Screenwriting : Sci Fi Creator by Nathaniel Bernadeau

Hi Nathaniel, Have you read The Screenwriter's Bible by David Trottier? That will take care of the screenplay formatting. I use Movie Magic Screenwriter for instant formatting and I use OpenArt.ai to get a visual on the characters that I'm writing. I wrote a grounded sci-fi screenplay back in 2011 after visiting Rachel Nevada. When I returned to Australia I wrote it as a novel and self published it because I wanted to sell the screenplay and novel as a package. I had a producer interested in it, but then all of a sudden, he was gone. I pitched at many times and came to nothing.

If you look at YouTube and see how many UFO/UAP videos there are, it seems like a great time now. I have the feeling, that turning your books into script format, you might want to write a paragraph on each character, maybe more on your protagonist and antagonist. I've listened to a lot of BS advice from so-called producers and produced screenwriters, that even though it has helped in incredibly small ways, it hasn't helped me sell the sci-fi story.

Last year a producer suggested that a TV series is the way to go as the streaming services pay on minutes viewed. If you get a Created By credit you may get royalties but I've been told by many, never to bank on royalties, get your check upfront and move onto the next project. I've always liked the way George Lucas popularised Star Wars by making toys and action figures. I think today if your story could lend itself to a game, it would be so cool to have a TV series finish and then have a video game to continue the story, or vice versa, of course. I wish you the best of luck.

Hi! To make films with a big budget, you need to have a banker friend. If you don't have at least 10% of the budget, it's better to write a book or draw a comic book.

Just switch on different feature films and series in the sci-fi genre and watch how they are built and structured. But I must say that every film or series has the story of a main hero and what he wants. This is the main line of any feature film. I think you should start from that.

I have the impression that you don't know where to start. One alternative is that you join your local amateur theatre. Rewrite part of your long story as a very short play (preferably just a few minutes long). During rehearsals you can revise and add. If you have a good story, your short play will become a success which means you can sell it to professional theatres afterward. When you know what works on the stage, it will be easier to do the screenwriting.

If I didn’t mention it earlier, I’m the author of two published sci-fi books, Terratron: Gods of Mars and Terratron: A New Frontier. My main goal now is figuring out how to adapt the series into a feature screenplay and/or a pilot for a television or streaming series.

That’s currently the biggest hurdle for me — converting the books into screenplay format — since I’ve never written a screenplay before.

Hi, before you start writing your script, you must understand the characters deeply and their feelings and how they will deal with problems, and I would suggest writing a page or two describing the world and covering the world, the characters, and the events: how the characters will feel and what each character wants. This will give a strong foundation.When you write each scene, try to be inside the character's perspective, think like the character, and feel like the character, and don't be easy with the character; make them work hard for every win.For a universe this large, I would suggest starting with one pilot episode. Try to write it first; this will help you understand your world better and see what works and what doesn't. After that, you can start building the bigger world.One common mistake for beginners is writing too fast because they are excited, without planning first. That is why the outline I mentioned is very important; it will save you a lot of time and rewriting later.

Honestly, you’re already ahead of many first-time screenwriters because the world building and story foundation already exist. The real shift is learning how to translate the story visually and structurally for the screen instead of the page.

Terratron sounds like it has strong cinematic potential already. Do you personally see it more as a feature film or something built for a larger streaming series?

My goal is to start with a feature film adaptation of the Terratron series books — Terratron: Gods of Mars and Terratron: A New Frontier — and then eventually expand into a television or streaming series. Terratron was designed from the beginning to work well in both formats.

I also wrote the Terratron universe in a way that allows for multiple spinoffs, since there are many interconnected characters, factions, and storylines throughout the galaxy. While the universe is large in scope, the central storyline primarily focuses on Emperor Abukar Kenessit and Grand Viceroy Boris Drexel.

Welcome! The team and I would love to help you and support you! Email us at success@stage32.com anytime.

Another piece of advice for you: download Christopher Vogler’s book The Writer’s Journey and study it carefully. It will help you understand what parts a screenplay consists of and how a screenplay is actually written.

Hi Nathaniel,

Terratron already sounds like it has one of the hardest things to teach: scale with mythology behind it. A lot of sci-fi projects have lore, technology, and worldbuilding — but the ones that actually translate cinematically are the ones where the emotional architecture underneath the universe is clear.

One thing I’d strongly recommend early in adaptation is resisting the temptation to “cover the books.” The audience doesn’t fall in love with galaxies first — they fall in love with emotional perspective inside the galaxy.

A common first-time adaptation mistake in large-scale sci-fi is treating worldbuilding as narrative momentum. But exposition is not propulsion. Emotional tension is.

