Adapting Novels into Screenplays and Screenplays into Novels Whether you’re planning on turning your novel into a screenplay, or your screenplay into a novel (bear with me, I’ll explain), the end goal remains the same, adapting either into a film. When I write, I do this weird, amalgam, of writing both a novel and a screenplay simultaneously, usually on the same document; as a sporadic and amateur writer, I find it difficult to stick to one medium. But reading into adapting writing into Film, it became obvious to me that I would have to learn how to not only stick to one medium, but also how to transfer one into the other, and again, ultimately into films. Adapting a screenplay into a novel sounds at first redundant, but in the insatiable, devouring machine that is Hollywood there is always a need for fresh, licensable content. This is where the screenplays that have been written but have nowhere to go gain a fresh opportunity; taking these screenplays, or even writing on of your own for the express purpose of later development, they can be re-worked into short, in-depth novels. The industry’s old model of adaptation has been “turned on its head” as best said by Jeff Lyons in his blog “How to adapt as screenplay into a novel”, describing this process. This seems uncommon though, I at least was unable to find any notable examples of this process, but it’s a writing method of streamlining the process of writing a film. And when it comes to actually writing either a novel or a screenplay the approach to either differs like night and day, the obvious being the emphasis on brevity in the screenplay and detail in the novel; sentences in screenplays can often seem fragmented whereas novels will flow with proper prose. Rather than continue on overcomplicating the matter, I’ll highlight the key differences between the two mediums before explaining the similar adaptation processes: A Screenplay Must be…
While the Novel…
Screenplays are the bare bones of the adaptation process, whether you begin with one or are adapting to one, novels are the flesh and blood, the figurative meat of the process, covered by the skin of the film. The Process Requires Structure and Sacrifice If you are not beginning with a screenplay, and the goal is not to as fast as possible create a story that could be flipped with little hassle into a film, then you are likely starting your adaptation process with a novel, or a book. I like to believe that the reason most adaptation fail to live up to expectations is because it is difficult when adapting a novel into a film to decide what to keep and what to throw away, trimming the fat so to speak. What makes novels so engrossing is that they are filled to the brim with enough detail to transport the reader into the created world; a film is the physical representation of the work, but it cannot always fit the narrative of its predecessor, the novel, or even the viewers. When turning a novel into a screenplay it is inevitable that content will be, and must be cut, this includes characters and even smaller subplots. Plenty of blogs I’ve read agree upon the story being the main concern, and telling a good one no matter the cost. I am of the opposite opinion, I’ve seen proof that going nearly word-for-word, action-for-action, when adapting a novel into a film works rather well, barring the cut content. The film No Country for Old Men directed by the Cohen Brothers and written by Cormac McCarthy again comes up as an example of exemplary work in filmmaking; the film is nearly verbatim in lines and story, the sleight deviations in from the novel are the only times I personally felt the movie began to lack in structure. Other than that, it was perfect, so its not impossible is what I mean. But if for the sake of time and in the face of constraints drastic change has to be made, then it is good to keep the idea of “story first” in mind, because if nothing else making sure the audience leaves the film satisfied validates the effort put in (I promise I’m not trying to sound passive aggressive). Identify the books main key elements, the core of the story, what key scenes can you take away and still be able to identify the film with the source material? I found this to be the key question to keep in mind when writing; following a structured timeline of the stories events, and then outlining the major plot points and details, is the best way to approach adaption. Presented here, is an estimate of the amount of royalties Stephen King himself has received over the course of his successful career as an author. The numbers here are not exact; but represent closely the total amount of money King has earned for his novel's being adapted into films. Works Cited Colford, Paul D. “Stephen King Has the Publishers Terrified.” The Los Angeles Times, California Publication, 4 Nov.1997,h ttps://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-nov-04-ls-49948-story.html. “Stephen King.” IMDb, IMDb.com, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000175/. “Where Data and Movie Business Meet.” The Numbers, 1997, https://www.the-numbers.com/.
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AuthorMy name is James Smith, an amateur author and an amateur reviewer. Professional at overcomplication. ArchivesCategories |