Writing IS Rewriting!

I've been working on my main screenwriting project on and off for about five years now. Not non-stop, I've had several month breaks in between attempts and I've got bits and pieces of notes for new stories bubbling away, but the first story that I gave birth too is the one that I am still most passionate about and want to see through to the very end.

I want to be able to say that I've truly done the best I can do, regardless of whether it sees the light of day as a movie or not. This is a very personal journey, and I consider the rewrite as the Hero's Journey, so named after Joseph Campbell's seminal work around the monomyth.

This rewrite will be radical and I'll be killing off many of my babies to see it through *gulp* but I'm delving into this rewrite with the thoughts of using the tools that have resonated most with me over time, but perhaps didn't understand that clearly (or perhaps didn't WANT to understand them, as they didn't fit what I had written). At this stage, it's tools such as the 'Sequence' (or mini-movie) approach, John Truby's teachings and 'The Writer's Journey' by Chris Vogler. I've also invested innumerable time and energy into writing what is the most current draft. Why waste that effort, only to throw the work into a drawer to be forgotten? I've entered it into competitions, I've undertaken courses (online and in the real world - check out Karel Segers of The Story Department, it's well worth attending his seminars if you want an introduction to story structure), I've bought many books, ebooks, DVDs and MP3 seminars. I've read dozens and dozens of websites and blogs and I'm sure I've got 5000 bookmarks on screenwriting by now. I have around me right now a tremendous wealth of information at my disposal and one thing is sure, there is no one magic formula to write by. As a writer, you must learn the basics and explore the different methodologies, approaches and advise, but it's then up to you to decide which methods resonate the most with you.

Thanks Wikipedia!

So why the sudden enthusiam to get back into it now?

I've had script coverage completed on it a few times over the years, and it's the latest coverage (from ScriptShark) that has spurred me into current action, with the feedback that my screenplay "...has a tremendous concept that could prove both artistically and commercially lucrative. This is the kind of material that could attract excellent talent to the film." Great, I love it, but on the flip-side... "The script needs to develop its story and characters better to exploit all of the themes and ideas that naturally present themselves in the situation of the story. With more development, this could be a very successful script for the spec market".

It's exciting to hear this, sure, and I need to keep the momentum up but this time want to approach this rewrite with a plan of action, a pathway to see it through. I'll be conducting more research on my characters, their backgrounds and needs / wants and relationships. I'll be ensuring a really REALLY clear visible goal for my protagonist. I want to have a very strong sense of structure so that I can take care of the flabby, meandering Act 2 and I want to pare back the wealth of information that I've got. Sift through all of it, distill it, and present it here so that I KNOW that I've studied it and understand it as clearly as possible so that it can be carefully applied to my rewrite. I want this to work. I have no deadline, I need to balance family / work / life with my writing, and I'm grateful to have a loving and supportive partner, but I won't abandon her =p I will make the most of my travel time, about 2 hours each day for my commute to work will be used to study, write notes and fantasy scenes and situations that may or not make it through. I will try and complete this rewrite by the end of the year, but no promises.

In my next post, I'm going to layout out the path (yellow brick?) that I'm going to approach to tackle this rewrite. These will be the steps I'll follow to see this project through, until then, I'd love to share these youtube videos that I had discovered about story structure by Dan Wells - very entertaining and very well put together (there are five parts, this is just the first, check them all out). I'd also be interested to hear your own approaches to the rewrite. Until then, get rewriting!