Here’s a shocking fact: for most writers, the second draft is worse than the first.
1. Writers believe the conventional wisdom that "writing is rewriting." This is one of my favorite misconceptions about writing.
Key point: that's why it's so important to figure out the story structure before you write the first draft.
Writers don't realize that rewriting is a set of skills, just like crafting character, plot and dialogue.
One crucial technique for knowing how to rewrite is knowing the right sequence for rewriting.
Notice this is the same first step we used in creating the characters, the plot, and for writing each scene.
What is her deepest flaw that most of her problems stem from?
When checking the desire, ask this question: is there a specific endpoint when it will be clear to the reader that the hero has either achieved the goal or failed?
Technique 3: try to connect all secondary opponents to the main opponent, but hide how they are connected from the hero and the reader.
The more hidden attacks the better the plot.
Technique: look for dense punch- counterpunch between hero and all opponents.
Revelations come from hidden attacks by the various opponents.
Check that you have twisted the special genre beats by adding drama elements.
You want only structural scenes that contribute to the hero’s character change.
The Godfather early draft -At restaurant, they talk; Michael gets gun, shoots them. -Montage of newspaper articles. -Sonny has sex with a girl, goes to sister Connie’s house. -Sonny finds Connie with a black eye. -Sonny beats up Connie’s husband Carlo in the street.
The Godfather early draft -Tom won’t accept Kay’s letter to Michael. -Don Corleone brought home from hospital. -Tom tells Don Corleone what happened; the Don is sad. -Sonny and Tom argue because Sonny wants to kill old Tattaglia. -Nasty fight between Connie and Carlo; Connie calls home; Sonny mad. -Sonny blasted in the tollbooth.
The Godfather early draft -Tom tells Don Corleone that Sonny is dead –- Don Corleone says settle war. -Don Corleone and Tom bring Sonny’s body to undertaker Bonasera. -Don Corleone makes peace with the heads of the families. -Don Corleone knows it was Barzini who was the leader.
The Godfather early draft -In Sicily, Michael sees a pretty girl on the road, tells her father he wants to meet her. -Michael meets Apollonia. -Wedding of Michael and Apollonia. -Wedding night. -Michael shows Apollonia how to drive; learns Sonny is dead. -Michael’s car blows up with Apollonia driving.
The Godfather last draft -At restaurant, Michael, Sollozzo and McCluskey talk; Michael gets gun, shoots them. -Montage of newspaper articles. -Don Corleone brought home from hospital. -Tom tells Don Corleone what happened; the Don is sad. -Sonny and Tom argue because Sonny wants to kill old Tattaglia.
The Godfather last draft -In Sicily, Michael sees a pretty girl on the road, tells her father he wants to meet her. -Michael meets Apollonia. -Sonny has sex with a girl, goes to sister Connie’s house. -Sonny finds Connie with a black eye.
The Godfather last draft -Sonny beats up Connie’s husband Carlo in the street. -Wedding of Michael and Apollonia. -Wedding night. -Tom won’t accept Kay’s letter to Michael. -Nasty fight between Connie and Carlo; Connie calls home; Sonny mad. -Sonny blasted in the tollbooth. -Tom tells Don Corleone that Sonny is dead –- Don Corleone says settle war.
The Godfather last draft -Don Corleone and Tom bring Sonny’s body to undertaker Bonasera. -Michael shows Apollonia how to drive; learns Sonny is dead. -Michael’s car blows up with Apollonia driving.
The Godfather last draft -Don Corleone makes peace with the heads of the families. -Don Corleone knows it was Barzini who was the leader.
Key point: by cross-cutting between these two storylines, the slower Sicilian line is never onscreen long enough to kill the narrative drive of the story.
Key point: fixing the scene list does more to fix your story than anything else in the rewrite.
Technique: the final moral decision is the vortex point of the moral argument.
2. Try to increase the intensity of that desire in each scene.
Assignment for next class IF YOU ARE WRITING SCENES FOR YOUR STORY: 1. write the next three scenes in the story where there is dialogue That means three scenes, not three chapters. Be sure to start by listing the premise in 1 line
Assignment for next class IF YOU ARE WRITING SCENES FOR YOUR STORY: 2. write your hero’s weakness in 1 line 3. write the endpoint of your hero’s character change, In other words, his or her self-revelation
Assignment for next class IF YOUR STORY IS AT ANY OTHER STEP OF THE WRITING PROCESS 4. Important: state which assignment you are doing 5. follow the instructions for that month’s assignment Don’t hand in more than the assignment asks for.
Assignment for next class IF YOUR STORY IS AT ANY OTHER STEP OF THE WRITING PROCESS 6. send in any question you have about story in general or about your story in particular
Remember: hand in only 1 assignment at a time.
Next class: Wednesday, July 18
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