The Shuffle
My favorite thing I've ever written is a screenplay.
It's not the best thing I've written, but it's my favorite.
It was considered by a couple major studios, and I thought the feedback I received from the person in development was fluff until I sent a third screenplay to her and she said it was good, but lacked in its execution. I knew that day that all the praise for this particular screenplay was legit.
It was always a good screenplay, but it became much better when a director interested in it suggested I move one major scene to the final scene.
I had to kill my favorite scene in the screenplay to make the shift work, but it made for a much better ending.
I've run into a snag with the novel I'm polishing. There are two major storylines: a mystery and a romance. Realistically, the mystery shouldn't take as long as it runs, but the romance needs time. So I had to figure out a solution.
The solution: shuffling scenes around.
I cut a lot from the novel. Right now, about 16,000 words, and it will probably be another 10-15 thousand before I'm through. In cutting, I had to scrap the ending. It just didn't work. I needed something else, but didn't know what that something else was. Until I remembered the lesson from my favorite thing I've written: move things!
I took one of my favorite scenes and looked at it. As it stands, it serves as the perfect ending for the story, wrapping everything up. It was always a great little section, but as the ending, it's better, and I now have my ending.
A good friend whom I respect greatly when it comes to writing advice recommended something to me today. I didn't take his advice totally, because I had done what I already needed to do. I just had it in the wrong place.
I've felt all along that I've written what needs to be there in this story. But there was always a nagging feeling that it was all wrong somehow.
Just by shifting things around, it all became clear.
I need to shuffle things more often--in my writing, and in my life.
It never hurts to look at something in a different way.
More times than not for me, it's made a good thing great...
It's not the best thing I've written, but it's my favorite.
It was considered by a couple major studios, and I thought the feedback I received from the person in development was fluff until I sent a third screenplay to her and she said it was good, but lacked in its execution. I knew that day that all the praise for this particular screenplay was legit.
It was always a good screenplay, but it became much better when a director interested in it suggested I move one major scene to the final scene.
I had to kill my favorite scene in the screenplay to make the shift work, but it made for a much better ending.
I've run into a snag with the novel I'm polishing. There are two major storylines: a mystery and a romance. Realistically, the mystery shouldn't take as long as it runs, but the romance needs time. So I had to figure out a solution.
The solution: shuffling scenes around.
I cut a lot from the novel. Right now, about 16,000 words, and it will probably be another 10-15 thousand before I'm through. In cutting, I had to scrap the ending. It just didn't work. I needed something else, but didn't know what that something else was. Until I remembered the lesson from my favorite thing I've written: move things!
I took one of my favorite scenes and looked at it. As it stands, it serves as the perfect ending for the story, wrapping everything up. It was always a great little section, but as the ending, it's better, and I now have my ending.
A good friend whom I respect greatly when it comes to writing advice recommended something to me today. I didn't take his advice totally, because I had done what I already needed to do. I just had it in the wrong place.
I've felt all along that I've written what needs to be there in this story. But there was always a nagging feeling that it was all wrong somehow.
Just by shifting things around, it all became clear.
I need to shuffle things more often--in my writing, and in my life.
It never hurts to look at something in a different way.
More times than not for me, it's made a good thing great...