In April of this year, Victoria Griffin of Modern Publishing, interviewed me about the craft of writing. The interview resulted in three separate podcasts that covered distinct discussion areas. One segment focused on a comparison of novel writing vs. screenwriting. I could write a book, or at least a series of blogs, on the topic of various writing disciplines. In former days, I ‘ve been a grant writer, playwright, news reporter, screenwriter, short story writer, and, more recently, an author with two published novels. With novel writing, I struggle, at times, to fulfill the expectations of descriptive passages and backstory. And, in developing my latest novel, I’m challenged to forego the sparseness of word use assigned to script writing. Did I say challenge? Let’s call it a near impasse for a flow of inspired and creative prose interspersed between dialogue and action sequences.
Here’s the thing! I prefer writing dialogue. I don’t enjoy writing description, albeit the mortar between the bricks of every story! Luckily, writing descriptive passages didn’t vex me with my second novel, The Years In Between. For instance, I summoned up the images and words to describe the interior of a 1950s Boston townhouse kitchen, i.e., tall and small with turquoise walls and white cabinets. Okay, it wasn’t an enormous amount of detail, but you get the picture. And, I had the protagonist whispering in my ear the nuances and happenings of her life’s journey. She’d share with me what she wore on a particular day! I could see the imagined world in my mind’s eye projected onto the page, a bona fide visual! The scenes played out right in front of me. I was merely the scribe!
Admittedly, I’m a bit of a plot junkie in the vein of “what happens next?” And I don’t mean that every chapter needs to end in a cliffhanger. But I do prefer action sequences or some kind of story progression through dialogue which is why screenwriting comes more naturally to me. I adhere without question to the rule of one page of script equaling one minute of screen time. The challenge of creating visuals with less strokes on the canvas, as in words on the page, intrigues me. Yes, a screenplay must convey the same kind of visual and emotional impact as a book, i.e., you have to see what’s happening on the page, but without the luxury of a high word count!
Unquestionably, both novels and screenplays are scene driven. A novel requires some kind of bridge of words a la description to keep the scenes cohesive and relaying the story, maintaining the tone, carrying the theme, and keeping the characters on their journeys. In a script, a writer can jump from one scene to another, or back and forth in time and place, minus the word and backstory bridges! Somehow, the story and character arc come through without the narrator’s voice exposing internal thoughts or past events, unless the writer employs voiceover. I have one note on voiceover after taking a three-day course with Robert McKee years ago! He despises voiceover and considers it a lazy technique for screenwriting. Search his quotes regarding voiceover, whether you agree or not. Of course, there’s always an exception to a rule and more than one exception for an opinion!
One of my stumbling blocks in my current project, The Final Testament, involves worldbuilding, The Final Testament, Book 3 of The Miriam Chronicle series, begins in 2019 and progresses to future times. I don’t mean future like the next century. The story ends in 2075 which, although decades away, is not really too far away, right? Someone who is thirteen in 2023 will be sixty-five in 2075, which, in this day and age, is more like forty something! My challenge remains with what the world will look like, not only sixty years from now but even five years down the road! And although advances in science and technology don’t have to be at the heart of my descriptive passages, they also can’t be avoided.
Online writing resources and ‘how to write” books all agree that descriptive passages should include the senses—hearing, taste, smell, sight, and touch—to give a tactile, visceral feel and emotion to a story. I think the same technique could be used for screenplays as long as words remain minimal.
Personally, I lose interest in books with too much description or backstory in between action and plot points. I found an interesting reply to the topic of description in stackexchange.com where users post questions and answer them. The questions posed: How much description is too much? The answer, in this instance, relayed that there’s “…pacing to consider.” Now that’s the tricky part because some authors get away with loads of descriptive passages similar to the saga novels of American writer James Michener. I possess at least one his tomes in my collection of “to read” books that most likely will not get read any time soon. Michener’s work is noted for making the setting a character, and I’m not sure that would appeal to some readers, like yours truly. I’m pretty sure I started his novel, “Chesapeake” a few years ago and didn’t get very far. Since then, I’ve made a rule to complete every book I start, whether I like it or not!! As a writer, I learn from everything I read—what to do and what not to do.
So, the story continues, and the differences between writing a novel and a screenplay remain apparent. But great storytelling is the aim of both writing disciplines and that happens with word choices! I’m amazed at authors that can spin nouns into verbs in ways I never dreamed of and create similes and metaphors that sound like poetry! But, if you tell me every detail of a room down to the positions of the furniture, I’ll get lost in the translation! So, what’s the answer? CHARACTER! As long as the character doesn’t get lost in the shuffle of words and descriptions, I’ll invest in their journey!
For a listen to the podcast on novel writing vs. screenwriting, I’ve included the link below! Happy writing!