Screenwriting : Macro first or micro first -- how do you address your notes? by Travis Seppala

I start with the macro and save the micro for last, Travis Seppala.

Maurice Vaughan Interesting. Do you take it note by note - a pass for each macro note? Or are you trying to keep them all in mind as you go through the script scene-by-scene?

I take it note by note (a pass for each macro note), Travis Seppala. It's easier than trying to think about every note at once.

Maurice Vaughan My own approach is different.

I do my best to keep the macro notes in mind (re-reading all the macro notes [which I have on the title page] each session with the material) as I go through the script... but I go scene-by-scene so I can handle all the micro notes while looking for ways to apply the macro notes.

And i do the entire script top to bottom that way.

Then I go back and make sure I've addressed (at least in some way) each of the macro notes that I intend to work on. Anything I think I may have missed, I'll do individual passes to see what more I can accomplish.

Then when done -- I go into FD and start making the changes, top to bottom (involving a lot of copy/paste work) until all the changes have been made.

good question Travis Seppala

Cool, Travis Seppala. What if all the macro notes don't fit on the title page? Oh, and I do one more thing. After I finish making all the changes, I'll go through the entire script making sure the changes didn't affect other things.

Travis Seppala Start with the macros. The revision pages which result from those macro rewrites might negate some of the minor page notes anyway. Start big and then fine tune as needed.

i always start with the minutiae and build up. i write a lot of comedy and horror and find that small moments can be missed/misinterpreted quite easily, so it's often for me about being less subtle and drawing out certain moments more in individual scenes. i also love it when notes givers throw out line suggestions or ideas to punch up jokes. so many times i find when someone adds just a tiny outside thought to a riff i'm doing, it can break a bit wide open.

Thanks, Rachel Troche ... so what's YOUR answer? ;)

Maurice Vaughan They fit. That's what sticky notes in adobe are for. See this? ;)

Thanks for your thoughts, Nick Phillips !

Thanks for the input, Pat Alexander

Depends on genre/remit/individual story but in all cases micro elements must gel with the glue of the macro or audience gets confused.

I didn't think about putting all the notes on the title page like that, Travis Seppala. I might try it. Thanks for the idea.

Maurice Vaughan now those are only the macro, script-wide notes. Notes specific to scenes or dialogue or whatever exist on the page(s) they belong.

Gotcha, Travis Seppala.

Sorry Travis, my comment didn't post completely. I'm in the middle of a rewrite myself, and I tend to start at the macro level. I get a series of different notes and look at the similarities - if there's 3 or more addressing a certain issue, like tone or character or theme, I start there. Those changes will usually influence the micro changes in the next pass, like specific lines of dialogue.

I start by printing out a hard copy of my script. Then I review the notes and I think a lot. I go for long walks. I tackle the "easy" things first like dialogue fixes, formatting errors, typos etc and start scribbling on the hard copy.

As the macro issues start to take shape in my mind and through the scribbles on the page, I work through the script from beginning to end, still by hand, with a coloured pen. Sometimes I draw pictures and maps. Then I open Final Draft, see what I've got and if it all makes sense!

Rachel Troche Yeah, I often have what I call "the rule of 3" with notes.... if 1 person says something's a problem, it might just be their problem. If 2 people say something's a problem, it might be a problem and should be considered. If 3+ people say something's a problem, it's a fucking problem that needs to be solved!

Ingrid Wren Going oldschool with the print and pen, eh? ;) I do all my mark-ups in the PDF with the various tools provided there -- strikethrough, sticky notes, word replacement note, underline, highlighter, draw tools (usually for making arrows or brackets), etc.

I think we all do things differently. I recommend just doing whatever you feel like starting with. Do you want to tackle the little formatting fixes first? Or do you want to start with the hardest part of deleting unnecessary scenes, improving dialogue, cutting lengthy descriptions? It's your call.

I always recommend: Structure/Story - Character - Dialogue in this order. Make sure your structure is solid, beats, set ups, foreshadowing, character intros. When your structure is sound, then each scene will be where it needs to be which means the characters are where they need to be. Since your story is sound, and the characters are where they need to be, that means the dialogue will almost write itself because the only conversation that can take place is related to what happens in that part of the story.

I always suggest bigger notes first to address structure and character trajectory before smaller notes. As a former colleague of mine put it: "there’s no point choosing which paintings to hang up in the house if the walls are falling over".

Georgette Skolnick What order do YOU tackle notes in?

Travis, I'm flattered you're asking what I do. I do the quick easy fixes first before I start deleting or moving scenes around. I re-think my character--who is he, what is his background that would give him motivation to want to change something, what's preventing his goal, what happens when he fails, how can he overcome obstacles (is there something in his life or younger life to help him succeed)? I write these on separate notes and re-read my story. I check that I have an inciting event occur within the first 10 pages and the character's arc with epiphany. I do one scene at a time and ask --is it necessary? what would be a better way to write it? And to answer your question, "When does it end?"-- it never does. You will always think about something, read something, see a movie, or.... and get another idea to help your story improve. And most importantly, I find an outline helps tremendously. Hope this helps, Travis.

Great advice, Ewan Dunbar

Whenever I have written anything and have gotten notes, I've found that it's easier to start with the big stuff and work my way down. Starting with the minutia makes me feel overwhelmed.

Brandy, like I said, we all do things differently. There's no right or wrong way.