Classes

Adapting your Novel

Act I

Using my mother’s novel, In Shady Groves (by Yvonne Lehman), I’ll give specific examples of the adaptation process:
• Content – What to pull from the novel? What to leave behind?
• Mechanics – We’ll briefly touch on the specific format of a script or screenplay, then discuss the no-no’s a beginning writer makes that says they’re a green screenwriter.
• Show – As a screenwriter, you are creating a blueprint for a movie which is a visual medium. This should be at the forefront of your thoughts when you write, however, does this mean your script has to be filled with action? What are other ways to show?
• Don’t tell – I’ll share the one tell-tell sign that you have too much dialogue in your script. When a script reader sees this, your script is thrown in the slush pile.
• Adapt! – If you find it sacrilegious to stray from the novel’s original form, maybe you are not meant to write for a visual medium. A screenwriter or scriptwriter is one who adapts. Learn how to stay true to the spirit of the novel and the intent of the author while making necessary changes for it to become a movie.