Screenwriting : Have You Explored Your Story Through All Three Lenses—Pilot, Feature, and Short? by Sandra Isabel Correia

I've written short scripts, then expanded them into feature scripts, Sandra Isabel Correia. I'm used to writing features and shorts, so both versions felt natural. I also combined short scripts into an anthology feature script once.

Try to write a video game script. It will force you to think in OPTIONS; that can make feature film scripts richer and more complex.

And have you ever expanded a TV pilot for a feature, Maurice Vaughan ?

Aha ah ah, Jon Shallit, I think I am missing that one :))

Sandra Isabel Correia I love evolving my stories from a stylized comic book–inspired animation vibe into a video game story format, with levels, tasks, and bosses shaping the structure. It keeps the storytelling sharp and interactive in my head.

I haven't expanded a TV pilot for a feature, but I'm open to the idea, Sandra Isabel Correia.

Something for you to try out Maurice Vaughan :))

You are all very creative. Dwayne Williams 2 :)) That's a new word for me. The video game story format :) And engaging, I suppose :)

Oooooh! I love love love this question, Sandra Isabel Correia! =)

The closest I've done to that so far is in my series Petal where depending on who's the protagonist of a specific story, the other character(s) can have an entirely different interpretation. Like in the novel Branch, Seiren remembers Kaitou as perpetually sleepy yet methodical, even lazy; in the comic Conviction he has the added layer of being almost cruel to his student Swithun; in Petal proper he's so deeply in love that he births an entire reality so his beloved will reunite with her fated husband; and in his own side story, Impact, he foils Dr Ku's plot to get revenge on God and Man for slighting her by nearly invoking total nothingness by stopping time. That's what I've written with him in it so far lol but so far each entry does show snippets of major story events through different perspectives so it is basically telling the same story several times with different events.

Ah ah ah, Ashley Renee Smith. You know me. I never do things by the book. Glad you enjoyed it! Who knows that this is an innovation?

Wow Banafsheh Esmailzadeh, I love how you’ve built Kaitou across such distinct emotional and narrative lenses; each version feels like a prism refracting the same soul. That kind of character elasticity is rare and powerful. But what you’re doing, retelling through different protagonists and emotional truths, is like narrative cubism. It’s not just format-shifting, it’s perception-shifting. I find that fascinating. Do you ever feel like one version reveals something the others couldn’t? Or are the contradictions between them part of the truth?

James Fleming, this is the kind of “nut job” energy I fully endorse. Turning a trilogy of screenplays into novels is no small feat, and honestly, that drawer strategy sounds like a masterclass in creative sanity. Each format feels like a different conversation with the same soul. But your trilogy-to-novel pivot? That’s a whole new level of commitment to the story’s heartbeat. And hey, even if no one reads it (which I doubt), the act of writing is resistance. It’s creation in the face of chaos. If it keeps you from doom scrolling, it’s already doing sacred work.

Thank you Sandra Isabel Correia, it's a bit of both. I like to operate on the idea that everyone is a hero of their own story which naturally means they're the villain in someone else's (and sometimes even their own), a victim in another person's story, to barely existing in yet another's, and we as humans also show different sides of ourselves to different people. I imagine as such most of us never really know everything about a person, and Petal is written in what I call a "mosaic/puzzle effect," so the little parts all contribute to the whole. Identity is also a big component of the series, as in "who am I and what is my role in the universe?" with several characters, naturally most of whom are protagonists in the mainline entries, having more than one name/title which further accentuates their duality.

I love that Banafsheh Esmailzadeh, especially that "mosaic/puzzle effect" that Petal has. By the way, I love the title you gave to your series, "Petal." I wish to have all the time to dedicate to my creative writing. :))

Thank you Sandra Isabel Correia, I like giving each Petal entry an “effect” that dictates how I write it (Petal proper’s first draft’s effect was “bloom”) and the series grew rapidly so to make it easier on myself and not write 22 novels I figured I’d cinch them down and do a mosaic so the negative space left behind is room for the reader to piece it all together :D thanks again, the title Petal was born because in Petal proper it’s Jiro the protagonist’s nickname for his girlfriend Hannah (her full name sounds like the word for petal in Japanese). Soon most of the entries had flower/tree-related titles but others had physics-related ones (the notable exceptions being Lux Æterna/Nox Æterna).

I love that Banafsheh Esmailzadeh, and thanks for sharing with us about Petal. I am rooting for you and your successes. :))

Hi! No, I don't do that. I decide in advance whether a story is suitable for a movie or a TV series. It's not about the structure of the plot at all. Cinema is an event, it is a personal special statement of the author. The series is a plot in a strictly limited format, when in fact only the setting changes. I don't write short scripts because I consider them a waste of time.

Even full features are giving way to series. Returning eyeballs. Why do people make shorts, when a full feature is more marketable? And if you write the ending correctly, you can have it as a pilot for a series...

Jon Shallit, Short films are essential for creating a portfolio. People don't like authors who don't have finished works. The series are paid for by the advertiser. Therefore, it is incorrect to compare the success of the film and the success of the series.

I love the thought of expanding our thinking with this exercise Sandra Isabel Correia. I've turned one short into a feature and I've thought about turning a feature into a pilot. But I'll be honest - it's a real challenge for me. I'm wired for features. I still like the thought of considering other formats.

Thank you Sandra Isabel Correia, I’m rooting for your success as well~

amazing post/'challenge' Sandra Isabel Correia :) I am doing something of the sort now, taking a short film I wrote as a proof-of-concept and integrating / developing it into a similar world for a series - the challenging thing for me sometimes was to ALLOW for things to change as they need to in order to become what this new format & story requires. badly phrased here from me, but that's what popped to my head first when reading your post :)

And you are right, Arthur Charpentier. It's your choice and your point of view. I appreciate that and thank you for sharing with us :))

Yes, this post was a provocative incentive to expand our thinking, Leonardo Ramirez 2. I tried them all to get a sense of which style appealed to me the most. The features are undeniably appealing, but I also love shorts. Try making a feature into a short film once; you'll be surprised. :) Thanks for sharing, my friend.

I love that Sebastian Tudores, and I never thought about taking from a short as a POC to a series; that's challenging, but I love that. Likewise, my number one is features, but I love shorts too. Thanks for accepting the challenge. :)