Screenwriting : Scripting out my novel by Lisa Vandiver

No, no. Changes like that are common when adapting a book. Certain things work better on paper and others better on screen. It's compared to the situation.

Thank you, Spring, I know movies changed from books from time to time, but I just worried that as the original author of the story, I should stick with my exact words in novel. I can see what you say about certain things work better in a screenplay than on paper. I'm still a bit stuck on being a novelist inside the scrpt, lol so I've got a lot of lessons with screenplay writing verses novel writing ahead of me. :)

I've adapted over a dozen novels and nothing has to match. I combine locations and characters etc.

I think it's always allowed. It's your screenplay and this case also your own story. Movie and book are different media. You do need to treat them differently. I know I will. I think John explained it well.

Thank you all very much. All of your comments are helpful. It's fun learning the differences between writing a novel and writing a screenplay. They definitely are two different venues. I find it hard to go from novelist to screenplay writing but I know I'll get better with practice. Happy new year.

Keep us posted Lisa. There are more novelists on here.

Thank you, Raymond, I will.

Lisa. I have adapted over a dozen novels and you normally have to change a lot of things depending on the novel. sometimes I'll combine characters and eliminate some and do the same thing with locations to keep it simple and less expensive to film.

Lisa:

I've adapted my own work and recently adapted Harper Lee's Go Set A Watchman into a screenplay just as a personal challenge. My simple suggestion is take a look at Harper Lee's novel To Kill A Mockingbird and the Horton Foote Screenplay for the film version, and you'll quickly see that the name of the game is to capture the most important and adaptable elements of the novel.

I've done the work for you. Here are links for both a PDF version of the book and screenplay.

http://freepdfhosting.com/0e968903b1.pdf

http://freepdfhosting.com/dd1b80b741.pdf

I hope this helps.

I have finished the screenplay. I feel accomplished, though I know the work is just beginning. Thank you all for your helpful comments. I did cut out a lot from the book and changed some things, and I think turned out well.

If you're adapting a book to film, chances are 75% of your dialogue will change. Keep the key lines and your favorite lines, and dump the rest. If you are adapting your book word for word, you are REALLY doing it wrong.

Okay, thank you.

I agree with Danny and Laura however I am not assuming Lisa did it wrong.

Good points by Danny and Laura. My partner and I have a company shopping our show concept and the first producer/writer passed on idea two weeks ago. So I dusted off my original pilot, which is 64 pages. It's designed more for a cable audience. I did some rewriting and structured it as a five-act, which at this stage seems like an unnecessary pain in the neck. My writing brain really works best with a three-act structure and I'm leaning towards Laura's thinking. Why should the writer worry about act breaks as long as the writing is good and hits the necessary beats? Methinks that may be up to whoever is broadcasting the show. You certainly don't need them for Netflix or HBO.

These are all helpful comments. Thanks to you all. Dan, yes, I am thinking this will be what I will do in my next screenplay. I have a vast amount of characters, but many, I can do without or combine.

Great idea.