week 14 notes

WRITING IS REWRITING

• Revision and Rewriting

-Rewriting us not just rewriting 

-It’s rethinking, re-conceptualizing and approaching new things

Rethinking

1. Perspective
2. Structure (sequence of things)
3. obstacles
4. character’s behaviour, actions, speech
5. character’s goal

 

• Everyone should at least try and rewrite their stories 5 times(don’t over rewrite to keep originality of the story)
• You will never find out what is really in you until you write and rewrite
• doesn’t mean just polishing phrases

Tip:

• Study your story, see it with a new vision and changed values
• Write it a fresh
• Then maybe scrap it, start all over again-don’t be afraid to do this!
• After this, then you can begin “polishing”
• Finding expressions with character, dialogue that has rhythm
• It takes 2 or more versions to bring out the full color of the characters or yourself.

REFLECT

The inclination of the egoist is to get as much as he can, but at the same time not to change.

The Final DRAFT

1) Read with a fixed eye

-re-read through your story carefuly

-focus on a particular aspect each time ,ie,character, location, action, etc.

Ask Yourself”

• Is the protagonist ALWAYS the focus of the story?
• Is he/she doing anything or is everyone else always doing stuff around him/her?
• Is he/she even there?

2)The chainsaw is your friend

-Now is the time to look at script economy

-Why have your reader dying to finish after 4 pages when they could be craving for more after 2?

Ask yourself

• where do my scenes begin? where do they end?
• can six lines be said in three?
• can i trim the fat? can i cut the exposition? can i tell it visually instead?

3) Crank it up!

-The stakes are high-can they be higher?

-More to lose= More dramatic tension

Ask yourself:

• Does everything matter enough? can everything matter more? (does the situation matter enough to the character? if it matters more to the characters, the characters will matter more to the audience.)
• Am i giving my characters hell? is it fun to see them squirm and satisfying enough when they get out of it?

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