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Fledgling screenwriters tend to misunderstand the purpose of a first draft. The thinking is that they have completed their script and they are done. NOT!
Fact is, the first draft is the beginning. Experienced screenwriters know that a first draft will present problems that will be dealt with in subsequent revisions. And I don't mean what the industry likes to call a "page one rewrite." Each draft tends to deal with a few specific problem areas. Maybe a weak third act or a tricky scene in the middle of act two that veers off the main storyline.
New screenwriters tend to be so happy to have completed a draft that they're often blinded by the fact that their script may not be working. If they do suspect there's a problem they don't know what it is. And if they do know what's wrong, they don't know how to fix it. This is where the value of getting feedback comes in. Whether it's fromt a teacher, a friend, a producer, another screenwriter. Getting input matters. It helps you to step back from your work and hopefully see it from another point of view.
Remember: a first draft is a jumping off point. There will be things that work and things that don't. The stuff that works you leave alone. The stuff that doesn't, you fix. No matter how many drafts it takes. |
