Self-Editing Tips for Screenwriters

If you were to ask any professional writer what one of the hardest parts of writing is I would venture to say that he/she would probably say is having to cut material that they personal liked. Part of being a good screenwriter is being ruthless with your own material, it is not an easy thing to do. You have to do it if you hope to make it as a writer.

What I mean by being ruthless with your writing is getting rid of things that do not necessarily serve the story in any real way. This is a dilemma that writers on all levels face; cutting something that might have taken a while to come up with is not an easy thing to do.

This happens a lot with dialogue, you might feel as though you have just written the best piece of dialogue in your life, sharp, witty, clever, whatever you might want to call it, but for whatever reason it just doesn't fit the scene or the character, it must go.

That does not mean you have to trash it, just sock it away for later. You never know when you will be able to use it. The mistake many writers make is to try to bend the scene around the stuff that they like and then try to fit the new stuff in around it, which does not work.

As a writer, you have to believe that if you could come up with that one good idea, then you most certainly can come up with another. The object of any writer be it a beginner or a professional, a screenwriter or novelist is to tell the best story possible, the story is what matters. Being honest with yourself and with your audience is essential.