Writing is rewriting -- the Final Pass

[mscherer]

Why do I start with the final pass? Simply because everyone has their own way of doing rewrites. Some revisit plot. Others make a dialogue pass. And others may go with a character pass.

But when you've checked and rechecked and checked again, your plot, characters, action, dialogue, and story logic, what's left? For me it is ONE LAST PASS with my screenplay checklist. It is now that I look for things like: -ing verbs; variations on the verb, to be; changing verbs like walk, talk, stand, look, sit, etc. Here is my FINAL PASS CHECK LIST for your viewing pleasure:

Screenplay: _____________________________ Date: ____________
Eliminate/change the following verbs:
__ is
__ are
__ the
__ that
__ then
__ walk
__ sit
__ stand
__ look
__ just
__ of the
__ begin
__ start
__ really
__ very
__ faces
__ surveys
__ -ly words
__ put most important work at the end of the sentence.
__ don’t tell us anything we already know.
__ don’t repeat noticeable words in the same neighborhood.
__ check for logic flaws.
__ check on the emotion in each scene. Is it where I want it?
__ insure that every DAY and NIGHT is consistent and tracks.
__ check for typos and proof reading errors.


Addendum: Should have mentioned this in my original post... when I go through this checklist I find it a big help to save the original script in RTF and then, leaving Final Draft open to the script, open the RTF version with MS Word. I then search the document for words like 'is', 'are', etc. in the Word document then immediately make the necessary changes to the Final Draft version. Make sense, or have I just created a great deal of confusion?

Use it. Change it. Share with us your last pass method.

Keep Writing!

[dwight]

Interesting methodology, mike. I try to write without these, but often fall prey to "just getting through it". So I'll leave a lot of weak verbs and non-active lines of action. So definitely a good check list to use. Thank you, as always!

[mydoggeorge]

Thanks for sharing. This will be a useful tool for me.

[joea]

Hi. New member, first post here.

This is an interesting idea, but I have to quibble with eliminating -ly words. I've seen this advice elsewhere but I honestly can't see the use of it. I remember writing a draft and making a conscious effort to eliminate these and it came out incredibly awkward and unwieldy, not to mention the fact that it diverted my attention from far more important concerns.

Also, I find they turn up in just about every professional script I read. So I've stopped with that. I think it's important not to overuse them, but if you put out a Fatwa on them you can end up with problematic language.

For instance:

John stares mournfully at the scene: a toddler run over by a Buick.

Or,

A toddler has been run over by a Buick. John gives the scene a mournful look.

Note: this is not the world's best example. It is, in fact, a terrible example. But I fail to see how the change from someone looking "mournfully" to someone giving something a "mournful look" does anything but distract the read with an awkward phrase.

Much more important it seems to me is the push for more "active" verbs, not just as a writing lesson but as a storytelling lesson: with few exceptions, if your characters aren't active, they're not interesting. Their stories should be ordeals, otherwise you're boring me.

And, of course, checking for emotion. If we're not doing that with every pass, we're not doing our jobs, period.

Joe