writing

from Jane Espenson:


Tightening lines like that is especially important for comedy, where timing is an integral part of the whole point of the exercise. As a spec writer, you don't have the -- advantage? distraction? -- of a whole room full of people chiming in on the best way to tighten a line, so you have to do it on your own. It's worth making a whole separate pass through your script, just looking for words to cut.


Yes yes yes.

I am horribly about rewriting,
but I do go back through and make
small word changes,
and cut any line,
any word, that I can...
I can not emphasize how important that is...
I've seen shows that
just cutting 40-60 words
outta their script would
make them fly.
FLY!
but those extra words are
just hanging there,
mucking up the rhythm
not adding to the meaning
not bringing the magic
nothing
just extra words.

every word costs ya somethin'
so every word better do somethin'