Before deciding feature vs pilot, I’d ask a deeper question:

What is the core dramatic engine of Terratron?

Not the lore.

Not the timeline.

Not the factions.

But the human emotional contradiction that keeps generating conflict episode after episode.

The strongest sci-fi franchises — whether Dune, Battlestar Galactica, The Expanse, or even Andor — work because the political and cosmic scale mirrors something psychologically intimate underneath: identity, faith, survival, legacy, control, belonging, fear of evolution, etc.

Personally, I think the smartest early development step is building a cinematic adaptation map:

* Which character emotionally anchors the audience?

* What thematic tension drives the series?

* Which narrative threads are expandable?

* Which lore elements are dramatically essential versus encyclopedic?

* Where does the audience emotionally attach before the universe expands?

That foundation usually determines whether a sci-fi property feels cinematic… or simply “large.”

You clearly have ambition and scope already. The next step is shaping the emotional and thematic spine that makes the scale feel inevitable rather than overwhelming.

Would genuinely love to see where you take this world.

Terratron has the kind of premise that could become very compelling with the right adaptation strategy behind it.

Hi Nathaniel.

So on one hand you've got the story and all you need is just technical adaptation to the script. It shouldn't be too hard because the main thing -- the story -- is already there. On the other hand there are very few good books that were adapted to a movie better than or as good as the book itself.

In a good scenario the movie becomes a teaser motivating to read your book, in a bad one -- the viewer is disappointed.

I realize how difficult it is to trim a book to some 100 pages of formatted text. How difficult it is to remove some of your characters because there is a time limit and you cannot tell their entire story and complete the arc.

It is challenging.

I have no good advise, I'm just expressing my sympathy and understanding.

Good luck to you.

I’ll give you one more piece of advice. Read Harry Potter, then watch the film adaptation and carefully analyze the differences between them. That is how adaptations are written.

Eugene Cuprin, you understand my situation exactly. Over the past few weeks, I’ve been thinking deeply about how to approach adapting Terratron into a screenplay — especially deciding which characters, storylines, and events from the books should be included or left out.

The challenge is that the Terratron universe is so massive, with so many interconnected stories, characters, and major events happening throughout the galaxy. At the same time, I truly believe the story has strong cinematic potential. The books have already received 5-star reviews from Readers’ Favorite Book Reviews along with other positive reader reviews, which has encouraged me even more to push forward with adaptation.

Right now, I’m leaning toward the idea that Terratron may ultimately require multiple screenplays and/or films, along with potential television or streaming series expansions to fully tell the story properly. But for now, I want to stay focused on developing the very first feature screenplay.

And yes, I completely agree with you — if the Terratron films are successful, many viewers will likely want to go back and read the books as well.

My recommendations: Either take on an excellent screenwriting class or hire a professional screenwriter. And buy real software!

I´ll be glad to help. Please send me a DM.

Hmmm... A massive Sci-Fi universe. Love the idea. The trick of turning a novel or any large scale idea into a screenplay is FOCUS. A novel can have many stories, subplots, and details all along the way. A screenplay is a straight forward, to the point, medium. You must pick ONE main story, select the characters NECESSARY to tell that story, and weave the setting and technology into the story NOT the other way around, and you must make it COMPELLING.

"Star Wars" is the Coming of Age story of Luke Skywalker. "Alien" is the Survivalist tale of Ellen Ripley. "Terminator" is Man against Machine, where John Conner leads Humanity's Last Hope. Boil down the story you want to tell. Decide who eyes would best serve the story. Make that character the most human with the most to lose or gain. Don't let the tech overshadow the story. Make the dialogue believable. Throw in a couple of twists, turns, and surprises. And have fun with it.

Outlining the story helps create a good framework. Screenwriting software can help you with the mechanics of writing. Patients, late nights of writing, feedback and re writing can help you polish the work. Then put it away for a while, pick it up and read it with fresh eyes. You'll know if you have something good.

Just my two cents as an amature Sci-Fi screenwriter, who's won a contest or two. Feel free to shoot me a question or two if you need help. Good luck.

This is a really strong starting point in terms of worldbuilding you clearly have scale and scope, which is often the hardest part to generate.

One thing I’d suggest early on is not trying to adapt the entire universe at once, but identifying one very contained emotional story inside it that can carry a pilot or first feature. Sci-fi tends to work best when the “galaxy” is present in the background, but the audience connects first to a very human core.

Curious how you’re thinking about anchoring Terratron emotionally at character level rather than just at world level?

I would also reconsider the title Terratron. When I hear it, my first association is immediately Transformers and Megatron, and I don’t think that’s necessarily a good thing for building a unique identity for your world.