They say writing is the easy part and rewrites are hell. They, whomever they are, are not wrong. Rewrites ARE hell.
When I get an idea, I usually jot down the basics on whatever paper is at hand, with whatever I have to write with. I have even used crayon, lip liner, eye liner and on occasion, the notes app on my phone.
Then I do some more notes at a later time, when I've had time to think about the idea a bit. Then, I outline, which I only recently started doing but has been very beneficial. Then I work the characters back story, creating a type of bible for myself. Then I sit down and write the first draft.
Then I give it to one of my readers, Red or Curly usually, and I let it sit.
They sometimes come back to me with notes, or questions. I make notes on the notes and questions. Then in a few weeks or sometimes months and sometimes years, I open the file again and start to rewrite.
And it's hard. Because sometimes you have to discard scenes you really love, or dialogue that makes you laugh or sometimes you have to get rid of whole characters because there are too many. That feels a little like genocide but, must needs be done.
For me, I have issues with opening scenes. That's where Red usually comes in. She's good at opening scenes. She also helps with dialogue, because sometimes I forget that not everyone talks like me.
That brings us to the current rewrite of UNDEAD BEFORE SUNRISE.
UNDEAD BEFORE SUNRISE, First draft complete July 2007
It's a title that amuses me to this day, like some weird hopeful promise of better things to come, except being dead or undead as it were, is not truly desirable.
There are issue with the script, but not the story. Originally, I had Billy and Kevin (protagonists) discovering weird bacteria that turned people into zombies and vampires. That didn't work. Then, Red suggested a convention type scenario and I came up with a movie premiere. That seemed to solve those issues.
Then we had dialogue issues, scenes with Billy and Kevin were too talky, and had too much dialogue, and weren't reflective of how men actually have private conversations with each other. That part of the rewrite is still in progress.
Then we figured out that there were too many characters and I had to commit some genocide. Annie/Claire and MacKenzie had to be eliminated. I did it as kindly as possible, I even gave some of Mac's good lines to Samantha, our female protag.
The hardest thing I found in this current iteration is that I had to change the opening scene. It's a brilliant opener, one crafted by Red to catch the audience and make them laugh, and that scene is still there, but our protags have changed. Billy and Kevin are no longer the focus, but Samantha. Girrrl power, right? So the opening scene needs to be reworked. Which is annoying but it's got to be done.
So, now I'm rewriting the whole thing. The story has changed a little and there is some good stuff in this new draft.
I think I'm almost ready to say it's ready to show professionals.
Version 5 is the best one yet.
Anywho, back to the rewrite!
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