Do you remember that scene at the beginning of Naked Lunch (the Cronenberg film, not the Burroughs book) where the characters based off of Ginsberg and Kerouac are debating the drawbacks, benefits and implications of re-writing?
I used to hate revising my old work.
As soon as I'd finish a short story, a novel, a screenplay, whatever, I'd say,
"It's perfect! No need to revise it! I don't want to beat a dead horse and dwell on past works! I want to move on to the next screenplay, the next story, the next novel!"
Well, I've matured.
Not only was revising my 2008 screenplay Flatdog, to get it ready for the 2015 Pitchfest, eye-opening, but, as it turns out, completely necessary.
This has sparked an inclination in me to go back and revise some of my other scripts that I think are worth submitting, but may be more flawed than I remember them being. Screenplays like my werewolf screenplay Cubs and my "love story involving ghosts and murderers" Invoking Henry.
As I was going to bed last night, I sat reading Personal Demons for a bit. It's totally narcissistic, because I sat there reading it, thinking,
"Man, this is good!"
But really it's just me saying,
"Man, I actually got it right this time... This is better than the usual crap I write!"
Anyhow, I discovered some pretty glaring flaws (to my horror, as I've already sent it off to Screamfest and Brick & Martyr) that I intend to correct today as I sit down to write a bit in Personal Demons 2.
The point is this: don't be scared of revision; it's not only necessary sometimes, it's vital.
I believe (but am not confident) that Leonardo Da Vinci once wrote,
"No work of art is ever completed... only abandoned."
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