The title says it all.

My main character is becoming incredibly Estella-ish, her mother is still bitter about her failed marriage (and using her daughter to get revenge), the MMC is as blindly devoted as Pip (with an equally unhappy childhood) and his father is, like Magwitch, hiding a dodgy past by giving his son lots of material advantages.

Plotwise, it's not really that similar, but the characters and the ambiguous ending could have been stolen straight from Dickens.

The thing is, I studied GE in school and HATED it. How do I stop myself from hating my script???

The trick is to have incredibly awesome characters. Or at least, one or two that can pop up every once in a while to bring the 'show back on the road' - as it were. That, and so long as you keep yourself interested, it does not matter how it turns out. So long as you have fun and enjoy the writing process, all is well.

That's not to say, however, that at some point you won't hate your script. I went for a few days like that during last year when participating in screnzy. (I made the mistake of making my characters too "elf-like".) Anyway, its all a learning experience. Who knows, you might find that the parts in GE you hated, you might be able to make Better in your own script. Characters more often than not run the show - just let them take care of themselves.

Goodluck!

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"Either a writer doesn't want to talk about his work, or he talks about it more than you want."
- Anatole Broyard
"Get it down. Take chances. It may be bad, but it's the only way you can do anything really good."
- William Faulkner

Never fear HLL,

When characters begin to act in ways that make you wretch, you can infuse new life into them by expanding their personalities and thus, making them richer, fuller people. Try asking yourself questions about them, what makes them tick.

For instance:

1)What are their main characteristics, their likes and dislikes?
2) Who are their friends?
3) What motivates them to do what they do?
4) What do they most fear?
5) What would happen if they acted "out of character"? Would they enjoy it? How would others in their lives respond?
6) What are some things that characters like them typically do that maybe they wouldn't do? How could they go against the grain?

And if they still act in ways that you don't like, maybe it's for a reason. By the end of your script, they may not be like GE rejects at all, but something far better.

Hope this helps!

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Scriptfrenzy '07: Darkness Rising (winner!)
Scriptfrenzy '08: The Jewel of Life