Cloudzilla! A sign from God?
“The only kind of writing is rewriting.” ~Ernest Hemingway
Five years ago, I got the good news that, after a one year delay, my comedy monster movie Notzilla had been greenlighted (received financing)! The not-so-good news was that the producers wanted me to do a total “page one rewrite” of the script, relocating the story to America. Oh, yeah, and we were slated to begin shooting in two months! I was excited, of course, but also kind of freaking out. OK, lose the “kind of.”
I was freaking out.
Where to begin? Inspiration can come from anywhere (see cloud above). In this case inspiration came, as it so often does, in the form of necessity. I’d been asked to keep the original “Japanese paleontologist tries to save a giant monster” idea, but move it to Ohio where we’d be shooting the film. So, I decided to have my hero (“Hiro”) bring the creature here. But why Ohio? Because he looks on a map and spots a place that sounds friendly — Ohio (ohayó) means “hello” in Japanese! How to travel with a monster? Aha! He promises a last-of-her-kind dinosaur, a Notzillasaurus, that he’ll save her egg. So he stuffs it in his satchel and off he goes! I worked on the outline for a week, brainstorming and tweaking, tweaking and brainstorming. Result? A mishmash of characters from the old version bumping into characters from the new version, like satellites competing for airspace. The story elements refused to blend!
Meanwhile, that Saturday I encountered a different kind of problem: I’d pulled up a badly worn carpet, exposing a leprous patch of floorboards, and my efforts at sanding and staining had left them a muddy grey. For lack of a better solution, I sanded and stained the spot again. It didn’t match the area around it. So I started over again. After five times as much sanding as before, it looked…(drum roll, please)…a tiny bit better. I was about to shout, “Good enough!” when a still, small voice whispered, “Keep sanding.” So I sanded away the fresh stain and started over again—again. After easily thirty times the previous amount of sanding, I realized the floor was actually beginning to look like fresh lumber. The change had happened so gradually, I’d been unable to see it as it occurred! I sanded some more. And then some more. And then finally reapplied the stain. The difference was astonishing. It felt like a miracle.
A gradual miracle.
Monday morning, I returned to my writing with just one thought, “Keep sanding!” Instead of throwing away the previous week’s work, I modified it to bring it in line with the new protagonist’s story arc. Everyone extraneous to this was sent to character heaven, and everyone connected with it grew new motives. All of this, mind you, for a ridiculously over-the-top comedy. Because even farces need to make sense. Ridiculous sense, but sense nevertheless.
Three days later, I read the outline to my writers group. They liked it! Applying their suggestions, I polished the miracle some more. And then I read it to my college students (the movie’s target audience). They loved it! Somehow, ever so gradually, another miracle had occurred.
Of course, I still had to write the actual screenplay, which would require copious amounts of sanding–and I only had six weeks left! So I hurried back to the work of…
Making gradual miracles.
In this world of technology I have lost first drafts to cyberspace. Since then I always save my work on a memory card. I think your idea of sanding is a great one. I’ve discovered that I put too many characters in my stories and often the story goes nowhere because the audience is lost in the descriptions. I’ve even thought it might be smart to create a series of books based on these characters and eventually have them come together in the final book. I’m getting way beyond my prime and have no hopes of ever becoming a great writer, but I appreciate any advice I can get.
👍👍👍👍
Mama K~you’re an inspiration to me. I love you 💕
Loving all parts of this, Mitch…’keep sanding’…and hey, I had no idea “Ohio”(ohayó) means “hello” in Japanese. I love the story of how you pivoted…and sanded to keep Notzilla alive and kickin’! 🥰
Thanks, Vicki!
What a gift of a story to anyone trying to reach their goal. Thank you Mitch.
My pleasure, Sandy.
But when so many others would’ve given up, you did it, Mitch. Bravo!
Thanks, Kellye!
Great story and metaphor for revealing our best work as writers. Thank you, Mitch.
My pleasure, Mark.
Sanding sounds much more positive than slogging. Okay, I’m sanding!
I agree, Joy! But then, I don’t how to slog a floor, anyway.
Boy oh boy do I hate editing my own writing! It feels like I am pulling out my fingernails, one by one, with a pair of plyers! But for some reason I love editing (sort of) other people’s stuff. Maybe we could just pretend that our cousin from Boston wrote the original and then enjoy tearing apart and rewriting his manuscript. 🙂
Perfect, Pete. “I’m doin’ this fer you, cousin Vinnie.”
Wow – masterfully written, Mitch!
Thank you, Wynne.
I love your “keep sanding” method of revision!
Hey Mitch, as a wanna-be screenwriter, I found this post to be a balst Beyond that, though, both the floor-refinish and the re-write contain great lessons for life in general. The “gradual” aspect of many of our eventual triumphs should not contribute to our osing patience and losing our sights on the eventual goal. Thanks for sharing this.
Great point, Vernon. And great to hear from you too–it’s been a while!
Sorry for the typos. I make the lame excuse that an error-filled Tweet or Comment is a sign that I “dashed it off” in the heat of passion. LOL. I’m still trying to resolve that love-hate relationship with the Bible. It’s been made more intense by my Cancer Odyssey. After months of chemo and radiation, my oncologist says treatment is now “palliative.” From here on out, my relationship with God is where the “rubber meets the road.” Love ya, man.
Vern
Very understandable, Vern. Praying, my friend. Love you back.
Okay, now I have to watch Notzilla again to check out the blending of the new version with the old version. 🙂
Love to get this insight on your process, Mitch! I’m so glad you found a process that worked!
Thanks, Abe. Write on, my friend!
Much thanks for sharing your behind the scenes drama of a major rewrite. What a saga! Best of luck. Thank you
Thanks for sharing such beautiful tips .
So, fine grade sandpaper?
Well, to be consistent with the metaphor (and it does apply to editing), you start with course sandpaper (major rewriting) and gradually work your way toward the fine grade stuff (minor tweaks).
A true craftsman!
“character heaven” made me laugh, friend!
I used to tell my students, “Writing well makes my brain bleed too” when they said they thought it must be easier for me. I feel like the sandpaper metaphor is probably more appealing!
Brain bleed? Oh, yeah, been there many times, Stacey.
Ohhhh
Thanks for the encouragement, Mitch! We all need to keep sanding. God bless!
My pleasure, Nancy.
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Keep sanding! Thank you, Mitch. You’re an inspiration to me! When my brain wants to stop,….when my body doesn’t want to cooperate, I find that words can be healing. Making gradual miracles….you’ve shared much wisdom! ps~Ohio (hello~love it!)
<3
I see him! I see him!
;>)
Sweet
so good, and I loved the sanding story to illustrate your point.