Brian Nelson's Lounge Discussions

Brian, glad to have you in the community. I read your bio and see that you retired - congratulations that you are getting to pursue your true passion now - writing! I'd recommend networking with Boomer Murrhee: https://www.stage32.com/profile/205656/boomer-murrhee/about - he knows a ton of creatives in and around Florida perhaps for your short film! He's great.

Well, I put it aside for a while. Not too long, but long enough that I forgot the details that made me nervous. If I read it again later the whole thing mostly sounds better than I thought. The spellchecker actually is very helpful. Should there still be any typos you will discover them with a little time distance. Then, I make notes and rewrite it again - if I think it's necessary. If not I try to get a coverage like here on stage32 to get a professional feedback for the whole thing or I let fellow screenwriters first read my script (and of course do the same favor for them) to get a first feedback for the story itself.

@Phil, great topic. I'm in the middle of this, NOW. I find that if I can get in my car and blare some Nine Inch Nails... My mind is not only going a thousand miles an hour but, I'm energized at an elevated tempo -- If I read my dialogue in this state, the cheese stands out and it's easier to cut sluggish tempo from my story. Jus' sayin'.

Finish draft. Set it aside. Minimum of 3-4 weeks. Decompress. Then go back and read it with "fresh" eyes. You'll be amazed at things you find. Things you missed. Things that need to be changed. I get very focused when writing and have actually made a mental note while reading a draft to pay off some bit later - only to find that I did. As close as you get while writing, you need some distance for rewriting.

Finish a first draft - and put it away. Out of sight. For a minimum of 3-4 weeks. To get some distance. If I have my next idea - might even start outlining that or even writing it. But probably not to the latter because I need to decompress from finishing one screenplay. Then go back - and read it again. With fresher eyes. I see things I didn't see before or notice things that might be missing (to fix for the rewrite). I tend to get so focused when writing - that I have actually followed this

I do a couple read throughs to catch typos, misspelling, etc. Then I get a group of friends together, assign a character, and supporting characters to a given person, to read, and act out the dialogue. If anything comes off awkward, I take notes, and suggestions on making the dialogue flow more easier. This isn't just effective, but it's also a fun time for all.