Screenwriting : Adapting novels... by Kieran C. Herman

I think a better exercise would be to adapt a novel into a 110 page theatrical screenplay... and if you were to use a novel in public domain it stops being just an exercise that you can't show to anyone. PS: I've been hired to adapt novels before.

I am very interested in writing for television, and less so in writing for Hollywood. I also am one of few (as it seems nowadays) who think that theatrical films are much too short. This is why I'm attempting to write it as a Television special and not a theatrical script. Is there any other advice you could lend to me?

I wouldn't really see an exercise like this as a waste. It is hardly practical to pay the rights to every novel I will adapt in order to better my craft. In a way, Miniseries would be the best term for it, yes. They way Butcher's novels are written, I've found there is too much story-pertinent information (which does carry over into other novels of the series) to cut the novel down to a theatrical run, but not enough information still to work out, say, a full season of a TV show. Miniseries format would work nicely, in this case, I would say.

I wouldn't be able to market it NOW, but an opportunity could present itself in the future. To my understanding: I also don't need to pay anything just to write the adaptation, provided I do not claim rights to the story or characters, or try to market it.

Have you looked up the writers to ROSEMARY'S BABY to find out what their first credits were (how they broke in)? Always good to know how people doing the job you want to do got that job. I think you will find that most began writing original material, and probably feature length (because that is a good gauge at how well you can concisely tell a story). Screenwriting is a skill, a discipline; and you need to prove that you are disciplined enough to write in the constraints of a feature or an hour of TV or a half hour of TV. If you can't show your adaptation to anyone (because you do not have the right to adapt the book) how will you land a job adapting some other book to a miniseries? You've painted yourself into a corner. Seems like you could put your time to better use. PS: "I am very interested in writing for television, and less so in writing for Hollywood." This makes no sense at all. TV and Film are all the same companies. Most of the writers who are getting into TV these days come from successful film careers and often just switch divisions. NBC Universal (which I can see from where I live) is all in the same buildings... and have the same employees.

Actually, I hadn't thought of that. But I do write original material. I'm taking a short break from two of my other projects so that I can re-read them later with a clear mind, and think like an audience when I decide what to revise, etc. Not wanting to write for film but Television makes perfect sense. Some writers, like Eric Kripke, do prefer the episodic, sometimes-self-contained storytelling that television offers. Some, like The Wachowski Siblings, prefer the grandeur of film. I do understand that they are much the same business, but all the same, most video Game studios do not also create CG films.

why don't you just write a television show?

To answer your original question, know the book inside and out. Know the beats and the turning points and make sure they are hit in the right place. Eliminate and scenes (or combine with others) so only those essential for the story are included. Really understand the story you are trying to tell, and use all the visual aspects of it in the screenplay. And best of luck.