I was reading a post from a writer who's turning a family screenplay into a juvenile fiction novel, and it made me realize how many stories never stay in just one format anymore.
A screenplay becomes a novel.
A novel becomes a screenplay.
Sometimes the second version ends up stronger than the first. What I'm interested in is the actual process.
If you've adapted your own work, what was harder than you expected? Was it expanding the story? Getting deeper into the characters? Or figuring out what worked in one format but just didn't work in the other?
I'd genuinely love to hear about the projects people are working on. Adaptation is one of those things that looks simple from the outside until you're the one sitting there trying to make it work.
Hey Arlane, this is Suzanne from the Stage 32 team. I just wanted to let you know I moved your post from Acting to Screenwriting, as it fits much better there. Let me know if you have any questions, and all the best to you!
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I've adapted my own novels into a screenplay. But it's been several years since then. As I recall the hardest part is cutting, characters, sequences, scenes, and narrative description. If I were to offer one piece of advice, it's make a list of all the scenes or sequences that have to stay then give yourself the permission to cut the rest, if need be.
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I am doing exactly that with My Cousin From Kentucky, actually.