How many (honest) drafts

You know when you send off your great scripts to all those prodcos and the BBC Writers' Room? On that front page where you put "First Draft" or whatever number (I know I do - it's in the Script Smart template) do you actually say "First Draft" or 2nd or nth? What I mean is, does it look bad if you put 1st (because you haven't bothered to rewrite - you fool!) or does it look worse if you say 10th draft (because you are so rubbish at getting it right - you fool!)?

I appreciate this is an esoteric question and the quality of the script should shine through as the only important factor anyway, but I wonder whether the no. of owned-up-to drafts will put the reader on the back foot before you have started.

Any advice, please?

For the record, the only time I sent stuff off I put "3rd". It came back as "turd".

Quote: Badge @ November 5, 2007, 9:27 PM

For the record, the only time I sent stuff off I put "3rd". It came back as "turd".

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I never put how many drafts i've done but I doubt that helps.

Hmmm.... that's the obvious solution, I guess. I just filled it in blindly cos there was a space for it in Script Smart.

Never put it down to be honest. Just keep writing and rewriting and rewriting until I'm happy with it.

In fact, I'm beginning to realise, once I'm happy with it and the only criticisms I'm gettin are of the form 'I like ...' and 'I don't like...' then it's pretty much complete with regards character and plot! That said, we're talking about a year's worth of rewrites!

I couldn't tell you how many 'official' rewrites were done though.

Dan

Don't send in the first thing you write. Rewrite it until it's in great shape and then send it in as a first draft. Only when/if they give notes will you do a second/third draft etc.

Just delete the bit that says 'draft #'. Whoever you're sending to doesn't need - or expect - to know this. The draft information is for later if rewrites are requested, so anyone reading the script can see if they have the latest copy, or indeed for your own records.

Quote: David H @ November 6, 2007, 9:51 AM

Don't send in the first thing you write.

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Totally agree. The first draft is always a dog no matter how wonderful you think it is. Time is everything and unless you're on a deadline there should be no reason why you shouldn't allow yourself the luxury of up to 3 drafts before you submit an official 1st draft.

If you have to - put 'version 1.0', 'submitted' or 'final' - something that implies you have done lots of drafts beforehand, and this is the version you think is of a good enough quality to send out. I usually put 'submitted'.

I guess I do at least twenty re-writes... keep fiddling with stuff.

Agree with the advice you're getting. The reader doesn't need to know the number of rewrites so leave it out.

As to rewrites, it's no lie to say that I read and edit sitcoms and other longer-form prose around 5 times before the writing partner gets to read it. We then make adjustments on his crit. Then there's another ten or so re-reads and edits.

Baumski and Swertyd (and others) also touch on another important aspect. Time. Joe Orton wrote his scripts, edited, then left them a year under the bed before the last edit. The distance that time gives can reveal problems with a script that you'd never see without fresh eyes.

My rule is to not to even mention whatever re-writes/drafts the script you're submitting has been through.

When you send (whatever draft) to Company 'A', if that's the only version you're submitted to Company 'A' then you don't need to specify.

I just put, [Sitcom Title] - Episode 1.

Incidentally, as a professional and technical rule, you may (if asked) be submitting your re-write to Company 'A', whilst submitting your first version to Company 'B'.

(I know what I mean, but am confusing myself.)

Thanks to all for the good advice. I think some of you might have misunderstood what I was getting at but you have given good and proper advice anyway - in essence, writing is rewriting. I've been following this, it was just that I had been a bit anal and filled in the draft number every time simply because it popped up in the template, and that was giving me a headache because too few shows you haven't rewritten enough and too many looks a bit hopeless. From now I'll just keep the draft no. for my own purposes and send out "blank" as advised. God knows why I didn't think of that before!

A draft or re-write is a major thing. So I'd say 2 or 3 major re-writes. Sometimes it's just a handful of scenes juggled about, other times massive bits culled.

But once I've done the third(ish) draft, lots and LOTS and lots MORE tweaking goes on.

Then even more on top of that. Every word and pause agonised over. Jokes tightened, any superfluous dialogue or characters just going 'Hello' gets removed, as long as it flows naturally of course. Contractions added to make it less rigid, any feed line or exposition given a joke. I'll stare at a line for ages trying to get some kind of laugh from it.

I'll also try and cut the page length down by cutting a line here and there. I mostly end up with about 65, and like to get it down from that, so I tweak that too.

It's amazing how coming back to a piece a few months later and you suddenly have a new line where there was no joke - so yeah, writing is re-writing.

Oh and I'll only ever add a date at the front, never Draft # whatever.