Script Doctoring - Professional Techniques for Video Game Writing - page 165

in endless review meetings and revision cycles, as everyone needs to get their two
cents in.
Instead, what setting things up like this means is that everyone who's appropriate
is in the loop but that there's a mechanism built in to keep the system from bog-
ging down. Getting feedback fast means making corrections fast, which hopefully
everyone can get behind. It also shortens the time until final version and allows for
fast, on-the-fly adjustments to what you're doing instead of waiting until the end and
making one titanic change.
Have something to show fast. The sooner you get feedback from the appropriate
team members, the sooner you know if you're doing things right. If you're not doing
things right, the sooner you know, the less work you have to redo and the less time
gets wasted. If you are doing things right, getting the confirmation early lets you
charge ahead with more confidence, knowing you're on target.
So, setting up a quick deliverable—even just a few lines per character to make
sure you have tone and voice right—for key team personnel to look at can save a lot
of time and heartbreak on the back end. Getting a small chunk of work into the right
hands quickly and setting a short deadline for turnaround on the feedback ensures
that you're in sync with the team's needs and that you're not plunging ahead with
an incorrect mental image of what you should be doing. In other words, it's a great
safety feature for both you and the team.
Ask questions as needed. If you don't ask questions, you don't get answers. If you
don't get answers, you can't do the job right unless you're very, very lucky at guessing.
So, if you have a question—any question at all—ask it. Making bad guesses simply
means lots of backtracking and repair later. Sitting there and hoping that someone
magically answers your question by reading your mind generally doesn't cut it, and
doesn't get you your answer, either. Don't be afraid of embarrassment; the other team
members would generally prefer you ask rather than get something wrong.
If you have a lot of questions for one individual or workgroup, it might be best to
schedule a sit-down meeting to make sure you work through everything. Otherwise,
there's no reason not to throw your issue out there as soon as it makes itself known
as a problem. Email it out, walk over to someone's desk, write it on a paper airplane
and toss it over—it doesn't matter. What matters is asking the question quickly and
cogently, so that you're not sitting there for months waiting on an answer.
What Not to Do
Oddly enough, sometimes the most important thing in a script doctoring situation
is knowing what not to do. With so many potential pitfalls, having a good sense of
at least the obvious ones that can be avoided goes a long way towards establishing
smooth relationships with the team and getting into a good working dynamic as
quickly as possible.