Authoring & Playwriting

This is a good question, Brian. If you think about your manuscript as a treatment for the script, then you can create an outline to figure out the structure for the screenplay and what you will need to cut to make the cinematic story flow properly. Also, by creating an outline first, you can really see if your novel is the type of story that would make a good movie.

Thank you. Appreciate the insight.

I love Terrence Sellers's suggestions! If you have an original outline for the book, it would definitely be a great starting point that you can use to guide your script outline and beat sheet! There may even be elements of the book in your original outline that you decided against when writing, but would make more sense for a script adaptation and can be revisited at this stage!

Your outline can definitely be a good starting point, but also, take a look at other films in the genre. Do they stick closer to the story? What kind of adjustments do they have to make so that the audience can "see" what the character is thinking/feeling? First, become a student of how great adaptations happen. It's tough for an author to adapt their own work because you've been with the story for so long, so you might also consider having a collaborator as that second set of eyes.

Thank you!

Depends on the genre. Dashell Hammett enjoyed great success with his The Maltese Falcon (1929), a classic noir detective thriller written entirely in fly-on-the-wall 3rd person omniscient past-tense: purely blow-by-blow visuals, no delving into a character's thoughts or emotions (and therefore no risk of head-hopping), with minimal intrusion by a punchy-voiced narrator recounting a tale that has already happened.

The great thing about first person is that you can jump back and forth between tenses, since you're mimicking a narrator telling their own story. It sounds more conversational and natural that way, almost like transcribing an interview. I like your idea of having your 3 protagonists switch as narrator between chapters -- as long as they don't switch within the same chapter, as that would be "head-hopping" and confusing for the reader to follow.

I think it's impressive that you're challenging yourself in this way, Terrence Sellers! It's not easy to approach a book from a different POV when you're so experienced as a writer already. Whatever you decide to do, it's admirable that you pushed yourself in this way at all.

Only one of my novels was 1st person, past tense, book #1 in my 9 book mystery/crime series, so it was fairly easy. I just wrote as if I were the protagonist. Only switched to third person, past tense, in later books, because I wanted to get into some supportring characters views of events.

William Joseph Hill Definitely not changing POV mid chapter. That would be just as hard to write as it would be to read for this. LOL

I also loved the thought that books are a kind of time travel device, connecting us to minds of authors who are long gone from planet earth.

"Books are a uniquely portable magic." – Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

"There is no friend as loyal as a book." – Ernest Hemingway

I love this!

I've always loved that Stephen King quote, Tom Lapke! Great share, Geoff Hall!

Mike Childress you know what I think... that we just get the basics in (margins for example, font) and then organically and authentically write. Yeah, I had never heard that cap thing either.

Mike Childress Just a heads up -- putting sound effects and props and things in ALL CAPS is considered by many (myself included) to be an outdated formatting thing that should no longer be in spec scripts (although, admittedly, they often get added back in for shooting scripts so departments heads know what they need at a glance). When giving notes to writers, I always redflag these instances, and when judging scripts for contests I give this a reduction in points in the formatting section -- and I know I'm FAR from being the only reader/judge who does so.

Mike Childress OH! You're referring to Onomatopoeia (BANG! THUD! etc). I was talking about things like the PHONE RINGS or the ENGINE ROARS (which is what I thought you were referring to).

Don’t struggle with writing per sae, though plot can take a while depending on story & re writes can be riddled with choice/indecision I enjoy the ride. However regards format I sometimes stumble on “technical” glitches to do with varying types of software.

Notice in thread list 1,2,3 is plot, concept, characters. The Holy Trinity! Agree with order of importance & kinda think of them as the bones.. In the past I’d a problem with dialogue in that I wrote too much having come from a theatrical background. That slowly changed over the years. I’m currently doing a fun challenge to write a non dialogue short.

PS Guess I’m No 8 on list!

1000% agree, Jonathan Jordan! But it's definitely something that I need to remind myself of while I'm writing. I often get too in my head overthinking things.

Thanks, Ashley Renee Smith. I might have to write that script one day.

So true, Ashley Renee Smith - it's your voice that makes things different. Thousands of years of human storytelling means everything has been done before, but your unique experiences and background means that what comes from you as an author can be fresh and new.

Please do, Maurice Vaughan! =)

Absolutely! No one person could ever deliver the same final product, William Joseph Hill.

The article was written by Taylar Dawn Stagner - an Arapaho and Shoshone writer and artist living in rural Wyoming. A graduate of the University of Wyoming, she has written for National Public Radio, Grist, and High Country News.

I was just thinking about how little there is in great modern theatrical horror. Plenty of shows have horror elements, but I am talking about a horror movie on stage. I really want to see this now.

The three F

Fun, Fame, Fortune

I wish people wouldn't say there's an "unexpected twist end" to a film or performance. If I went to see said film/performance, I'd then be expecting the twist end. Let people find out for themselves.

@David E I mentioned the twist end in comparison to the climax of whole film franchise. Not all productions in any series have a twist end and not all audiences expect one. I've seen many performances where a planned twist end was mediocre. All I meant is they pulled it off.

Fun Fact: The original movie's original ending was the screen going black while the audience continues to hear the crunching and chewing sounds of the man being devoured. Steven Speilberg recommended the jump scare ending in the theatrical release. I guess when Speilberg gives you a note, you take it.

Sarra gives great advice, Ashley Renee Smith! I'm big on proofreading when it comes to my scripts. I don't like seeing typos in my scripts or books I read. It pulls me out of the story.

Glad she mentioned developmental editing because it's a common misunderstanding that book editing is only proofreading. Dev editors look at big picture, high-level and the creative side whereas copy editing and proofreading happen more on the low-level, detailed and technical side. You really need both. In self-pub, picking a lane is definitely important for building a fan base. Even in trad, many agents want their authors to stay within a specific genre. Great share Ashley Renee Smith.

Thanks, Jonathan Jordan! I always love your insights and I'm glad that you found this resource true to your experiences.

I totally agree with all her points, Ashley Renee Smith . Self-Publishing can be very empowering since you have 100% control over your work, but you really need to have a plan and a "why" you wrote your book so that you can stay motivated to keep going. It's a non-stop process. But even traditional publishers are having a hard time marketing in this digital age. The challenge is finding your audience of readers.