I attended a writing workshop recently where my colleagues argued as to the validity of the story arc. They were, in fact, legion. Two of us exchanged glances and conferred at the close of the evening. He asked me what they could possibly be thinking, and I said, "I don't think they want to rewrite."

Shaping a story into the dramatic arc is not so much following a good-ol-boy-formula as it is sculpting the piece into a form that makes sense to our heads and hearts. The only way I can achieve this herculean task is through rewrites. Table readings, feedback, and rewrites. Workshop readings, feedback, and staged readings. More tweaking. But, all the rewrites in the world aren't worth a damn unless I'm willing to look for problems, kill my darlings, and have an open mind. The worst thing that can happen to me as a writer is to have my script become too precious to me.