Happy Friday!I didn't get the chance to send out a newsletter last week because I was working on a fairly big rewrite that got turned in on Tuesday. I'm still processing what I learned from it and what I can pass on but my new mantra is, "Don't turn it in until you like it more than the previous draft."I talked about this a couple of issues ago but it's so easy to hear the notes and think our job is to give the buyers what they're asking for. Really our job is to identify the underlying issues that led to the note, figure out what was missing, or maybe simply a failure of message or intention, and address those issues in a way that makes the story and script stronger.One of the pitfalls of the "well, this is what they want" approach is that it gives you an artificial end point. If you treat the notes like a to-do list you might finish crossing them off and think you're done instead of continuing to ask yourself, "How can this be better? Can this scene go deeper? How can I maximize the impact of this moment?" You've put the buyer in the position of employer and you're completing a task for their approval, when your real boss, the people you actually have to please in order to keep your job, is the audience. They don't give a shit if you checked the to-do list, they only care if the story makes them care.This is one of the things I've struggled with myself. I get a pit in my stomach every time I think about the time I got on a call with a showrunner I admire to talk about a pass I'd taken to answer a set of notes. I was in the crossing-off-the-list mindset instead of really asking myself if those notes and fixes made it better, and if not, how could I do that. He asked me how I thought it was working before we dug into his feedback on my pass and I told him I was easily able to make all the changes. Which is not what he was asking. After we hung up I realized I'd let him down.It's not like I was being lazy, I genuinely did my best to answer the notes. But I didn't go the next step and ask myself, "Is this really working or did I just cross off the to-do list?" Then the step after that, which is, "Okay, it's not really better, how do I get it there?" Sometimes that requires a BIG SWING. (Which I would have pitched/cleared with him ahead of time.)I've seen this from the other side as well, where the showrunner and I have tasked a writer with a rewrite or addressing notes. They ask when we need it, we say Friday, but then they give it to us on Wednesday. I know they've just checked the to-do list instead of living with it and taking that extra time to make sure it's actually working, that it's actually better. Speed is only a virtue when the production train is about to run you over. If you have two days use them up. Dig deeper. Make it better.Like I said in the beginning, my new mantra is, "Don't turn it in until you like it more than the previous draft." I'm not shy about asking for more time if I know I'm on to something. Again, this may not always be an option in the production crunch, but keeping that muscle strong will help me get closer to the mark when the clock is ticking and the stakes are high.