Last time I updated you guys on my progress in making Rebelle, things were looking pretty good. My draft was done, I submitted it for coverage (basically the professional word for feedback), and I was relieved. Then, the coverage came back in.
Spoiler alert: the reader H A T E D it.
She didn't say it outright, but I could tell from the feedback that reading it was pure torture for her. I didn't have a real plot, it was too unrealistic, I had too much dialogue and not enough showing, I had no character development. Among other things.
I was pretty shocked when I got it at first- I cried, to be honest. "Am I even CUT OUT for this moviemaking thing?" "When I got coverage on the last draft, it seemed like the reader thought it had potential! Seventh drafts are supposed to be IMPROVEMENTS!" But then I realized that she probably mixed it up with another script, so I ignored it for a few weeks and focused on other things.
Last week (or the week before, I don't even remember), I picked the coverage up and reread my script. Turns out, the reader was RIGHT. I was mostly focused on finishing up the draft before school started that I totally forgot about the important stuff- and it was absolute GARBAGE. It made Isabelle Dances Into the Spotlight look like an Academy Award winner, and it made my old draft look like it could win 3.
So, I made a game plan- combine what I liked from the last draft with what I liked from the one in June, add in actual good storytelling, and BAM! A script.
But I'm still on page 15.
Out of 90.
After a WEEK.
In other words, this is taking FOREVER. I don't want to rush it because I know what happened last time, but I don't want to write 15 pages a week and have it all finished by November and only have five months to film *if the coverage comes back okay*. I know this doesn't have to be Academy Award-quality, but I want to be proud of my work and do the best I can instead of not caring since it's just for AGTube.
What should I do?
I started filming today! We're all good! WHOO!
Editing is done, and I'm just running it by my mom and friend to make sure it's not trash ;) it's all coming together guys!
Update: I'm ALMOST done with my draft! I'm not worrying about the deadline as much and just focusing on making an awesome movie, but the thing is, I delayed the deadline (I was going to have it finished by May so I could submit to film festivals, but then I realized how expensive they were and I wouldn't have a good advantage, so I have an extra month now!).
Once I finish, I'm going to Disney World so that will be my break, and then I'll edit it. (Last time I wrote a draft, I barely edited lol)
Wish me luck!
P.S: If anyone wants a little part, email me up because there's a LOAD of 2-5 line parts ;)
I totally understand how you feel, I've had this problem a lot. It's always important to listen to others' critiques, but it's also important to have a finished pro that YOU are proud of. If you don't like it, no one will.
Definitely don't rush your draft, or you might have to do it all over again, and you obviously don't want that. 😜 My brother is a writer and he had a similar problem while writing his book. He finished his first draft, and I read through it for him (I'm kind of his editor. 😉 XD). I told him what I thought about it (what I liked and didn't like), and he was super defensive. I told him that a certain scene was really long and boring, and that another one needed to be rewritten (among other things). He thought his book was fine.
But then he realized that what I was saying was right. He went back and rewrote the entire scene that I said I didn't like (he rewrote most of the book, actually.😂), and completely removed the scene that I thought was boring. He changed the plot a little bit so that the scene never happened, and the characters actually ended up going a different way. In the beginning, he thought that this was his first book and it wouldn't be perfect, and his NEXT book would be perfect. But then he decided that this book was going to be perfect too, so he ended up rewriting almost the entire book. It really saved his story, though.
Don't rush through your draft just because of a time crunch; try and make it as perfect and you can. That being said, don't keep changing things because you think it's not perfect. 🙁 Just keep going until you get it the way you want it. 😀 If you're passionate about this (which it sounds like you really are 😊), I'm sure you'll be able yo get it done in time, and have it the way you want it.
Just keep going! 💕❤
I hope this helps! (Sorry about the super long comment; I'm a writer too! XD)
God Bless,
~♡Rosabelle♡~