Screenwriting : Adaptation by Ciara Smith

Books are great because you can share as much detail as you want. In film the audience has to see visually what is happening without telling them what is happening. Books are wonderful at building a story that takes chapters before you are hooked. In film, you have to hook your audience in the first twelve pages. Keep in mind that what works in the book may not flow in a film script so that scene will have to be rewritten or removed.

The short note would be to find the story thread in the book and build around that. Books can often go on tangents from the main story that won't fit well in a movie or TV show. Some books lend themselves pretty well to adaptations. John Grisham's books feel like a movie when you're reading them, so they translate pretty well. Other books are hard to crack for the screen. One suggestion would be to look for similar genre adaptations and read those screenplays. It will help to see how that books were adapted.

Know that not everything from the book can make it to the movie due to length, unfilmability, etc. Combining scenes is gonna happen. Combining characters is likely to happen. Writing all new material to make the book more cinematic may happen. Can't be precious with the IP, just like with historical stuff... just 'cause that's how it happened in real life (or that's how it happened in the novel) doesn't mean that's how it's gotta happen in the movie.

Hi, Ciara Smith. Here's a blog I suggest checking out: www.stage32.com/blog/how-to-adapt-stories-from-the-page-to-the-screen-2762

And here's a webinar you might be interested in: www.stage32.com/education?p=8944877044019

Hire a screenwriter. Better yet, put your energy editing and publishing the book and maybe someone will pay you for movie rights .GL

@Ciara My very quick 2 cents here. How to think of it is no more thoughts or feelings from characters. Write only what they do and what we see. Show state of their minds via actions or subtext and make their dialogue move the plot of the story along. Work out in novel where the key emotional beats are, the biggest changes in status quo, the main plot twists, revelations Etc & then learn screenwriting format.

She great advice here. This isn't an apples to apples comparison but this video was shared recently in the Authoring & Playwriting Lounge and there are some interesting nuggets of information to consider: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcfl8AC0Lxw

First, you have to know how to write a screenplay. I've adapted a dozen of novels and I haven't figured out an easy way. Screenplays are written more economically because you don't describe every detail in a scene. Also, a book doesn't consider the cost to film scenes which you have to do when writing screenplay. If you have a ton of characters in a book it doesn't matter but in a movie, it does because you have to pay actors and extras. So I usually try two or three characters and turn them into one. Same with locations. It costs a lot of money to move from one location to another so you might want to turn three or four into one location if possible. Also, it is cheaper to film in some locations for example for example if you can film a scene in a bar instead of a packed nightclub it would be cheaper to film. When I write screenplays I don't think about what I am doing but these are just a few things off the top of my head. Good luck.

Ciara. I would if you like reading books and there is a book similar to what you have written and it has been made into a movie download the script if you can find it and this should give you an idea how the book differed from the movie and give you ideas with your own story on how to turn it into a feature.

Since you're working in a whole different medium remeber it's an entirely new way of story telling. Sometimes it's best to just take the idea and characters and start over instead of doing a direct adaptation. It worked great in the book but it might not work so well on the screen.

Make it a comic book!

https://www.stage32.com/media/3498665137462586565

Preston Poulter I'm beginning to sense a theme in your responses.

Bill McCormick The question seems to simple and self-evident to me.

Screenwriters can invest time and money into contests, coverage and pitch meetings till they grow frustrated, but there's nothing quite like building your own audience for your story.

Preston Poulter I'm not disagreeing with you. I have several comics out now and one being developed for film. It's a wonderful medium.

Books are written in adjectives, screenplays are written in verbs.

Don't shy away from the "adapt" side of things. Sometimes you need to compress, omit or combine ideas, events, characters etc. in order to maintain the narrative flow. Shows and movies like Chernobyl and Lawrence of Arabia embrace the adaptation part, but stay true to their themes and deeper meanings.

Adaptations can be challenging, and an amazing experience as well. I was hired to adapt an 800 (yes, eight hundred) page historical novel into a screenplay. The first thing I did was read it over a couple more times for a sense of what was the most "visual" way to tell the story that was elegantly described on the page. We shopped the script around and there was interest in the project for awhile but it wasn't picked up. The owner of the book has not been marketing it for a number of years. These days, I'd suggest they have the adaptation be a limited series rather than a long feature film.

So... you have to be screenplay-ready here? Can you find professionals here who are looking for books to adapt?

Maybe one of the hardest challenges for prose writers is learning the art of brevity. Then coming to understand that what you write in a screenplay has a different purpose for the reader than the words in your book. To that end, it's helpful to receive training in how to go about it.

McCracken Poston no, you can find whoever you need up here. It's just that submissions are geared towards finished screenplays.

Hi Ciara Smith - drop me at note at success@stage32.com - I can help point you to some producers and literary agents who can be helpful with your questions.

Ciara Smith I adapted a dozen novels into screenplays. I find it best if you figure out how many pages youj want your screenplay to be and create a beat sheet to help you chose what scenes you want to get you there. Good luck!

Hi Ciara Smith - some great advice here and you should definitely take Jason Mirch up on his offer. I also highly recommend this Stage 32 webinar on adapting a book into a film or TV series. Liz has great insight to share. Here's a link so you can check it out: https://www.stage32.com/education/search?term=Adapt&h=how-to-adapt-a-boo...

Just remember you're in a whole different medium. Some things that work great in the book doesn't ranslate so well into a script. Be willing to completely throw out those momenst you loved and rewrite them.

In 1993 I was so moved by the film I read the novel Schindler's List. It was educational on several aspects. Especially learning how the characters and events had been changed to make the film work. Despite them being very important I could understand why certain characters had to be combined for the film environment. It's not easy but it's the best example I can think of on novel to film adaptation.

Ciara Smith Funny enough I was just talking to some friends about this after I was like, "I wouldn't want to adapt 'Dune' into a screenplay!" I think that particular book adaptation is a good case study, re: both the Lynch version and the Villaneuve spectacles. I have read the first book twice and it's really interesting what the writers/directors for both iterations included, and left out, from the book. I think a good pre-adaptation exercise would be to read scripts from adapted novels and read the source content as well, if you haven't already. You have a leg up converting your own works of course. I imagine the source novel's genre is super important as well, i.e. Is this a visual-heavy production vice a dialogue-driven one...

Ciara Smith when I was writing the script for The Brittle Riders, my book, I ran into a nightmare right away. In the book I use flashbacks to relay the history of the characters and use action scenes to advance the story. Essentially, if left as is, I would have written a silent art film. So, with lots of help, including people here at Stage 32, I wrote a script that everyone seems to like. No one can afford it, but they do like it. In fact, three producers that I know of went and bought the books after reading the script. I'm confident I'll find someone with more money than sense and it will get made, but it is a lot of work. Work that helped me see my story in a new light and will make me a better writer, but work nonetheless.

Ciara Smith, I'm so glad that you asked this question here in the Screenwriting Lounge and that you've received so many responses with advice. You should also consider asking this question in the Authoring Lounge, as you may be able to reach additional writers with experience in adapting their novels who can weigh in with valuable feedback! You can find that lounge here: https://www.stage32.com/lounge/playwriting