Not think about my characters or my plot? Or my themes? Really hard, Scott! I'm already reading books, planning to study screenplays, trying to understand what could change about the screenplay to make it better. I'm planning a page one rewrite, because, well, I reckon it was that bad. I'm the opposite of the "loving my baby" writer described above. Perhaps that means I need space too.

What about just starting on another script, especially a very different one? Personally a two week total writing break can be a momentum breaker.

I can't go near it for another WEEK? (I already set it aside for a week.) And thinking about not going near it for another TWO WEEKS FROM TODAY'S CALENDAR DATE, is frankly making me feel a bit jittery. I want to go hug it nowwwwwww. I'm even in the midst of other prep. (Do you like that? I actually prep these days.) Not go near it? But there's SO MUCH TO BE DONE! Ok. They're probably sick of me prodding them with my pen to make them do stuff anyway.

Yes, it's hard, Sabina, but if the point of rewriting is to craft the best script possible... and in order to do that, you need to approach this next draft as objectively as possible, you have to do whatever you can to reach that objective state. One way to do that is through sheer experience of writing. Someone who has written 20 or 30 scripts, they may be able to jump into a rewrite because they've developed the ability to be a harsh critic even if they are still 'connected' to their story. For those who have yet to write that much or can't replicate that mindset, there's nothing like time away from the script to create some semblance of objectivity.

Andrew, if your read this post on The art of stacking projects, I advise writers to shift to another project, not to write it, but prep it. That's a great way to cleanse one's mental palette. Two weeks goes by in a flash, then back to your script. Once you finish that rewrite, you have this other project you've started to develop. And on the cycle of stacking projects goes!

TQA, try your hand at developing another story per my note to Andrew above.

I find two weeks to be too little time to detach from the "babies" that need to be you know... (At least for a First Draft). Two months is better for me. In that time, I usually think about something else, write an outline, develop characters, catch up on laundry, etc. Oh and go watch LOTS of movies and read LOTS of scripts. Once the first draft non-sense is rewritten, then I can rewrite like crazy and don't need to be inspired. I'm ruthless at that point.

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