CAN'T GET YOUR STORY PUBLISHED?
If your short story or novel hasn't found a home, consider a film adaptation as an alternative to publication.
Here are some "in-sights" into the adaptation process.
First, decide if there's a viable market in Hollywood for such an adaptation. In other words, does the unpublished piece of fiction have a commercial element? Is is written in a genre that has consistently interested Hollywood?
Think ticket sales.
Ask yourself if there's a broad demographic for such a movie. Remember, producers hire screenwriters to write profitable productions . . . not great literature.
Second, don't worry about format. Format can be learned. Format can be self-taught via a how-to book. Proper screenplay format is simply the first step up a grand staircase. Story craft and market mechanics . . . are the true escaltors that are used to break into "the business."
Third, analyze your dialogue. Are you using natural speech patterns?
Does the dialogue flow?
Do your characters banter back and forth?
Also --> do you enjoy writing dialogue?
Indeed, this is a very important question since a well-written screenplay is dependent upon sharp dialogue.
If you stumble through oblique conversations . . . then you probably shouldn't attempt an adaptation.
Fourth, is your plot dramatic?
Are you writing scenes with inherent conflict?
To be sure --> audiences want to experience vicarious journeys where unexpected barriers are overcome by heroic action. This is the quintessence of theatrical filmmaking, the nexus of commercial dramaturgy.
Dramatic plot-lines build with a what-if expectation --> where the ultimate goal is to overcome an unsympathetic antagonist. If your plot structure employs this device, then your story has adaptation potential.
One last tip --> don't overemphasize the descriptive details. A well-written screenplay isn't vocabulary-dependent. If the writer relies too heavily upon tangential wordsmithing as a stimulating device . . . then the writer's "ego" has, in fact, taken center stage.
Good writing doesn't draw attention to itself. The primary function of a well-written story should be to entertain an audience. Adjectives aren't important. Adverbs dilute the focus. The key to writing a wonderful story is the simplistic transfer of universal emotions.
Indeed, a superior adaptation is easy to read. It utilizes a minimalist style . . . in that the story is told vis-a-vis the interaction of characters.
Think impressionistic . . . not realistic.
Less is more.
(Guru's advice-> click on-> the "red pop-out.")
< (c) 1999 >
Here are some "in-sights" into the adaptation process.
First, decide if there's a viable market in Hollywood for such an adaptation. In other words, does the unpublished piece of fiction have a commercial element? Is is written in a genre that has consistently interested Hollywood?
Think ticket sales.
Ask yourself if there's a broad demographic for such a movie. Remember, producers hire screenwriters to write profitable productions . . . not great literature.
Second, don't worry about format. Format can be learned. Format can be self-taught via a how-to book. Proper screenplay format is simply the first step up a grand staircase. Story craft and market mechanics . . . are the true escaltors that are used to break into "the business."
Third, analyze your dialogue. Are you using natural speech patterns?
Does the dialogue flow?
Do your characters banter back and forth?
Also --> do you enjoy writing dialogue?
Indeed, this is a very important question since a well-written screenplay is dependent upon sharp dialogue.
If you stumble through oblique conversations . . . then you probably shouldn't attempt an adaptation.
Fourth, is your plot dramatic?
Are you writing scenes with inherent conflict?
To be sure --> audiences want to experience vicarious journeys where unexpected barriers are overcome by heroic action. This is the quintessence of theatrical filmmaking, the nexus of commercial dramaturgy.
Dramatic plot-lines build with a what-if expectation --> where the ultimate goal is to overcome an unsympathetic antagonist. If your plot structure employs this device, then your story has adaptation potential.
One last tip --> don't overemphasize the descriptive details. A well-written screenplay isn't vocabulary-dependent. If the writer relies too heavily upon tangential wordsmithing as a stimulating device . . . then the writer's "ego" has, in fact, taken center stage.
Good writing doesn't draw attention to itself. The primary function of a well-written story should be to entertain an audience. Adjectives aren't important. Adverbs dilute the focus. The key to writing a wonderful story is the simplistic transfer of universal emotions.
Indeed, a superior adaptation is easy to read. It utilizes a minimalist style . . . in that the story is told vis-a-vis the interaction of characters.
Think impressionistic . . . not realistic.
Less is more.
(Guru's advice-> click on-> the "red pop-out.")
< (c) 1999 >
