Eventually, as I work towards a final draft, there comes a point where I realize I’ve re-written as much as I can. I know that “art is never finished, merely abandoned” and I think the time has come to walk away from the script I’ve been pouring my heart and soul into and call it complete.
But before I stick that “final draft” label upon it and head out for a celebratory drink, I’ve learned, from bitter experience, that at least one more thing is needed.
There may be writers out there who can be 100% objective with regard to their own work – who can spot and fix all the errors etc. in their own material – but I’m certainly not one of them.
When it comes to my writing, I eventually end up too close to it to see the problems, or, worse, I allow myself to deliberately look away from, excuse, or minimize them.
What’s the solution? For me it’s twofold. Firstly, I need to acknowledge that yes, I’ve gotten as far as my own poor talent will get me alone and, secondly, I need the help of some beta-readers to get me across the line and help me really finish the damned thing.
What are beta-readers?
Beta-readers, also known as test-readers, are readers who are recruited ahead of the production-ready release of a script to give it a final going over and provide notes on any final fixes that need to be made.
If you don’t have access to a professional editor (or you don’t have the money for a professional editor – since professional editing services can be expensive and audio script-writing is rarely a money-making gig) then volunteer beta-readers are your best bet.
Who makes a good beta-reader?
Anyone, really. But you want to aim for diversity where possible. A good balance of male and female readers, differing in age and experience, is a great place to start. If possible, finding some readers who have experience with writing and understand plot structures, pacing, character arcs, etc. is extremely valuable. But they should NOT all be professional (or even amateur) writers. You want some folks who are simply representative of your target audience in there as well.
The most important qualification is that they can be honest. Your close friends and family may not be your best option, since they will want to be encouraging and often won’t want to tell you that this or that plot point or character is weak/boring and needs to be re-written, for fear of offending you.
Where can I find beta-readers?
My own experience suggests that you only find beta-readers by asking for volunteers. I try to maintain a pool of folks that provide feedback on my scripts, but as time passes and circumstances change, people come and go; life’s busy and just recently I’ve had to put out a call for a new group of readers – my old group having all moved on for various reasons. This isn’t unusual.
It’s important that we don’t EVER take our beta-readers for granted. If someone is willing to give up their time to read one of my plays, that’s a gift (and should never be treated as an entitlement). People can, and do, volunteer to provide feedback but, for whatever reason, end up being unable to deliver. There is no point getting frustrated about this. It just puts a strain on the relationship and, at another time, they may be able to provide the feedback we are looking for.
I have a number of friends for whom I act as a beta-reader. It’s fun and a privilege to do so. I’m aware of the value of beta-readers for my own work and so, take the role very seriously, but not everyone you approach will… and you have to be okay with that.
What should a beta-reader do?
The job of a beta-reader is to give feedback, but what does that entail?
If you have a new group of beta-readers, it can be helpful to provide some guidelines (but emphasize that any feedback is great or they might feel intimidated).
It is always helpful for a beta-reader to read the script twice – once to get a feel for the initial plot, and then a second time to engage in some analysis.
I’d like to suggest that there are several levels of feedback that can be provided by beta-readers.
Basic Feedback
At the most basic level, I want to get an insight into the general reaction of the reader to the work. Was it fun to read? Were the characters engaging? Was the story clear and understandable? Were there any obvious problems? Were there sections that were boring or too slow? Were there sections that were confusing?
This is the kind of feedback that anyone can provide, regardless of their level of experience with writing.
To get at this kind of feedback, I have three questions that are helpful.
- What did you like most?
- What did you like least?
- What would you change?
Even a beta-reader who suffers from an extreme lack of confidence can answer those three questions, and it is constantly amazing to me how much these simple questions can unlock.
Advanced Feedback
For more advanced readers (with a greater understanding of story-structure etc.), the following guidelines, extracted from the advice I sent my most recent group, can be helpful…
I am looking for feedback on the story, not copy-editing. If you notice clunky sentences, examples of egregiously bad grammar and poor spelling, please feel free to let me know about them, but that isn’t what I am looking for specifically.
Instead, I am looking for notes on what you liked most, what you liked least, what was confusing, what was boring, what felt too slow or rushed.
I am looking for those moments where you thought a character seemed to be making random, unmotivated choices, or didn’t feel authentic.
I am looking for those times when you felt that the believability of the story was broken, where the rules that were set up earlier in the story regarding how this universe works seemed to be violated, where, for whatever reason, the sense of immersion that accompanies a story was broken for you.
