Today was supposed to be the first day I worked on the second act. Instead I decided to get a little distance from the script. (Okay, it was the second day of the President's Cup. Where I took down the club champion in an impressive come back from behind victory.) Later in the day, I also worked on my novel and I sent the first act of my screenplay to my Trusted Writing Buddy for notes.
I highly recommend finding a Writing Exchange Buddy who will tell it like they see it. This person should be a writer who knows at least as much as you do (hopefully more) and/or be a lover of movies.
What you are looking for in the optimal writing exchange buddy is someone who will read quickly and with the right amount of attention.
What is the right amount of attention?
Actually, just barely enough would be the correct answer.
You need to find someone who is busy with their own work and their own life. Someone who has so many pots boiling they forget what they're cooking half the time. Why? Because that's about as much time as any person in the industry will be able to give your script. Producers, agents, studio execs, managers are all overworked and short on time. If you can grab your busy Writing Exchange Buddy's attention and keep it, then you know you're on the right track to submitting it everyone else.
In addition to your Writing Exchange Buddy, you will want to give out your first draft to several people for feedback before you give it to anyone who counts. (E.G.: Producers, Agents, Managers, Actors, Directors, Studio Execs, etc.)
The most important thing for you to find out is if the script is hanging together and what parts are lame and boring. It's important to know what parts the reader believed and where they didn't follow the main character's logic. You're also listening for what rocked your reader's world. You're listening for WHERE. Where are the problems and where are the golden parts that make you grateful for being alive.
What you don't really need at this point is HOW to fix things.
A lot of people get lost telling you how to fix it. But, they don't know that the producer wants A or the actor who's attached forbade you from doing B. They don't know about the five drafts of the treatment where you tried what they are suggesting and determined it wasn't the way to go.
Instead of getting frustrated or God-forbid defensive, here's what you need to do: Listen hard to what they are saying.
It's what you are listening for that's the key distinction. Instead of memorizing their ideas on how-to fix your script problems, simply note where in the script they are applying the band-aids. This is a fabulous clue as to where you've run off course.
Don't argue. Don't point out that producer A told you not to do that very thing they suggest. That doesn't get either of you or your script anywhere. Just listen and follow the clues they are so generously giving you.
**Occasionally, a reader will give you a how that helps. Don't get me wrong. Notes and the thinking they generate are exactly what takes your script from "vomit" to "spec sale." Most often times readers who can peg what needs to be done and also provide clues to "how you can fix your script" will become your Writing Exchange Buddy. That's how you know they're special.
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