Having watched many a movie in a theatre, you are aware that the majority of films are two hours or less, yet the number of pages in popular novels can vary greatly. Perhaps, you have noted that when your favorite book was made into a movie, parts were left out in the film version.
Writing a Manuscript
Since there are no hard and fast rules for the length of a manuscript, the writer is allowed total expression of their imagination and verbosity. A novel can be seemingly endless, curtailed only by the publisher's desire to print the pages, and there is no hard formula to follow. The writer may do whatever he wishes to tell a good story, write a book and get published.
A Script is Scripted
But a script is very formulaic; its pacing almost unforgiving. A page of the script translates to a minute of completed screen time. To accomplish this, a specific format is used for a screenplay that indents the dialogue on the page, reduces action scenes like car chases to a few sentences and damns description. It must all be a wrap in 120 pages or less.
So, if you have a clean plot line with a beginning, middle and end, you might consider investigating the format of a film script. If after outlining your story, the plot is intertwined and complex, break out your word processor and set your paragraphs to double-spaced.
Characters, Arc and Subplots
Complexity implies more characters, subplots and scenes. Besides the lead character, if others undergo transformation, you should be leaning toward a novel. If you can streamline the use of supporting characters and their arc, by all means try a script.
If a multitude of subplots are needed to weave your tale, congratulations on being able to keep track of it all in your novel and if you can spin description to entice the reader, keep your head down and type in those chapters. That bolt of inspiration is more suited to be a literary book.
Writing for Visual Expression
So while a novel author must set the stage in the reader's mind with the printed word and bring the action to life, a scriptwriter must give enough detail to allow the location manager to find the perfect spot, or the set designer to put together the backdrop for the action and let the actors bring the story to life. A novelist describes the room, the furniture, the rugs and knick-knacks in detail, while the writer of a screenplay sets a general tone for the location and mentions only props. So if brevity is your friend, check out the screenplay format.
Bestseller, Blockbuster or Both
But if writing fiction is your dream, consider this. JK Rowlings created a successful series of books, and although someone else wrote the scripts for Harry Potter, she reaped the benefits of a string of blockbuster movies. Dan Brown, known for The DaVinci Code, also saw a repeat performance when his book became a movie scripted by someone else.
Knowing this, you may want to reflect on writing the book first and the movie script second.
Candice Kramer - As a content creator, Candee has investigated various forms of writing resulting in two feature length scripts. One, a comedy, placed in ...
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