I write this blog at a project crossroads with adapting a book to a screenplay. I wrote the book, “Unearthing Christmas,” a few years ago. I started the story as a screenplay and switched to a manuscript before getting too deep into the writing. I knew the characters and the premise that started with a dream! And I’d not yet attempted a novel, a personal goal as a writer.
The book was published in 2015, republished in 2017, and republished again in 2020. It’s turning into a cat with nine lives, but I REALLY hope not. It’s both exhausting and exhilarating to get a book republished, like a phoenix rising from the ashes! But that’s not the end of the story. The current publisher is DEpublishing “Unearthing Christmas” which means it vanishes from the market. I’d never heard of such a thing. I was given three options of how to proceed. The most logical one was to have the rights reversed to me. So now it will be published for a fourth time, God willing, whether I self-publish or seek out a traditional publisher. The hourglass of time is slowly emptying to the minus side of August 6, 2022, “De” day! My real concern is preserving the 35 Amazon reviews cultivated since the first publication back in 2015. Crazy as it sounds, I had notions of asking for the rights back before I got the “Dear Anthea” email. The current publisher was due to a merge with my former one, kind of like a shot-gun wedding. I wanted to do a few revisions, tighten up the copy, and remove any glitches. I worked with a good proofreader with my second book, “The Years In Between” and I was willing to pay for any further revisions to “Unearthing Christmas.” Anything to get it where I thought it needed to be.
Now I’m also back to the screenplay version of “Unearthing Christmas” because there’s some promise of interest in a movie. Yes, I know that world of filmmaking as a lowly writer with a couple of scripts optioned. Nothing went beyond the option period with those two screenplays.
Regarding “Unearthing Christmas” I drafted a script in 2020, year one of the pandemic. I’ve been down this adaptation road before with the first short story I had published in a magazine. It’s entitled “Key Witness” and the screenplay version is “Scarred Angel” about a hit woman who sabotages her last assignment in an attempt to retire from the business—a dangerous choice! The plot takes place in a 24-hour period. I treated the short story like a blueprint for the screenplay, almost a play by play. With “Unearthing Christmas” I took the same blue print approach. It’s a short enough novel, a little over 49,000 words, to be faithful to the story. But, now I’m rethinking it. I’m not satisfied with the results. It’s as if the characters are saying: Is that it? You’ve known us for so long, can’t you find something more to do with us?
I know it sounds crazy, but YES I do know these characters and they are capable of much more than what I’ve written in the book. And then there’s the visual aspect of their stories. I’ve been told by a few readers that the best feature of the book is the natural dialogue, especially with the teens. So I’ve lifted the dialogue right out of the book. Easy, right? But, visual? Well, that’s another story! A screen story!!
So, now I’m at the crossroads. I should plumb these characters at their deepest level and take “show don’t tell” to the max! But I also have plot points and a structure to consider! I’m a firm and faithful believer in structure with any story—screenplay, book, play, or poem! Even the appearance of no structure is structure in itself….a choice! My writing has to be deliberate or it has no meaning.
Lately, I’ve started a morning jog about three times per week and try to focus on my “Unearthing Christmas” story. My hope is that my imagination will spark some scenes! I get glimmers, a fleeting image and think, hey that might work! They are random images and deviate ever so slightly from the book. But I don’t know if the scenes work in the story, at least not until I keep developing them. But that’s okay, since the characters remains the same. It’s more like expanding on certain story kernels introduced in the book. This is hard though. Part of me just wants to polish up the first draft that’s faithful to the book. But a better part of me knows there’s so much more in the visual world that would bring these character to life!
For now, I’ve written out these little scenes. My goal is to work them into the story, but I need to storyboard first. Ugh, the work continues, but it’s prep work for me, like painting a room. You don’t start by splashing paint on the wall. There’s a process to follow. All I know is that the crossroad won’t let me go back. I must forge ahead into the unknown. Will the script be better? I sure hope so. I do know it will be a little different from the book. The same story, the same characters, but added dimensions, nuances and a reimagining of events. It’s not easy to step back from your own work and see it differently. But I’m going to give it a try.
Writing is one of the greatest adventures life offers! Ask any writer! A story takes you to a world unknown by anyone, until it’s realized and shared. Make your stories happen! Be courageous about it! Take risks with your writing! Your characters and readers will be happier for it.