tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post2642582775020041658..comments2024-03-07T20:15:45.996-08:00Comments on The Bitter Script Reader: Reader question - numbering draftsThe Bitter Script Readerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16575166527272639709noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post-15996804016899490702011-05-24T22:24:21.445-07:002011-05-24T22:24:21.445-07:00Drafts are kind of a personal thing, when you get ...Drafts are kind of a personal thing, when you get down to it. Some people separate major revisions by draft, and some people do a polish and call that a draft too (I do this).<br /><br />I guess my writing partner and I are a little draft-happy, by those standards. Generally we go through at least four substantive iterations, which we call drafts, on each screenplay we write. A script with a lot of plot elements may go through seven drafts. Obviously not all of the drafts have substantive changes; it's just how we do things, I guess.<br /><br />But I agree nobody really needs to know how many drafts you've done. The catch is, as you pointed out, people will make judgments based on their own personal idea of what a draft is -- whether the person did two drafts or twenty. So I suppose it's best to keep that information on the down low. :)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04467543096755297798noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post-68027852920009372492011-05-19T08:33:55.423-07:002011-05-19T08:33:55.423-07:00I go so far as to not call my first draft my "...I go so far as to not call my first draft my "first draft." I call it my "zero draft" which is half a holdover from my days as an engineering student and half to prevent me from even THINKING about sending it out until I've taken a serious red pen to that sucker.<br /><br />I've read a surprising number of script submissions over the years that were obviously "zero drafts" where the writer hasn't even shown them to their girlfriend to check for typos. Those stay on my computer. Only after a dozen or so revisions (ranging from minor to not) of my own and maybe one set of notes from my wife I will call something a first draft and send it outside the walls of my house.<br /><br />In addition my numbering is completely internal. No one reading the script needs to know what draft number this is unless you're working with them and they need to keep track of your revisions. <br /><br />Eitan<br /><a href="http://eitanthewriter.com" rel="nofollow">eitanthewriter.com</a>Eitan Loewensteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09181960805783257833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post-90689914613230165852011-05-19T05:59:59.855-07:002011-05-19T05:59:59.855-07:00I also save each draft after a major revision. I&#...I also save each draft after a major revision. I'm not talking about adding a new scene or cleaning up dialogue. A revision to me is rewriting it with a new main character or adding something completely different to the story and seeing how it plays out. <br /><br />I also save each file with the date I work on it and send it to my Google account to backup the files. You never know when the computer is going to crash.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post-88332120161430813872011-05-19T00:11:28.314-07:002011-05-19T00:11:28.314-07:00Yes, major changes and sending for feedback is wha...Yes, major changes and sending for feedback is what I use for changing draft numbers.<br /><br />I'm almost loathe to say this because I'm forever trying to *stop* newbies from worrying about someone stealing their scripts.<br /><br />But keeping your major drafts in hardcopy is proof of development which - even though it's *never* going to happen - would be useful in a court to prove you wrote it. (IANAL)Adaddinsanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10577587188266580561noreply@blogger.com