Looking for a new challenge that will boost your editing skills and help you develop additional story material? Try taking your feature script to a novel.
I've only done this once and I'm starting another one, it was an amazing experience the first time, once you've tackled writing, editing and polishing a 60,000-word short novel based on your own screenplay, then it makes an 18,000-word feature script feel very well within reach.
It took about a year altogether, four months to craft an outline, four months to write and rewrite the screenplay (which makes a great outline for the novel), then another four months to complete the short novel, an intensive process that had me focused and writing 2,000 words per day (and of course editing and grinding away plenty of extraneous stuff).
One great thing is that once you've got the script completed and you decide to take this on, the first step is technically and conceptually really easy. You paste the entire text into a Word doc, change the font and then go through line-by-line and change everything from present tense to past tense.
I reached a point where my script material was fully converted and expanded, only to find I had 40,000 words so I needed more story! I rapidly conceived and outlined a new Act III, wrote it right into the novel, and later converted that new story line and character work back into an expanded version of the script, which really brought it to life in a way I don't think I could have accomplished in Final Draft.
Not saying this is a pathway to industry success by any stretch of the imagination, it's simply a creative literary journey that IMPROVED MY SCREENWRITING CRAFT.
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I love adapting novels, and adapting screenplays into novels. I've down this (screenplay to novel) three times now, and it's something I always tell my students to do as well. Increase the IP value. Not everyone can do, it's a total different style of writing. My personal preference is the former way way round.
This is a new method for me, I would use the beat sheet from the script and use that as the template for my novel. You need to add description, sensory detail, thoughts etc in, which are not included in scripts as it needs to resonate in a different way.
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I've adapted books into scripts, but I haven't adapted scripts into books. I've thought about turning short scripts into short stories. Thanks for sharing the process/tips, Daniel.
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Mandi Allen you're so right, it makes room for a new and different array of elements (and adverbs!). Opportunity for expanding the story and IP value on many fronts!
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Maurice Vaughan absolutely, I appreciate connecting with you and hearing about your diverse projects and viewpoints! Sounds like you are working with great momentum! I think the book to script adaptation is a great challenge, not only requires the "right" book that can be cinematic, also requires a great deal of focus and ruthless editorial skills.
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Yeah, a book to script adaptation is a challenge, Daniel Stuelpnagel. It's tough.
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Wow! I've never tried to adapt a script into a novel. I LOVE your approach, though. I'd probably do it just like you described. I actually wrote two novels before I wrote scripts. It was a huge hurdle for me to hold back so much information that I just wanted to TELL. Describing and showing for audio/visual was like learning a new language. So, yes, your experience seems like it would definitely strengthen your writing, all around!