I’ve heard that Draft One of a screenplay is the most difficult to write.  It’s hard to see the finish line as you drown somewhere in the middle of Act II (My Act I was so solid, why isn’t it propelling me more?!  This should be writing itself!)  I suppose it’s why all us aspiring writers have a bunch of half-written screenplays hogging the corners of our hard drives.

I have decided that Draft 2 is my nemesis.  I sit there thinking “but it’s written, why is it not good enough for you people?!” and I am disheartened by the worthlessness I feel by not being some kind of prodigy.  It’s hard to go back and kill your babies, if you will, meaning taking out all the little gems that you think make the screenplay gold and unique.  It’s a pain, because you sit there thinking about how you will never be able to be as crisp, articulate or funny again.  It’s the danger of good one liners.  They either hold up the editing process or set the bar too high, either way, I’m digressing.

Then comes figuring out strategy.  Do I have to start with a blank page, or can I just walk through each scene and rejig what’s not working?  I’ve heard different schools on this.  Starting over completely is intriquing because it really is a blank slate.  You are coming up with out of your head again.  Yes, you have points in your head, but you don’t have it sitting in front of you, forcing only the important points to stick out in your brain.  On the other hand, Draft 1 couldn’t be all that bad, surely there is something working enough that’s worth keeping.

I’m experimenting with a new technique on my current screenplay.  I call it the “Draft 1.5.”  Though I’m sure I’m not the first person to ever do this, or a variation thereof, I’ve never heard of anyone speak of it specifically.

I’m writing the first draft by hand.  This means that I force to get my idea out of my head onto paper and because there’s no curser I can’t just go back and change anything I want.  It keeps the temptation to be constantly rewriting at bay.  Hopefully this means I’m less likely to burn out, get to close to the story, write myself in a corner, and get the draft complete.

Eventually, after I have gotten as many ideas on paper as I can at the time, I will have to transcribe it onto the computer.  Agents very rarely accept spiral notebooks as manuscript these days, especially with the chicken scratch known as my handwriting.  This is when I can start seeing what works and what doesn’t.  As I go through the screenplay I can massage what I have already written and see what works and what doesn’t.  It’s an automatic second pass of the story without having to start completely from scratch.

Hopefully, by the end of it, I will have an insanely attractive first draft and not some pile of poo.  Then I can take a week off, forget about it and go back for my real second draft.  Maybe by then I will be able to decide what strategy I wan to take on tackling it.
Draft 1.5 will either be insanely efficient or a massive waste of time.  Only time will tell.