I'm starting to like this "Lehman" fella, startin' to come arround to this "Hitchcock" feller too. From your previous post it sounds like ol' Alfred was a pretty cool chap to work and collaborate with.

- E.C. Henry from Bonney Lake, WA

Interesting, that's the first sage I've heard to put such gravity on the first draft... refreshing, actually, because that's precisely how I operate. Most bits of writing advice seem to denegrate the first draft as merely fast and careless swipes with a brush, just get it on paper at any cost. There's merit to this, of course, but I tend to agonize over my first drafts, certainly moreso than later ones.

Later drafts I can write anytime, anywhere. Middle of a barfight in a greasy tavern, section 12 of Miller Park during a Brewers/Cubs game, no problem. However, if I could rent a room on the planet Pluto for my first drafts, I would. I need my entire zip code to shut down when I etch out draft uno and still it feels like I'm writing it on granite with a chisel and hammer.

This is harder advice to follow than it sounds like. When I have an idea burning in my head, I really, really want to sit down and start writing. Of course, Lehman is right. It really is better to think things through before throwing words on paper.

Allow me to weigh in with yet another chorus of, "Every writer is different, every story is different." I co-wrote a TV pilot under the supervision of veteran writer and producer Roy Huggins, and he absolutely insisted that we crack, then write the story scene by scene in a linear fashion.

That experience, while a good one, convinced me that I like to jump around the story, wherever my mind takes me, when working out the plot. And I've read quite a few other writers who approach the prep-writing part of the process in similar fashion.

I agree with Jeff: It is interesting to read Lehman's focus on getting the first draft right. And for a professional screenwriter, that's probably good advice.

However my mantra -- "There is only one rule about a first draft: Get the damn thing done!" -- isn't aimed at professional screenwriters; it's aimed at aspiring screenwriters. Because I've discovered that the "Crash And Burn On Page 55" phenomenon among 'younger' writers to be all too prevalent. Part of that is not understanding the story or characters well enough before typing FADE IN. But part of that can also be about the daunting nature of writing 120 pages, getting to FADE OUT.

I think it's safe to say that once you've actually done that, gotten through your first script, it's less daunting the next time. So if for only that reason it's important to get through the first draft.

But at the end of the day, writers and stories are different. No matter how locked into an approach we are, whenever we start in on a new story, it's a case of discovering what process works.

I'm with Scott. This is great advice for some, but not everybody can work this way. I've tried this route, and it tends to make me freeze up and stop writing because I'm so afraid what I'm about to write isn't good enough. The day I allowed myself to let the first draft suck is the day I learned to write.