I want to know whether you found the characters likeable or not, whether their individual stories held your interest, and whether you feel they tied together into a coherent whole.
I also want to know where you feel I failed to explain something adequately, where I spent too much time explaining things, and where setups were not paid off properly.
In short, I’m trying to find any glaring story or dialog problems that I may have missed. I have spent so much time with this story by this stage that it is impossible for me to read it with truly fresh eyes. When I read it, I read it with all of the backstory, character background, and preestablished plot elements in my head. It makes it hard to spot those points where I didn’t communicate the back-story but needed to etc.
Btw: the above isn’t the complete text of my guidelines, there’s a good deal more that comes before and after this regarding where to send the feedback, the deadlines I am hoping will apply, and of course, expressions of appreciation for the effort that my readers will be going to.
One thing I also ask my beta-readers to do that is, oddly, very important – at least to me, is this; I ask them to identify at least one thing they specifically like about the script. I am genuinely interested in the problems in the script and finding those problems is the objective of the exercise. That said, there are always far and away more problems identified by getting feedback than I suspected, and it can be very disheartening to receive the wall of criticism that asking for feedback invites. For this reason I find it helps take the edge off a little if, in the midst of the criticism, there is at least one positive comment from each reader.
What should I do with feedback?
Be honest
Once the feedback starts coming in, I need to make sure I’m in a place to receive it. It is essential that I am honest with myself about the feedback. No matter what anyone tells you, getting critical feedback is both humbling and humiliating. And it’s important that it should be. If the feedback is overwhelmingly positive, then the feedback process has failed. Discovering the flaws in my writing, and having them pointed out to me, despite how grateful I am for being able to do so, is ALWAYS painful. Developing a thick skin is essential to writing well. But developing a thick skin doesn’t mean that criticism doesn’t hurt. It just means that you learn to look past the hurt, for the sake of the art, and seek out and act on it anyway.
Feel free to ignore feedback
A second important point to note is that not everything that is fed back to me will necessarily be correct. That unnecessary scene that one of the readers feels should be cut from the script may in fact be an indispensable moment in the character arc, to be paid off much later. As the writer of the story, I get to evaluate the feedback I am given against my goals and decide whether to act on it or not.
Don’t be hasty in judging the feedback (try to implement it, if possible)
That said, however, any problem area must be evaluated carefully. Most people can’t quite put their finger on why they feel some part of the script is failing (though, of course, some can). As a result they may come up with a strange explanation for why the scene or line of dialog etc. needs to be fixed. Though the explanation for why they feel it is a problem may be, in itself, problematic, the scene that has been wrongly identified as unnecessary, in all likelihood still has a problem. It may be dull, or overwritten, or badly paced, etc. If a problem has been identified, it’s essential I don’t dismiss it simply because the reader’s explanation of the problem isn’t completely on target.
I assume that if an area of the script has been identified as a problem, by a reader, that there is something there that can be improved.
Accept that not every problem can be fixed
Sometimes, a reader may identify a problem that exceeds my skills as a writer to fix. This is depressing, but something I have to accept. In such a situation, assuming it requires the learning of something that is complex and will be time consuming, I simply note the problem, add it to my professional development list, and walk away from it. It is something that I will simply have to attempt to gain the skills to fix at another time.
Contradictory feedback is a good thing
Something I learned from Stephen King is that diverse and/or contradictory feedback from my test-readers is a good thing. It suggests that my script is just about right. When an issue or section of the script isn’t coming up multiple times from multiple readers, it suggests that the script is actually pretty close to being done. When the feedback focuses on a bunch of different areas or is contradictory, this, generally, means that the response is largely a matter of taste rather than craft. Reader’s tastes will vary and that’s okay.
Conclusion
Once the feedback is in, it is time to engage in that one last rewrite. This is the one that I, personally, feel I can walk away from (once it has been completed) as giving me my final draft. Sure, the script can be tweaked forever. Sure it is never perfect. But once this rewrite is done, it provides a point at which the art can be abandoned knowing that there will a significantly diminishing return for any future adjustments.
My latest script is currently with my beta-readers, who over the next five weeks will hopefully be providing me with helpful feedback. I am going to collate the feedback, warts and all, and post it here to give folks as accurate a view as possible of my process before looking at getting the script into production ready form (formatting, production notes, casting sheets, SFX and music lists, etc.).
Copyright © 2019 Philip Craig Robotham.
