I have always enjoyed a great passion for film and gripping screenplay, so I decided to read a few articles and watch a few talks to see how different it really is to writing a novel or short stories. I then joined a local scriptwriting group, meeting at a local theatre once a week, for a few months. I was intrigued as to whether I could accompany my novel writing with learning about scriptwriting as a discipline. And I am happy to report it has definitely been time well spent!
Being in a face-to-face group clearly has some benefits, although I appreciate not everyone is as lucky as me to have such a group locally. The format of the meetings has been pretty simple so far: having already shared the script drafts before the meeting via email we go through each, reading out parts in order to bring it to life and then give feedback to the writer. This could consist of what we liked, what didn’t work so well, direction, suggestions or anything else that came to mind during the readings – and best of all the writer gets to sit and listen to their own work to help decide how to develop onwards. I am still amazed at the difference between scripts on paper and those read out aloud – one gains a totally different perspective and it definitely helps forge an opinion and generate ideas.
I have to add that spending time with creative and like-minded individuals is massively rewarding. Already I have learnt a great deal and it is a very open session during which anything can come out!! As much as I love writing I am always consciously trying not to bore everyone around me by constantly talking about it, so being in a forum of writers and sharing ideas is something I really look forward to. Not that everyone always agrees! Healthy debate aplenty…!
It is true (and obvious) that the format of a script is very different from that of writing a novel. To help with this (and not get too hung up about it) I downloaded a free application called Celtx which you can use on your desktop or online and sync between the two. It’s very easy to use and I found I could concentrate far better on the content rather than stressing over getting the formatting right. If you are thinking of starting out I would definitely recommend this to avoid restricting your enthusiasm and creative juices!!
The question I have been asked is this: is it easy for a novelist (to date) to learn and work to the discipline of script writing? The honest answer is that, personally, I didn’t find it too challenging to write the script as when I write my mind is visualising the scenes and dialogue anyway. The quality of the work could be a different question altogether! I can say that it is much easier to review your script when it is read aloud and listened to rather than reading it again and again. I like to think of mine as a first draft of a work in progress… (is that sufficient caveat / excuse??!!!)
There are definitely differences to learn and were parts of my normal storytelling I had to reign in, such as reminding myself not to be descriptive in terms of environment or character emotion. I had to tone back the character actions and movements to the absolute bare minimum which, from a novelist perspective, is quite alien. The rule here is that the producers and actors would interpret the script and apply their creativity according to their vision – it is not necessarily for a writer to also direct the production! The writers’ goal is to tell a compelling story using dialogue, and dialogue alone. A novelist must also be prepared to relinquish some of the control of the visualisation and be able to hand over some of the telling of the story to producers and actors. I would imagine this is not always easy.
I have greatly enjoyed delving into a different discipline of writing. It is not to say I will focus solely on scriptwriting but giving my mind another creative outlet has sparked more ideas across different disciplines and I am enjoying trying my hand at something new and exciting!
I may have to remind myself not to try and direct every aspect (as you would when writing a novel) but telling a story through solely dialogue has certainly shown me how speech and conversation can take a more prevalent role in storytelling and is, indeed, more powerful in many ways. Learning about writing, in whichever discipline, and applying those learnings to all aspects is certainly helping me to become a more rounded writer.
And who knows? Maybe I’ll even get a screenplay aired one day. After all, I dreamt of writing and publishing a novel, so why not…?!!