UPDATING

I discovered something this week. Something really important. Something that will help me in the future. I discovered I should regularly go back to my old screenplays and update them every so often. Why? That's simple.

Back in 2006 I wrote a detective drama pilot episode. I thought it was awesome. It probably was at the time. It isn't so much now. I've had to rewrite it before my agent can send it out because my writing has improved greatly over the last six years, and what I wrote back then doesn't represent the standard of my work now.

So what I should have done is taken those old scripts out of my drawer every 12 months or so and rewrite them. By updating my old screenplays regularly they will then be instantly ready should I ever be asked for a specific genre of screenplay. That way it won't be a mad rush to update a work that isn't ready.

So I guess my advice here is never put away your scripts and forget about them. Occasionally, once a year maybe, get them out and go over them again. You'll probably be surprised at how much your writing has developed since you last rewrote them.

It pays to be prepared.