Alright, how about I get back to a topic I know a little something about? Like, re-writing.
I’ve written about it before… hmm, I was going to go grab a link to my last “On Writing” post for you in case you wanted to refresh your memory, but apparently it’s been a while since I’ve addressed the process of writing (I’ve been busy writing posts about trash-picking aliens, The Pope, and the cat’s perspective on my move – sigh)
Well… I’ve got a reading of Twigs and Bone coming up in about a week and a half, so this weekend was all about those little rewrites I knew it had coming but hadn’t been able to find. (Sometimes a deadline is exactly what you need to inspire you!)
So I spent a lot sorry, make that A-FUCKING- LOT of time poring over sentences and periods and BEATs, in the hopes that I was clarifying, tightening, and strengthening the damn thing. I was working on the play’s texture… and I’m pooped out!
But, thanks to some kick-ass notes I got from FallOut Girl, I was able to attack the script from a different perspective. I think the changes I made did a lot to help elevate the material and add depth… all good things when you have what is essentially a family drama, wrapped up in a haunting, further complicated by a house-destroying hurricane.
Yeah, I know. Woof.
But the thing is, the thing that keeps bringing me back to this script, is that I know it rocks. I know it kicks some ass. And it’s not even been through the rehearsal process yet! (Oy, the fine-tuning feels interminable! Rehearsals!) But it’s this knowing of how close the play is to being AWESOME that keeps me coming back to it.
I mean, eventually, (and let’s be honest Tiff, I think eventually has arrived) I’ve got to stop tinkering and start sending the thing around. But it’s a tough call, because why send out less-than-your-best when you know it requires a little more glue and grist?
Anyway, all I can say at this late hour when my eyes are falling down stupid and my fingers feel fat and clumsy, is that I feel really good about this draft. I feel like I’ve turned a corner in my own ability to see the hiccups, interpret them, and help them become beautifully complex moments… and if I can say that now, then I have great hope for my own continued education and evolution as a playwright/screenwriter. Because I consider it proof of being on the correct path that I still love it, still pine for it, and am still growing as I walk the writerly road.
Goooooodnight 🙂
Awds And Ends 