01-03-99Wow--1999. Funny how close we are to the 21st century, yet society still appears more like the "Flintstones" than it does the "Jetsons." Anyway....
Yes, second draft is still in progress. It seems to continue to grow in size too (124pp). Definitely will be chopping some scenes from Act II. My biggest dilemma right now is the second plot point. Originally, the 2nd PP occurred around pp90-92. Now the way things are, it won't occur until page 105 or so. I started looking at the present page 90 (where I'm at now) and thought that the revelation Daredevil makes concerning the Kingpin would actually make a more suitable plot point instead. I won't know what I'm doing for sure until I finish the final 30 pages and read it completely through.
As it stands now, there are 4 big action sequences occurring in the Act III and I think that will be too much--taking away from the fourth and final sequence (the climax between DD and Bullseye). Normally, as I write subsequent drafts, my scenes shrink in size--not grow--so this is something new thing for me. I'm sure there's plenty of irrelevant scenes in Act II which I can clip.
I was skimming the book STORY by Robert McKee. On page 118, he mentions how Paddy Chayefsky once told him: "...once he finally discovered his story's meaning, he'd scratch it out on a scrap of paper and tape it to his typewriter, so that nothing going through the machine wouldn't in one way or another express his central theme." That got me thinking about the change in the second plot point. Would it still be consistent with the overall theme of the story or would it take the story onto another theme?
Regardless of what happens to the second plot point, I like Chayefsky's idea and think I'll do that from now on. STORY is one of those books that so many praise as one of "thee" books all screenwriters should read. I haven't scratched the surface yet but I hope it doesn't turn out to be like the scenario in the film Born Yesterday in which this book "Democracy in America" (?) is supposedly a must-read yet...NO ONE has read it, just claims to.
Should be done with this second draft in a week or so. Hope 1999 is a good one for you and yours.