Adaptations can tell us about the book being adapted

Adapting a book for the screen is a good way to explore the story of the book being adapted. Exposing the story of the adapted book to the imperatives of screenplay story and structure reveals the story and beat-structure of the book very well. This structure is story genre dependent to some degree. A book in the thriller or action fiction genres will tend to have more story beats than, say, a period drama or romantic drama. But given that specific, book adaptations can tell us much about the story being adapted to the screen. Are there enough twists and turns, enough reveals, to sustain the story and structure of a 90 page/minutes screenplay, or do we ned to add some? If we need to add beats, we can tell that the book may be a bit light on story beats. Is the central character in the story present enough, or do we have to make them more present in the screen adaptation of the book? Screenplay adaptations serve as excellent tools for analysing source material stories, then – in many ways. Something like HARRY POTTER is easier to adapt than, say, ONE THOUSAND YEARS OF SOLITUDE. HARRY POTTER is a more ‘cinematic’ story, whereas Gabriel Garcia-Marquez’ book is a stream of consciousness that is, like, say, James Joyce’s book ULYSSES, more about the words than the action.

Need something adapted to the screen? To get your book, play, or other IP adapted to the screen expertly, hire me to do the adaptation for you. I love adapting books for the screen. Adaptations are a very specific form of screenwriting that requires a lot of film script writing experience.

Happy screenwriting.