A writer needs feedback...

Before I began writing screenplays, I did not understand how important it was to have feedback from numerous sources. I learned firsthand in my screenwriting class that numerous heads are better than one. It is impossible for a writer to see every angle, making feedback from others vital to the story.

I never understood the students who became defensive and refused to accept input on their screenplay. I learned early on that if people said a scene didn't make sense, then something was wrong in my story! Why argue for what I wrote when it's not working? It's almost a guarantee that if a group of writers say something is amiss, then no amount of arguing is going to make it better, and the chance of that story making it anywhere is nil.  

Some of my favorite times were when my classmates not only told me what didn't work, but also gave suggestions on changes to make it work! They came up with ideas that I never thought of, many of them brilliant. When I included the good ideas with my rewrites, the stories become far more solid.  

Writers struggle with "killing" their "darlings" (or as I call it...killing my babies) but sometimes those wonderful lines just don't move the story. I keep a file of such lines. That way they don't feel dead to me forever...I have the hope they can be resurrected for a different screenplay!