Hi, I'm Sara. I'm making the transition from screenwriting to novel writing. What's your experience been in making this transition yourself and do you have any words of advice to a first-time novel writer?
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No words of advice here because I wish I had the discipline to do the same!! Welcome to the site :)
Welcome, Sara! Sadly, I'm also lacking in concrete advice for novel-writing - but if you haven't read Stephen King's "On Writing", that's a great place to start. Best book on writing I've ever read.
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Hello Sara. I am a novice screenplay writer hoping to finish one of many projects.
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Welcome to the community, Sara! I too do not have advice on transitioning from screenwriting to novels - I'm sure it's less constraining than writing a 120pg script! And ditto on Matt's post - Stephen Kings book "On Writing" is a stellar read. Much luck and happy writing!
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Hi Sara, I have been wanting to go in the opposite direction and convert novels into screen plays. I finished my first novel about 3 years ago & it has recently won a New Apple award for general fiction. Just this weekend, I finished my second novel in the series, and it has just been sent off to the editor. I have no idea what it might be like to go from screenwriter to novelist, but I never expected I would be either a novelist or screenwriter. Prior to this novel, all my writing was for a few newspaper articles, for my job and for a regional magazine back in the 1990's. My novel wasn't really planned. It evolved through a series of events, and a series of encouraging connections. The real estate rule is, location location, location. the writing rule should be, write, write, write. Best of luck and many blessings.
Sara, you will do great, and the best is you will get it correct.
Hi, Sara - All in all, there are fewer rules for novels. Page 15 or 27 doesn't have to mean a thing, for instance. On the "negative" side, writing 30,000 words means you're maybe half-done! Conversations can, if you want, last a lot longer. Descriptions don't have to be limited to three-line paragraphs. On the other hand, a 50-page chapter might be a mistake... Someone described novels as "baggy monsters," and despite all the online advice about what you must or must not do, you can frankly ignore a lot of it. The novel police aren't as strict as the screenplay police.
Thanks everyone for your responses. I appreciate the encouragement. Best wishes for your writing projects as well.