Big Ugly:

Rewriting can lead to all sorts of interesting situations.  Should you take advice from people who read your script?  How many people?  Lots of them?  A few, select readers?  How about only readers with some professional background?  Perhaps only those readers with some professional background who have worked in the business?  How about only those who are currently working?  How about taking advice from only those people who do not charge you for the advice?  What about script doctors, rewriting services, "readers" with notes, professional advice-givers, leeches, parasites, liars, cheaters, thieves and vampires?  They'll have mountains of advice about your script... the question is whether or not you wish to be buried under that mountain.  Or under a mountain of debt if you choose to pay for such advice from people who probably have no more insight into the business then you do.  Be careful.  Be savvy and smart.  No one expects that.

A war story about trying to be helpful.  I read a script about ten years ago and offered the writer advice on how to improve it.   It was a member of my writer's group so there was no pay, totally free, out of the goodness of my heart stuff.  But I spent some time on this thing.  I marked the script up like mad, and talked to the writer on the phone for two hours or so going over the notes.  Then I gave her the marked script and went over some of the finer points.  No sweat, did that kind of stuff all the time.  She went off, lost contact.  I figure, at least I helped her with the script.  Just last week I'm with some of my old writer's group buds and one of them mentioned she read a script and made some notes for a person who was a pain-in-the-apostrophe.  I heard the name of the person and my food nearly fell out of my mouth (like I would ever let that happen.  I didn't get this way skipping lunch).  After I stopped choking, I asked about the script.  

It was not only the same writer to whom I had spoken ten years ago... it was the same damn script!  And it sounded like she hadn't made a single change based on my notes.  Nothing like good advice thrown at a bad writer.  All that red ink, all that conversation.  Wasted.  Ten years later, and this person is still trying to get people to read and comment on a script that remains unchanged all this time.  Maybe the writer is trying to find the one person in the world who may think her script is perfect as is and give her a million dollars.  That's cool, I guess.  It is, after all, her life.          

Here's a troubling situation that you'll probably run into if you pursue this field long enough:

They say you should rewrite the script. 
You disagree. 

What do you do?

You write a screenplay, take good advice from people who know more than you and show it to people who, hopefully, really do know more than you. 

This is classic advice listed in every how-to-write-a-screenplay book since "Carving Stone for Movies & Television" by Fred Flintstone.  See page three or four, it's that kind of advice.  It's so basic, it's not even advice, it's just part of the how-to write a screenplay template required by fine publishing houses everywhere.

The problem is that the people you've tracked down, spent weekends stalking, just happened to run into at their favorite restaurants, called them at home, at the office and on the cell about a billion times... these people finally do, indeed, give you their opinion... the trouble is, you don't like it.  They're saying, "You're not ready to go out with the script.  Rewrite it.  Again."  

Arrrrghhhh, don't you hate that?!  You've written the script, maybe already rewritten the script, you've already CONSIDERED just about everything that can possibly be shoehorned into the concept, the idea, the situations, the characters... why do you need to rewrite after all that--?

It's maddening.  Frustrating.  Okay, enough with the niceties... it's CRAP!!

Or is it?  What do you do in this situation?  What do you REALLY, UTTERLY do that will give you a leg up on success, the very action that this Guy Called Joe did NOT do?

PUT IT AWAY.  Shove the damn script under the bed for 30 days... let it cool off, let your mind go elsewhere for awhile, get away from it.  DO NOT EDIT OR READ IT to see if these people are correct, stupid, brain dead or secretly out to get you. 

Repeat:  DO NOT EDIT OR READ IN ORDER TO JUDGE THEIR OPINIONS OR WEIGH THEIR OPINIONS AGAINST YOUR OWN!

We can talk ourselves into and out of anything we wish.  Consider all the ways we screw ourselves up by thinking a situation is one way when it's really another.  The sweaty gambler convinced that his very next bet will win it all back and more.  The guy slumped in a stinking apartment, sure that his girl made a mistake and will be back any day.  The writer at the mailbox, or reaching for the phone.  

There is NO spec script in this world that cannot wait 30-60 days.  None.  Not yours, not mine.  The world will wait.  So should you.

Your friends, mentors, teachers, writer's group members or otherwise interested readers have their opinions for a reason.  You must rest, relax and leave that script alone for a time in order to see past the heat and fury of finishing a screenplay. 

How Joe Failed, So maybe You Won't 

When someone suggested I should rewrite, I often thought about it and decided that, no, my way was better.  I knew what I was doing.  Now, I've rewritten scripts lots of times, but only those ones that I knew had serious problems.  We're talking about the ones I liked and thought were ready to go.  

But then, something interesting happened.

I got a deal with a big time producer who said I should completely rewrite the script.  Well, I wasn't about to tell this guy --not with a friggin' Oscar staring at me from the corner-- that I knew more about writing that he did, so I said, "Sure, I'll rewrite it."

The thing is, I really thought the script was strong as it was and had NO idea how or why or what to rewrite.  What happened?  Disaster. The script was rewritten about fourteen times, getting worse and worse until I don't even think it made sense anymore.  

Shoulda, coulda, woulda... it would have been better had I taken the time to consider the script before sending it off, and thus prepared myself for this event.  Like I said earlier... no one was waiting for it until I sent it off, but after I did so it took on a speed and direction that was out of my control.

I did not do these things.  I failed.  Now, "Go and Do Better."

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