How to approach a rewrite

 So, I’m embarking on a massive rewrite, and in order to do a proper job this time I thought I’d layout a plan of action. And then I thought I might as well put it up here -  it might help someone.

I’ve culled this from many sources – The 21^st Century Screenplay by Linda Aronson (highly recommended), a Hal Croasmun newsletter, and an audio podcast from Just Effing Entertain Me, as well as a few random thoughts of my good self. Hope it’s useful!

There are I think two main tenants to a rewrite. Have a plan, and focus on specifics.

That said, a rewrite can encompass anything from a dialogue pass to a complete restructure with attendant new characters. I’m not on either extreme, but having a plan is essential so you know what you want to achieve, how you’ll do that, and by when. One also has to specify – it’s very easy to say Character X needs more depth, but unless you know how you’re going to develop his emotional arc, how will you achieve that? Almost impossible when you’re stuck in the middle of act 2, trying to find the way out through a dense wood. Much better to do this at planning stage, when you can see the shape of the forest.

So, in some easy to follow steps, here’s how I will proceed.

1. Collate all your feedback – from yourself and readers – that you think should be included. I’ve done this and have a word doc of 60 odd pages now (gulp). But fear not! Always break it down into bearable, pint size chunks.

2. The next step is to divide this huge mass of feedback (PS include good feedback so you don’t go and cut what people think works well) into separate docs. So, one for each main character, examining their arc and emotional development – and actually breaking this down specifically, so we know in what scene his outlook changes from pessimistic to optimistic, for example. Also a separate document for the main relationships between each character, how those relationships grow and develop. I’ll also create docs for tone, theme, dialogue, and structure – the last probably split into different sequences – a much more manageable way to view the entire piece.

3. The difficult part here is specifying. For example, the main character needs to be more enticing but how? I would figure this out through his arc and emotional development, and then specify how and when this occurs in the sequence docs – breaking it down into separate scenes. In effect, writing a large outline.

4. Once you’ve done that for characters, relationships, theme, dialogue, tone and anything else you can think of, and out it all into the sequences docs I would read through and check it all scans, all the set-ups and pay offs are there, that the plot is consistent and makes sense.

5. Only then will I start on the actual script. And this time I’m gonna be radical. I use Celtx (a great free screenwrting software programme) at the moment, so my full script is in that programme. But last week I was lucky enough to win Movie Magic Screenwriting software courtesy of the UK Screenwriter’s Podcast, so I’ve decided to retype it all out by hand (bigger gulp). I imagine (and may be wrong) that this will force me to re-evaluate every word I retype, and will hopefully improve it as a result.

6. Then a final read through check. For me, this entails mainly looking at dialogue and the shape of the scene – that it moves the story forward, reveals character, and builds to a climax with appropriate twist/cliff-hanger ending, fuelling the move into the next scene. And of course, wordsmithing – making the action lines and dialogue sing.

And then a fully finished screenplay! Give yourself a time limit and get cracking! Good luck!