by Alexandra Sokoloff
Now
that we've had some time off from the frenzy of writing that was
November, we need to get back to those drafts and - yike! - see what
we've got.
This is assuming two crucial things:
1. You have FINISHED your draft. If not, keep writing to the end.
2. You have taken enough time off from that draft to clear your head. If you just finished on November 30, you have not taken enough time. A week minimum, two is better, three even better.
But once you have taken the time off… how the hell do you proceed with the second draft?
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Well,
first you have to read the first draft. All the way through. Not
necessarily in one sitting (if that’s even possible to begin with!). I
usually do this in chunks of 50 pages or 100 pages a day – anything else
makes my brain sore.
(And yes, if you’ve been paying attention to the Eight-Sequence Structure, that would mean I’m either reading one sequence or two sequences a day).
I
picked up a tip from some book or article a long time ago about reading
for revisions, and I wish I could remember who said it to credit them,
because it’s great advice. Grab yourself a colored pen or pencil (or all
kinds of colors, glitter pens - go wild) and sit down with a stack of
freshly printed pages (sorry, it’s ungreen, but I can’t do a first
revision on a screen. I need a hard copy). Then read through and make
brief notes where necessary, but DO NOT start rewriting, and PUT THE PEN
DOWN as soon as you’ve made a note. You want to read the first time
through for story, not for stupid details that will interrupt your
experience of the story as a whole. You want to get the big picture –
especially – you want to see if you actually have a book (or film, if
that’s what you’re writing).
If
your drafts are anything like mine, there will be large chunks of
absolute shit. That’s pretty much my definition of what a first draft
is. X them out on the spot if you have to, but resist the temptation to
stop and rewrite. Well, if you REALLY are hot to write a scene, I guess,
okay, but really, unless you are totally, fanatically inspired, it’s
better just to make brief notes.
When
you’ve finished reading there should - hopefully! - be the feeling that
even though you probably still have massive amounts of work yet to do,
there is a book there. (I love that feeling…)
Once I’ve read through the entire thing, I make notes about my impressions, and then usually I will do a re-card (see
The Index Card Method).
I will have made many scribbled notes on the draft to the effect of
“This scene doesn’t work here!” In some of my first drafts, whole
sections don’t work at all. This is my chance to find the right places
for things. And, of course, throw stuff out.
I
will go through the entire book again – going back and forth between my
pages and the cards on my story grid - and see where the story elements
fall. There is no script or book I’ve ever written that didn’t benefit
from a careful overview once again identifying act breaks, sequence
climaxes, and key story elements like: The Call to Adventure; Stating
the Theme; identifying the Central Question; Central Action and Plan;
Crossing the Threshold; Meeting the Mentor; the Dark Night of the Soul -
once the first draft is actually finished. A lot of your outline may
have changed, and you will be able to pull your story into line much
more effectively if you check your structural elements again and
continually be thinking of how you can make those key scenes more
significant, more magical.
(For
a quick refresher on Story Elements, skip down to #10 at the bottom of
this post, and the links at the end for more in-depth discussion.)
Also,
be very aware of what your sequences are. If a scene isn’t working, but
you know you need to have it, it’s probably in the wrong sequence, and
if you look at your story overall and at what each sequence is doing,
you’ll probably be able to see immediately where stray scenes need to
go. That’s why re-carding and re-sequencing is such a great thing to do
when you start a revision.
STORY ELEMENTS CHECKLIST
ACT ONE
* Opening image
* Meet the hero or heroine
* Hero/ine’s inner and outer desire.
* Hero/ine’s problem
* Hero/ine’s ghost or wound
* Hero/ine’s arc
* Inciting Incident/Call to Adventure
*
Meet the antagonist (and/or introduce a mystery, which is what you do
when you’re going to keep your antagonist hidden to reveal at the end)
* State the theme/what’s the story about?
* Allies
* Mentor (possibly. May not have one or may be revealed later in the story).
* Love interest
* Plant/Reveal (or: Setups and Payoffs)
* Hope/Fear (and Stakes)
* Time Clock (possibly. May not have one or may be revealed later in the story)
* Sequence One climax
* Central Question
* Central Story Action
* Plan (Hero/ine's)
* Villain's Plan
* Act One climax
___________________________
ACT TWO
* Crossing the Threshold/ Into the Special World (may occur in Act One)
* Threshold Guardian (maybe)
* Hero/ine’s Plan
* Antagonist’s Plan
* Training Sequence
* Series of Tests
* Picking up new Allies
* Assembling the Team
* Attacks by the Antagonist (whether or not the Hero/ine recognizes these as being from the antagonist)
* In a detective story, questioning witnesses, lining up and eliminating suspects, following clues.
THE MIDPOINT
* Completely changes the game
* Locks the hero/ine into a situation or action
* Can be a huge revelation
* Can be a huge defeat
* Can be a “now it’s personal” loss
* Can be sex at 60 — the lovers finally get together, only to open up a whole new world of problems
______________________________
ACT TWO, PART TWO
*
Recalibrating — after the shock or defeat of the game-changer in the
Midpoint, the hero/ine must Revamp The Plan and try a New Mode of
Attack.
* Escalating Actions/ Obsessive Drive
* Hard Choices and Crossing The Line (immoral actions by the main character to get what s/he wants)
* Loss of Key Allies (possibly because of the hero/ine’s obsessive actions, possibly through death or injury by the antagonist).
* A Ticking Clock (can happen anywhere in the story)
* Reversals and Revelations/Twists. (Hmm, that clearly should have its own post, now, shouldn't it?)
* The Long Dark Night of the Soul and/or Visit to Death (aka All Is Lost)
THE SECOND ACT CLIMAX
* Often can be a final revelation before the end game: the knowledge of who the opponent really is
* Answers the Central Question
_______________________________
ACT THREE
The
third act is basically the Final Battle and Resolution. It can often be
one continuous sequence — the chase and confrontation, or confrontation
and chase. There may be a final preparation for battle, or it might be
done on the fly. Either here or in the last part of the second act the
hero will make a new, FINAL PLAN, based on the new information and
revelations of the second act.
The essence of a third act is the final showdown between protagonist and antagonist. It is often divided into two sequences:
1. Getting there (storming the castle)
2. The final battle itself
* Thematic Location — often a visual and literal representation of the Hero/ine’s Greatest Nightmare
* The protagonist’s character change
* The antagonist’s character change (if any)
* Possibly allies’ character changes and/or gaining of desire
*
Could be one last huge reveal or twist, or series of reveals and
twists, or series of final payoffs you've been saving (as in BACK TO THE
FUTURE and IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE).
*
RESOLUTION: A glimpse into the New Way of Life that the hero/ine will
be living after this whole ordeal and all s/he’s learned from it.
And
I'll be posting more about how to do different kinds of passes for
particular effect. But for now, I think all of the above should keep you
busy for a few days...
=====================================================
All the information on this blog and more, including full story structure breakdowns of various movies, is available in my Screenwriting Tricks for Authors workbooks. e format, just $3.99 and $2.99; print 13.99.
STEALING HOLLYWOOD
This new workbook updates all the text in the first
Screenwriting Tricks for Authors ebook with all the many tricks I’ve learned over my last few years of writing and teaching—and
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six more full story breakdowns.
WRITING LOVE
Writing Love is
a shorter version of the workbook, using examples from love stories,
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Smashwords (includes online viewing and pdf file)
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