Screenplay or Novel?

by Patricia Cates

So which is better to undertake, writing a screenplay or a novel? While researching and looking through the vast variety of writing styles out there, I have found that this is indeed the question at hand.

For those of us used to the novel concept, this can pose an issue. Writing an original screenplay would mean stepping out of a comfort zone of sorts for many novelists. I am currently looking into trying out the screenplay format, because I have a feeling that it would really help me nail down scenes and even draw out more dialogue. Outlining has always been a struggle. I want to just sit down and write from beginning to end, and it gets pretty crazy. It's literally impossible. So lately I have found that it’s easier to sort scenes when they aren’t engrossed in lengthy descriptions, and thus the flow of the story comes into focus quicker. Although this is possible with novel writing, the screenplay format tends to feel more organized. It does look a bit choppy on paper, and I think that’s why I’ve avoided it in the past. Back in high school we had to read quite a few plays, and to me it was only 'good fun' when we read them aloud. Plus…I just like books!

So many readers complain that their beloved books are lost in translation when moving to the big screen. That's a huge fear of mine. If this is the case, then shouldn't we simply write our books as if they were guaranteed to become box-office blockbusters at some point in time? Wishful thinking perhaps, but some people have had a ton of luck with this. What attracts me most to screenplays right now is that---should the work ever be published or produced in any form---it seems more feasible that the content wouldn’t be questioned as much as to what the writer intended. I mean…it’s ALL right there.  A quick example of this is the third installment of the Hunger Games. They did a wonderful job on the movie. However, I found Mockingjay to be the least enjoyable read out of the entire series because of the long descriptive scenes, but boy did it work on the screen. So maybe there's a happy middle ground somewhere. The trick is finding it. 

In order to find some great examples of excellently written screenplays, I checked out The Writers Guild of America list termed the 101 Greatest Screenplays. It's no surprise that many of them just happen to be book adaptations. They have Casablanca listed as the #1 screenplay of all time. The movie is based off of the book “Everybody Comes to Rick’s” by Murray Burnett. When they say, ”Based off of the novel by ___________,” it makes me crazy because I know I’ll have to get the book and read it; and then critique whether or not they kept it pure, improved upon it, or did it a gross injustice. For anyone else interested in finding inspiration, you can view the WGA list of top screenplays here!

The Academy Awards are coming up in a few weeks and I am planning on paying close attention to the screenplay adaptations and original screenplay categories to see who wins. The nominees are so vastly different. Should you be interested in seeing them ahead of time, the contenders can be found at oscar.go.com. I was excited to see a few favorites on here. If you are a mom or dad, I’m sure you will agree that Inside Out was pretty cute. What a great message it sent for audiences of all ages. It was not adapted from anything...all original.

If any of you have delved into this art of screenplay writing---please feel free share your attempts, successes or failures with screenplay writing.

Novel VS Novella

One of the trendy, ‘buzzworthy’ words going around writing circles is the word NOVELLA.  I’m not saying that it’s a new word; in fact, it may be more hipster-ish than new.  In fact, Salma Hayek would champion the word in association with her ‘Ugly Betty’ series; and, Latin American soap opera stars on Univision would embrace the word as originally belonging to their profesión.  What I am saying is that I’ve noticed a trend away from the full novel-length stories towards the shorter more niche novellas.  So, what’s the difference?

Actually, the Italians get the nod for the creation of these fictional prose narrative writings.  It usually takes up the cause of a single character, replete with multiple sub-plots, twists and ancillary characters.  A novella will usually have a word count of between 17,000 and 40,000 words.

For those of us trudging towards our world-changing novel, or maybe we’re riding the NaNoWriMo pony this month, this option is really appealing.  The story I’m currently authoring is probably going to come in at around 30,000 words or so.  Even if I flesh out the imagery a little more or do some deeper character development, it’s still not going to reach 40K.

 

So, if you’re not quite ready to make a run at a Sanderson-length story, you might consider a nice, petite novella.  Here’s a little research on the market for novellas:

·       Some regular literary journals accept them.  John Fox (BookFox) has assembled a pretty good list of literary journals that accept novellas.

·       Try a boutique press.

·       Send your work to a novella contest like the Faulkner Wisdom Competition.

John Brandon had an essay on novellas picked up by the New York Times a couple of years back in which he suggested that novellas are in their Golden Age form right now, that novellas are more handily adaptable to film manuscripts, and that three short novellas are much more interesting (and probably more marketable) than a big, clunky novel. 

Perhaps I’ll finish this post and start working on my ‘next great American novella.’

Forget My Book…What About My Spouse’s Book?

            

Getting something published, anything published, is a sweet accomplishment.  Regardless of it being an online blog (wink), a journal, an info-edit on Wikipedia, or that illusive but epic n-o-v-e-l, we do enjoy seeing our work out there.

            However, what do we do if a spouse or family member has some work of literary brilliance in the works as well?  We know that we must keep writing, upwards and onwards, in order to keep our skills up to snuff.  So, what do we do if our family member wants us to help them get their work published?  It’s hard enough to get our own material out there.

            So, my spouse wrote a children’s ‘A-B-C’ book that is a unique style that I have never seen before in any of the numerous versions out there.  I know; I’m happily biased. 

            My spouse took the normal path and sent out samples and cover letters to several publishers.  And, like all of us, she received several rejection letters.  Since collecting endless streams of rejection letters is not one of my spouse’s strong points, I wasn’t too surprised when she put this excellent work on the back-burner.  There were other, more important things for her to focus her efforts.  At least those things gave her more immediate, more fulfilling results.

            As I briefly diverted my attention from my own meteoric rise in literary excellence (guffaw…guffaw), I decided to pick up my wife’s manuscript give it the ol’ peruse.  I read it once…twice…and loved it more each time.  There was something solid there. 

            I asked my spouse if she wanted to renew her interest in her book concept, but she politely declined.  She’d given her creative genius to the script and that was her limit.  Yet, I felt very strongly that her book had a place in the A-B-C book universe.  So, with my spouse’s permission, I volunteered to pick up the flag and run with it. 

            Off goes the manuscript to my favorite editor; off goes the interest letters to a few illustrators, seeking sample pages; out comes the growing list of possible publishers.  If I’m successful, my spouse will get all of the credit. 

            Not surprisingly, I’m perfectly fine with this.  Taking time out to help another rise in the biz will take quite a bit of time and you’ll end up shouldering some of the same highs and lows that your spouse felt; however, when success finally arrives, you’ll get to share the joy.  And isn’t that what this talent is really about…spreading the joy.