What are the things you like about adapting...

[Rozemeijer]

What are the nice things when you make an adaptation of a book, play or a radio play to film. And of course vice versa.

Till now I have only made original screenplay's. But what things you like about adapting?

[rurals]

i would think that getting the rights are important to the process.

[Rozemeijer]

What I meant was the writing process. Sorry.

[dpaterso]

Knowing in advance that the story works, that it isn't going to break down because I forgot something vital sixty pages ago.

Converting detailed prose to just visuals and dialogue. An ongoing challenge for me, since I'm a naturally wordy bastard.

They're nice, to me.

-Derek
-----------------------My Web Page - naked women, bestial sex, and whopping big lies. (http://hometown.aol.co.uk/DPaterson57)

[Writing Again]

So far I've only adapted parts of my own novels with the specific goal of learning to write screenplays.

What I enjoy is the challenge -- It is different than anything I have ever done before.

What I also enjoy is the understanding it gives about the story you are adapting.

The novelist can write "to their audience" in that people buy your books because they enjoy what you do -- If your fan base is large enough you can enjoy a steady income. For actors this is also true, there are people who will watch everythihg Julia Roberts stars in just to watch her lips move -- The screenwriter has to start out fresh each and every time.

Therefore in a novel you can write characters that have little or no function. Yet one of those "useless characters" might have more audience appeal than characters who perform major functions.

It is kind of like taking a perfectly good antique car, stripping it down to its parts, and then rebuilding it into a monster truck.