How To Turn A Book Into A Screenplay

By Author: Jack Simmons
Total Articles: 38
Comment this article

Are you wondering how to turn a book into a screenplay? If so, read on and learn tips about how to turn a book into a screenplay. A screenplay is a composition written specially for the small or the large screen. The industry demands that screenplays be written using the format and terminology specified. Of course, every studio and producer mandate different elements in the screenplay they feel is fit enough to be filmed. Writers knowledgeable about how to turn a book into a screenplay know that the genre of the intended film is just as important as the way the adaptation is executed. Books with a quick, forward moving story and a premise that will sweep the audience off its feet are sought after writers and by the executives of the film industry. Two of the critical aspects that need prior scrutiny in order to learn how to turn a book into a screenplay are:
1. The book to be adapted should not have already undergone the process
2. Obtain rights to adapt the proposed book from the writer/publisher
Ignoring the first point would lead to waste of time since producers look for original ideas, fresh from the writer's ...
... desk. The second point has legitimacy attached. Nobody with a sound mind would want to fool around with law. Mastering how to turn a book into a screenplay should not turn into a nightmare, and thus it is very important that you gain the legal rights to the book before beginning to write. Writers' Guild of America has an Arbitration Committee to deal with breach of its credit policies. In case you decide to do the screenplay and then lure the high-profile people at the film industry, chances are that someone else purchased the rights to the book before you can even type the final words, "FADE OUT" in your script. Your best bet is to get the author of the book to option it to you, allowing you to shop the screenplay under construction.
The puzzle of how to turn a book into a screenplay is challenging to most, but not to professional screenwriters. Consider what might require rearrangement to justify your undertaking the task. Some books lend themselves naturally to be converted to scripts; others offer more challenges. Sometimes, books have to be worked upon so intensively that once turned into a screenplay the new composition hardly bears any resemblance to the original work. Unless you want to take up screenwriting as your full-time career, do not attempt your hand at it. An ill-written screenplay will turn even the most brilliant idea from a book into a disaster. Turn to screenwriter for hire and who is conversant with intricacies of how to turn a book into a screenplay. Chisel down the story to fit the film and visual interpretation of the movie. Identify the key action scenes in the book and work on them by adding more flesh. Movies lack the benefit of narrative explanation and must lean on visual elements. Make yours a feast for the eyes and it is a joy-ride for you from then onwards.

fast custom papers