I have a horror screenplay sitting on my laptop waiting to be revised...AGAIN...and I am trying to find the energy and inspiration to dive back in and make the necessary changes. Problem is, the script doesn't just need a fresh coat of paint, it needs some major RE-ENVISIONING!
But in order to do this re-envisioning (and really look at it with fresh eyes)I've needed to take some space from it, mostly beause I needed to forget all the major revising I did last time (which I admit I became a wee bit attached to). Killing your babies, it seems, becomes easier the more time goes by (once writing amnesia has set in) and you forget all the work you already put into the thing. Still, sometimes it's hard not to get discouraged, when despite your commitment and hard work, the script still isn't quite right.
The only thing to do (or so I've been told) is to stay strong and go back in for another round of revisions & re-envisioning.
I believe in my heart the script can be better and will be better, once I wrap my head around the revision and re-envisioning process.
For the record, I am a big believer in paying for objective professional feedback on all my scripts. But I don't care who you are, it's never easy to hear anything negative about your writing. I know for myself, that this criticism stings at first. However, once I let time pass, I always go back to review the feedback and find it generally is on target and very helpful.
Here's my challenge in this situation -- Each time I revise this script, it has become better, but it's also become unbalanced. And also a wee bit more unfocused, because I've tried to be everything to everyone, which has strengthened the script in some ways, but diluted it in others. I'm told that perhaps I've thrown in too many ideas and need to simplify. Let me explain.
This particular script is it tells two parallel stories in two different timeframes (the present and 1890s). After I completed a rushed first draft of the script I sent it out for feedback to see if I was on track. I was originally told the characters in the past were perfect. The characters were wonderfully developed and the story I told was heartbreaking and scary. In other words, I nailed this part. Unfortunately, the characters in the present were dull by comparison. Their only goals were to discover what had happened in the past. They weren't complex or fully developed, and this made them rather passive. There wasn't enough present day drama or action to provide the momentum the script the needed.
I wholeheartedly agreed with this assessment and jumped back in and attacked this problem head on.
My second reviewer then came back and told me I nailed the present day characters. They were so well-developed and their conflicts so interesting that it made the stuff in the past dull by comparison. Frankly, this reviewer didn't think I needed the past stuff at all because the present day stuff was strong enough without it.
It was then that I realized what I had done. When revising the present day story, I ignored all the stuff in the past (because I was told it was perfect) but I also deleted a small plot point that would have made the two timelines more interconnected. Without this connection, the two stories didn't quite balance each other out, and instead they detracted from the other.
So, I know I have to go back to the drawing board and make each story equally interesting, but also make them more connected so it doesn't feel like they belong in two separate movies.
This is not going to be easy, as I have to lose some characters and plotpoints in order to simplify things and really keep both stories moving forward. This may feel daunting right now, but I know in the end I'm going to be happy I took the time to revise and re-envision things.
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