Script Notes
Writing is rewriting said Hemingway, and it’s true. One of the most important parts of writing anything is the “notes gathering” phase. This is where you send your script (or novel) out to friends and trusted others to see what they think. I’ve written about how a table read can be an invaluable part of this process, especially helping track the logic of character. However, a table read can be tough. You’ve put your heart onto the page and think you have something really good, only to be hit with dozens of notes.
The sinking feeling in your heart listening to notes or opening emails back “Hey I really like this but…” and then paragraphs of notes and suggestions is real.
Once you have all these notes though, what do you do? It is almost always impractical to incorporate them all. How do you know which ones to take and which to ignore? How can you tell which you don’t want to do because they are hard or if you don’t want to do them because you are just so in love with a scene that doesn’t work? (AKA “kill your darlings.”) Which hill are you willing to die on?
Having recently started going through this process on two scripts, I thought it would be illuminating to explain my personal process.
I am upfront at where I am in the writing phase and what notes I am seeking. Is this a nearly finished draft and I’m looking to polish some jokes in characters in? Is this a first draft and I need some help looking over structure? Or somewhere in between?
I read all the notes over once, let the emotions (if any) come, then again when I’m calmer. It never gets easier to read, “This didn’t work for me.” (especially when multiple people tell you there is a problem in the same spot!) When I give myself a little space I can mull the notes and make sure I’m in a headspace to do what is best for the project, not what is best for my ego.
I only take notes that serve the story I want to tell.
This third point is what has been on my mind most recently. My best friend and I are writing a silly comedy (obviously so we can star in it together) Read again: a silly comedy. We are making something goofy, lighthearted, and fun. After our first table read we had someone begin to pitch all the ways we could make the film scarier. How and where we could add tension. I pointed out to her later: “We aren’t making a horror film. These notes are not relevant to us or what we want to do. We need to ignore them.”
Similarly, we got notes back on a later draft that was full of funny pitches, but would require a near total rewrite. I pointed out, “These are funny ideas, but we are past the idea phase. We aren’t brainstorming anymore. These notes don’t help us address any issues, they are just pitches for a totally different movie. If they want to make that movie, that’s fine. We aren’t.”
Perhaps this sounds harsh, but it’s very important to keep an eye on the entire process (a 10,000 foot view you might say) and know what is relevant and what is no longer useful for the stage you are writing in.
Another good tip to keep in mind regarding notes I learned from my bosses. They talk about looking for “the note behind the note.” IE people will say something like, “The sister character is lame, just cut her out.” But perhaps you love the sister character or know that she going to be crucial to the third act reveal. Look deeper. Can the sister have a clearer arc? Or are they confused because there are too many characters? Can you cut a different character and make it easier to follow?
“Act one takes way too long.” Ok, can you tighten up the pace? I am a huge fan of cutting the first few scenes and seeing if the audience (or readers) can catch up and follow along. Audiences are so smart these days, we are a culture of film.
“The villain isn’t mean enough.” … But you don’t want to make everyone pure evil or pure good, you aren’t writing a fairy tale. Can you heighten the stakes so even if the villain doesn’t become meaner, there is more at risk in the story and the villain will feel meaner for threatening it?
Overall, you want to make sure you are taking in notes that help you tell the story you want to tell, not the stories others want to tell. Sometimes this does mean killing your darlings or making a big change. But a good script note should enhance what you are going for, not detract from it. Big notes like, “what is the goal of this piece?” are the hardest to answer, but once you know, every other note can run through that filter. “Does this help me champion female empowerment?” “Does this clarify choosing community of individuality?”
If you ever aren’t sure if you should take a note (or how to take it) call a friend—or reach out to me haha—I ADORE talking through script notes and helping get to the clarity of what you are trying to achieve balanced with keeping the audience happy.
The world will always need stories. And we will always need different types of stories by different types of people. Make sure you are taking in good notes that help tell your story and ignore the ones that are for someone else’s story. You got this!