The Rewrite
I recently completed the first rough draft of a TV drama pilot I’ve been working on. Finishing a piece of longer work is strange. Not only does it feel empty once it’s complete, but it also is a challenge to go back to it. After all that effort, after all those sweat and tears, reaching “Fade Out” or “The End” is really only the beginning.
The real writing doesn’t begin until the rewrite. This is a fairly recent discovery for me, mostly because I got away with turning in rough drafts hot off the presses all through college. In fact, there may have only been one or two papers I actually even read before turning in. I was lucky to pass, and extremely arrogant in my writing abilities. I didn’t realize how much that approach hurt my writing potential. It’s a habit I find hard to break. Many times I have to force a deadline upon myself to finally get words to paper.
The difficult thing about editing is that the process of writing the first draft is so mentally draining. Why edit something that already took so much effort? Add to that the fact that once I’ve stepped away from something for a bit, I can look at it more objectively. When that happens, my “work of art” quickly becomes a “piece of crap”. I seriously hate going back to pieces I’ve written. It’s like going through your digital camera after a drunken night. You cringe wondering how sloppy those glamour shots you felt you were taking the night before actually look. I have that same dread when I sit down to edit something I’ve written. I go through a period of self-doubt and questioning why I keep doing what I’m doing.
At least, that was how it used to be. Two things have happened over the last year of my writing development. One, the pictures don’t look so bad, and two, it’s not so hard to fix the ones that do. I suppose you could say, metaphorically speaking, that I don’t get as drunk as I used to. Learning how to edit has helped my initial drafts. I’ve accepted it as a natural part of the process so it allows me more freedom in my writing.
Also, I’m no longer so stubborn and defensive. I would convince myself that what was already written was not only correct, it was as good as it could get. Not so anymore. I won’t hesitate to chop out what was my favorite line or paragraph. I’ve learned that nothing is written in permanent marker. I’ve also accepted that just because I didn’t get it right in my first go-round, doesn’t mean it’s a lack of knowledge or talent. Re-writing is a vital part of the process. It’s okay to edit. It took some time to convince the “me” of college of that fact.
Knowing how to rewrite – how to recognize where to edit, what to edit, and how to edit is vital to creating a good piece of work. I know now that it is one step of the process and not a knock against my writing to edit.