Markham Cook at 2014-04-09 20:40:48:

I feel like I'm often in this situation. And for me (stress on 'for me')it's important to tough it out. Having said that I always go in with a working outline that I'm happy with, and that others (whose job it is to be critical) are happy with. When I hit that fourth or fifth, or tenth draft I always look back at the outline or even the pitch and remember what moment or moments gave me shivers - the big reveal, or the emotional scene or whatever - the moment when the people listening to me pitch sat up a little straighter and went 'woah, didn't see that coming', the moment I knew I hooked them, and that reminds me why I'm writing the thing that I want to throw out the window. I think it's also important to remember what Scott alludes to above, writing a lot of drafts is not uncommon, and I think it's a great skill set to develop (provided you're satisfied that the structure is solid). I wrote four full drafts of the script which got me some attention, and then learned that while it was well written, from a professional point of view it was nowhere near ready to go out. So I worked with a director and cranked out four or five more until everyone was sufficiently satisfied and ready to send it out. I always think some others idea I have is the next greatest thing, but that's usually because it's floating around in my head kind of unformed. I haven't done the heavy lifting, so it seems so pristine and unsullied. I haven't started to make the sausage. The last thing I'll say is that for me it's really hard to walk away from an almost finished script, write an entirely new one, then come back to the first. I go on a journey too when I write a script, and at the end I'm not the same guy I was when I started. So I may no longer be interested in what might have been an interesting story anymore. By this I don't mean I can't step away and outline another project, or polish another script then come back, I mean if I do the whole thing. And then there's the problem of getting to the fourth or fifth draft of the next one and hating it... But every writer is different, so find your way, trust your gut. But just be aware that the grass always looks greener.....

cgusmann at 2014-04-10 10:05:59:

Personally, I think it's good to work on more than one project at once. If you're on the fifth draft and the only deadlines you have are self-imposed, and a new idea is really itching to get out, I would move on and come back to the old idea once I'm comfortable with where I am on the new one. Or, alternately, I set aside time each day for both. Maybe work on the new story for an hour in the morning and work on revisions for the old idea for an hour at night.

Alejandro at 2014-04-10 11:30:10:

I do think it's different for every writer, but I believe you have to prioritize and get certain things right on the first passes - structure and the main characters, not focusing on things like dialogue, scenes or minor characters. But, as I said, it's different for every writer. At least for me, the big temptation is to start reading the screenplay and change things as you read, tweaking dialogue and scenes, trying to solve structural issues through dialogue. I did that a couple of times and ended up with a screenplay that kept some of the big structural issues but got better in little details that were on scenes that should have been left out. Scott's idea to evaluate the screenplay is really great, a very useful approach to help you focused on screenplays that have a chance of being made. I wrote three drafts of a screenplay and only after the third draft a friend told me that it would require a large budget and the audience for that kind of movie wasn't that big. I put that project aside. Giving a couple of weeks does really help. I'm starting a rewrite of a screenplay I left untouched for about two months, and now I really wonder why I didn't noticed some dialogues that are too expository and some scenes lack conflict or aren't properly structured. Why I didn't noticed that the first time? In the end I agree with Scott: trust your instinct. But try to understand that instinct - pinpoint exactly why you aren't satisfied, what you need to change and have a plan for the rewrite. Good luck with the rewrite!