Self-editing for screenwriters

Before submitting your script to a contest, a site like Inktip or an agent, producer or studio, it is a good idea to get feedback. If you have a friend who understands screenwriting, you should trade free reads to help each other. If not, perhaps there is a screenwriting group you could join.

If neither option is available to you, you'll have to put on your editor hat and do the job yourself. Follow the steps below to make sure your script stands out from the crowd.

FIRST: Do a read-through to see how the STORY flows. Don't take notes. It's important that you don't stop reading because you need to see if this is a fluid and satisfying story. If necessary, keep a pad of sticky notes close by to tag areas you want to change. When you're finished, write down your overall impression of the first draft.

How well does it flow?

Is it a fast read with good pacing?

Where does it stumble?

SECOND: Do a read-through to see how your PROTAGONIST EVOLVES. You can breeze through the script, but make sure your focus is tight on the protagonist. This is where the character subtext you've created should shine. You need to make sure that your protagonist is not one-dimensional. The protagonist must be multi-layered and the type of person we want to spend time with and get to know better. We want to sympathize with this character, get to know wants, needs and fears. We want to root for this character. Make sure that we do!

THIRD: Do another quick read-through to see how your PROTAGONIST SPEAKS. If you removed the protagonist's name while reading his/her dialogue, could you still tell that he/she was the one talking? If not, try to change this so that the protagonist has a unique or memorable way of speaking. We want this character to stand out.

FOURTH: Do a read-through to see how your ANTAGONIST DEVOLVES. Again, you are focusing on this one character's actions and dialogue. Pay attention to how your antagonist acts and speaks. It's not as important that he/she has a unique way of speaking, but it doesn't hurt. We do want our antagonist to be memorable, but hopefully not more memorable than our protagonist.

FIFTH: Analyze your Inciting Incident. Is this significant enough to grab the protagonist by the throat and entice the reader to continue to see how he/she will respond? If not, think about what you can do to make this incident something that will shake up the protagonist and hit him/her where it hurts.

SIXTH: The End of Act I. Very important. You must make it impossible for the protagonist to refuse the “call to action” invoked here. What happens that turns the story world upside down? What so ignites the protagonist that he/she must enter Act II in active pursuit of the story goal? It doesn't have to be personal, but it must be clear that the protagonist cannot refuse to respond to what's happened. This can be due to the protagonist's personal connection, their job or something they did or allowed to happen that made or allowed this event to occur.

SEVEN: Your “trailer scene” sequences in Act II. Are they exciting enough? As you move the story along to its ultimate resolution, have you had the protagonist overcome obstacles in pursuit of the story goal? Have they been satisfying or riveting enough to fulfill the promise that this story offers?

EIGHT: The big failure at the end of Act II. It's often powerful when someone helping the protagonist dies in helping him/her pursue the story goal. This adds a bittersweet feel to the film. Something important was lost. A heavy price was paid in achieving the protagonist's goal, which leaves him/her conflicted at the end, but the protagonist knows the job had to be done.

NINE: Is the resolution satisfying? It should resolve any outstanding issues and fix the problem that caused the protagonist to take up the call to action at the end of Act I. The resolution should be followed by a final scene showing the protagonist's new life after surviving this ordeal. Even if you have ideas for a sequel, avoid using the last scene to set it up. You can leave the question open without hitting us over the head with the tired, hackneyed scene of the supposedly-dead villain shown to be still alive. A little mystery is more enticing than this shopworn cliché.