The Kindest Cut of All: Mark's Resource Roundup
- Mark Bedard
- Sep 15, 2017
- 2 min read
As screenwriters, we are often told that we must “kill our darlings” and I’ll grant you editing can be a bitch. But, honestly, I have no real problem cutting and pasting scenes, moving them around and placing them in different places or cutting them in part or whole. If it improves the story, I’m all for it even if it does hurt.
What really drives me nuts is those little “hanging widows” or “orphans” at the end of a phrase. I’m convinced Final Draft has implanted tiny gremlins into its software just to torture us writers with that one word that won’t fit on the line above. But, consider the blessing in this. An important part of the editing process is thoroughly combing through the script and removing any unnecessary (think adverbs) words. That’s fine as long as everything fits neatly on the page. But, screenwriting like life is not neat. Now the blessing of that annoying word (sometimes two) is it causes you to rethink what you are trying to say. Can it be said more concisely? Does it need to be said at all? Is the line assigned to the right character and/ or is the line well placed within the scene?
I call this the kindest cut because it gives you an opportunity to be a better writer, not to mention looking more professional to a reader. Screenwriting is hard enough, don’t mess with gremlins.
Keep writing,
Mark
Resource Links:
Parting Thought:
“Words are sacred. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones, in the right order, you can nudge the world a little..” ― Tom Stoppard
Comments