ADAPTATION…

“Adaptation is the simple secret of survival.” —Jessica Hagedorn

This NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, consider adapting your screenplay into a novel.

OR NOVEL TO SCRIPT…

When it comes to award-winning movies, screenplays that have been “adapted from” other material equal or exceed the number of original screenplays that have won. That’s a concern to screenwriters who are trying to get their spec scripts optioned. But what to do? Many screenwriters are now looking to novelize their work. And why not? They already have the beautiful bones for a novel to work with.

Unfortunately, it’s more daunting than it sounds. It’s not like padding the bones with a parka. It’s like the surgical game “Operation,” except you have to make sure the veins, organs, muscles, and tendons - among other materials - are placed correctly. It starts with choosing the best point of view (or views), in the most suitable tense. It’s enough to make a screenwriter partner with a novelist or ghostwriter.

At this point, I’m a failed novelist. I wrote one paranormal romance set in two time periods: the Irish famine and the present in Canada. It was so flawed, that I gave up and disemboweled it to write a short story called “The Banshee of Cholera Bay.” I gave readings from the ghost’s POV, with a strong Irish accent that drew some attention, including from Arthur Black who called in an important piece of Canadian Literature. It was later published in an anthology called “Open Space, New Canadian Fantastic Fiction.”

Building on that success - albeit years later, I used both the short and the novel to write my feature-length script called “Goodbye for Now” which took a second-place laurel in the Comox Valley International Film Festival, a great local festival dear to my heart. It also semi-finaled in the Vancouver International Women in Film Competition. Due to its complexity, it will keep company with the other features in my portfolio. I know my limitations. “Wayward,” however, which was a semi-finalist in Scriptapalooza, is begging to be novelized. And bonus: I’ll already have the screenplay ready to option when it succeeds.

If you’re interested in turning your script into a novel, check out Cheryl McKay’s course on Udemy “Novelizations: How to Adapt a Screenplay Into a Novel.” Cheryl writes both novels and screenplays and has worked with a ghostwriter.

Of grave concern to screenwriters who aren’t able “to adapt,” is how many screenplays are made from adapted material rather than original scripts. New content also competes with dubbed and captioned movies that get streamed. It’s disheartening. Consider novelization with a co-writer or a ghostwriter.

For the most part, most of the tutorials out there teach you how to take your novel, or one you’ve optioned, and adapt it into a screenplay.

You can choose between adapting your novel or finding a buzz-worthy one in the public domain, without infringing on copyright laws.

Need help wrapping your head and pen around that, check out online courses like this from Udemy. Even if you only skim the course offerings, you’ll find some great pearls of wisdom.

There are multiple other resources out there, including tutorials on YouTube. A quick Google pulled up these offerings…

Although there are many well-rated books out there on adapting novels to screenplays, there aren’t many that do the opposite, and the few out there are either no longer available, poorly rated, or not rated at all. Some titles include Adapting Sideways by Charlotte Cook and Jon James Miller - love the title, How to Turn Your Screenplay Into a Novel by Lindsey Hughes, and Script to Novel by London Tracy. If you ace your adaptation, perhaps you can write a best-selling how-to.

And remember, adaptation does not mean giving up on your original scripts. It’s not settling. It could be a detour to success, and lead to your creative and financial survival.

Best wishes on your pilgrimage of the pen,

Jes,

Wayward with a pen