I am in the process of adapting my novel Wrong Highway (Shepherdess Books 2016) to screenplay form. The novel begins with a very evocative and cinematic prologue set 22 years before the main action begins. It provides lots of insight into the protagonist and another major character and I don't want to lose it...but I'm unsure of the most effective way to adapt it. Is it possible to have a scene with some dialogue prior to the rolling of the opening credits? If so, what would be the time limit on that?
Screenwriting : Adapting my novel to screenplay by Wendy Gordon
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Absolutely possible and it could be an effective stylistic choice. As for the time limit, a few minutes is fine.
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When you adapt a novel, thugs can change and move around. Have you studied other films where this flashback was done? I’d start there.
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things not thugs
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@Wendy A great read for every kind of flashback including “Preview” flashback is The 21st Century Screenplay by Linda Aronson. If script is linear opposed to non linear the puzzle still yields. I’m in process of novel to screenplay for tandem narrative & dual journey.
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Yes you can. Don't know if you've read some screenplays adapted from novels? And the matching novels? Good luck.
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You're asking several questions, let me answer them in order of priority.
An Understanding of Adaptation
A Short Story is the equivalent of One Script. A Novel is the equivalent of a TV Series. With that in mind, the proper response is that if you are doing ONE Script, you must pull out the section to be translated. If you want to adapt the entire novel, you must do an Trilogy or a Series of Films.
Author Intention
First, are your "feelings" about the prologue justified? If they are justified, you should consider doing an entire screenplay about this time period and if it is really justified, you should STRONGLY consider adapting the novel into a trilogy.
Response to Prequel Scene (Exposition)
You have two options here. Do you package all the exposition in one scene before the credits or disperse the information throughout the story. The prevailing answer is to stray from Exposition and Flashbacks and work the information into your Script in proper chronology (going forward and pushing the story engine fast as possible).
Long Form Approach
You can do the script of your novel as a first draft and make it nearly 200 pages. Then, let it sit for a few weeks and return to it and start chopping it down until it works as ONE STORY.
Step Outline
You can create a step outline of what drives your story. Then, split this step outline into Story Threads. Now, that you have your material organized, you can go back to the Prequel Scene and Exposition and ask, where does this information fit? Now that you know where it fits, now you ask the final question. How do I make it cinematic and make the story thread more powerful?
Wendy, thanks for posting your question and I hope these "POV" responses provide you the proper insight to FINISH your Project and move on to the next one.
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Adapting from any other media is a big challenge. I agree with the other comments here saying that it is a good idea to look at other adaptations where you're familiar with both the original work and the adaptation. This can be from novels or history, as both often rely on condensing or combining characters and events, in order to achieve the desired result.
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I would take a different approach and just let a few other eyes look at it. Preferably someone who is familiar with adaptations. You can probably condense and shorten a lot, but you may not have the necessary distance to do so. We all need the feedback of our colleagues.
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Thank you everyone for your constructive insights; I'm in the process of integrating much of your advice. I was wondering if anyone could suggest films to see which have an actual scene (with dialogue) before credits roll. It doesn't have to be a flashback.
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Yes, it's always good to have a teaser that can set the stage for the story to come. It's a tactic I often use in my own writing
Hi Wendy. I read the excerpt on your website. I'm assuming you're looking to use the scene from the excerpt with Erica as the opening (could be wrong). That would be perfectly fine to include at the beginning of the script. Paces well for an opening. If you keep it to 3-5 minutes, it should work well as the cold opening. As far as credits go, that's not really something to worry about in screenplays. However, some good pre-title openings would be like Casino Royale, Up, The Social Network, The Dark knight, Spiderman: Homecoming. These should be all on Youtube as "[Title] opening scene"