The 3 Steps of the Rewrite

Or, How To Make Your Next Draft "Better" Instead of Just "Different"

I have no idea what this drawing is supposed to represent.

But… Do I Have To?

So, you finally finished your first draft. Congratulations, that’s huge.

What’s the next step, you ask? Realizing that it still needs A LOT of work.

The whole “Writing is re-writing” thing is hardly a new concept, but it’s one that a lot of writers early on like to pretend they can’t hear. I get it.

Rewriting is HARD.

Unfortunately, it’s also necessary, no matter how happy you are with what you’ve initially written. Why is it necessary? Why am I so certain that your genius first effort can still hugely benefit from revision?

Because rewrites are where you can:

• achieve greater depth by adding layers and subtext

• increase emotional impact by refining arcs and plot points

• clarify by finding simple solutions to overly complex story elements or ideas

• quicken the pace by trimming superfluous elements

• make your script stand out by adding style, flair, and unique details

In other words, rewriting is where your script goes from ‘pretty good’ to ‘I have to see this movie.’

Okay, fine, you say, I’ll do a rewrite.

But, let’s say you’ve got, give or take, 100 pages of your blood, sweat and tears in front of you, where on Earth do you begin?

The long answer involves a million different writers’ million different approaches - there is no one way to do this stuff and what works for one person might not work for someone else.

The short answer is: here’s how I do it.