Learning from the revisions

Writing and rewriting the same screenplay for years is a bit crazy. You start to believe that you are crazy, or that you are going crazy, as you work and re-work sections of the of it. I seriously have felt this way, especially this summer, because Raspberry Magic has gone through so many revisions. I've been spending ten hour days seriously reworking things. However, I must say, that for the first time in awhile, I feel really good about this draft. I think what was really bogging me down was actually elements from the older drafts. Sometimes, when you revise something and you have worked with so many versions of it, you leave bits and pieces in that aren't working. For me, I had one scene that made the story feel a bit like a teen film. I always wanted to cut the scene, but for some reason, I couldn't get rid of it. Then, I suddenly went back and changed one of my key characters completely. This character was an airhead, and I realized that by having her as an airhead, I wasn't serving the story in any way. And honestly, I didn't like that character very much. So, I changed her totally, and suddenly, I was able to cut the scene that was bogging things down. It was a domino effect in a very positive way. Unbelievable! It is a good thing that I'm a bit of an obsessive person, I mean, I like tedious things, and I have no problem reworking and rewriting something, even if it takes years. Writing is definitely a marathon and not a sprint, but that's something I kind of enjoy about it... Looking forward to getting notes from mentors and from my producer. I'm sure there will be more changes!