spec is a good place to start. Oh, and here is the beautiful thing about rewriting: once you have cut stuff and made changes…a week from now, you won’t even remember the stuff you thought was so fabulous. It’s weird how that works, but it does.

THINGS TO LOOK FOR ON YOUR FIRST PASS

While I can’t tell you how to address notes from executives in the future — that will be up to you and you’ll cross that bridge gracefully when you get to it — I can give you a few things to look for now in your spec script to make it read all the better. Below, in no particular order, are some things to consider as you go through your script for the first time.

Script Length – Be sure you are bringing your script in at the allotted page count. If you are over, you must cut. No one wants to read a 65 page comedy…no matter how funny you think it may be. You must make choices. Once you have cut, I promise your script will be a much faster read. By the same token, if your script is short, you need to add to it. My advice would be add story rather than dialogue.

Extraneous Words – Go through and chop every unnecessary word. For example: “Joe sits down.” You don’t need the “down.” It will be assumed.

Conflict in Every Scene – Is it there? You should almost think of every scene as a disagreement of some sort. If there is no conflict and everyone agrees on everything with big smiles on their faces, the scene is likely flat. Fix it!

Chitter-chatter – Every line of dialogue must move your story forward. New writers often think that if characters have a conversation, we’ll get to know them. In reality, the only thing chitter-chatter accomplishes is to stall your story. If a line doesn’t move the story forward, get rid of it.

Spell check – One little click on your computer equals the difference between a professional writer and an amateur. I can’t overstate this: professional writers don’t turn in sloppy scripts with typos and misspellings. Neither should you…if you want to be taken seriously.

Consistent Character Voices – As you read your script — or hear others read it aloud, listen for character voices. Are they consistent throughout? Also, if you are writing for an existing show, rather than a pilot, are the voices authentic to the characters on the show? This is key, as many agents and executives will specifically listen to make sure you have this important element down.

Dialogue Short and Sweet – Eyeball your script to see if you have places with chunky dialogue. It’s okay to have a few blocks here and there…but if most of your dialogue is chunky, you must chop it. Look at the professional script you are using as a model. Notice the rhythm of how the characters speak. It’s usually a sentence or two, so the conversation goes back and forth as it does in real life.

Action Verbs – Look to see if you have avoided passive voice. I suggest using the “find” button and type in “is” and “are.” If you find any, be sure to replace them with action verbs that get to the heart of a character’s emotional state.

Sentence Structure – As you read your work aloud listen for sentences that begin the same way. Joe walks into the Room. Joe sits on the couch. Joe puts his feet up. Joe reads the newspaper. The read gets monotonous if you’re constantly writing subject verb, subject verb. It gets drop dead dull (and even more noticeable) when it’s the same subject. Vary your sentence structure and you will have a better read.

Run-on Sentences – They didn’t work in high school English. They don’t work in scripts. In television, sentences should be short and sweet, rather than long and drawn out with few, if any, commas thrown in.

Don’t Repeat the Slugline – If your slugline reads, “INT. KITCHEN – DAY,” then don’t write in the description, “Joe walks into the kitchen.” We already know he’s walking into the kitchen because you told us in the slugline. You don’t even need to write, “Joe sits at the kitchen table.” Same thing…we know it’s the kitchen table because your slugline revealed that. So all you have to say is, “Joe enters and sits at the table,” rather than “Joe enters the kitchen and sits at the kitchen table.” See how redundant that is?

Correct Format –Eyeball your script to be sure it’s in the proper format. Nothing will make you look less professional than a script that doesn’t adhere to industry standards.

Exposition – Look carefully at your dialogue. Are the characters saying things as they naturally would — or are they saying things because you, the writer, need to inform the audience about something? If your dialogue has any hint of exposition, chop it and find another way to get the information out.

Scenes Where Nothing Happens – Put each and every scene under a microscope. Ask yourself what is the purpose of the scene and how it moves your story forward. If the answer is, “it doesn’t,” then get rid of it. Or, rewrite it so something happens.

Stories Cut Together – As you read through your script, look carefully to see that you have intercut all of your stories. Make sure you aren’t spending too much time on one story, while neglecting another story.

Those are just a few of the things you can and should clean up on a first pass. Now, here is the hard part. Once you have done your first pass, you need to do a second pass and probably a third. Then, put the script down for a week and come back to it. You will see things you missed. Clean them up too. And look it over again. This script is your one and only calling card. You simply must get it right.