Why The Book is Always Better- Part 1

By Dan Walsh

If you follow me on FB or Twitter, you might already know…one of my Bucket List items is likely going to happen, likely in the 2^nd half of 2019. That is, one of my novels is being made into a feature film (The Reunion). It’s been in the works for 2 years, but after chatting recently with Nick Vallelonga, the writer/director who’s adapted the book into a screenplay, some very big name actors and investors are already interested and reading the script. They’re hoping to have the casting and all the pre-production tasks completed by the end of this summer, then start shooting in the Fall.

We’ll see. I sure hope that’s how it goes from here.

In any case, I couldn’t be happier with the guy who wrote the script. You may have heard of him, Nick Vallelonga. In 2018, Nick won 2 Golden Globes and 2 Oscars for Best Original Screenplay for his movie, Green Book (it also won in the Best Picture category - here’s a pic of Nick holding his 2 Oscars).

Clearly, my book is in good hands. And Nick and I have become good friends. He’s kept the script as true to the book as possible, including the faith elements. Even with all that said, I’m pretty sure after the film is made (and hopefully becomes a smash hit), people who’ve read my book and also see the film will undoubtedly say, “The movie was good, but the book was better.”

Why do I say that? Because that’s what everyone always says about a book-turned-into-a-movie. “The Book was better.” A couple of years ago, I was speaking at a charter school to a middle-school group of honor students. It was a creative writing class, and all the kids said they wanted to be writers when they grew up.

Knowing most writers are avid readers, I asked how many of them liked to read novels. Every hand went up. I said, “Name some books you’ve read that were turned into movies.” Everyone began calling out popular movie names, lots of examples were shared. Then I asked, “Keep your hand up if you liked any of the movies better than the books?”

Every hand went down.

I asked it another way, “Did any of you like any of the movies better than any of the books? Raise your hand.” No one did. So, then we talked about why this is so. That’s what I want to talk about with you, this month and next month. Why the book is almost always better than the movie.

See, having worked fairly closely with Nick (and several other movie creative types) in the last few years, I’ve learned a little bit about that world and some of the unique storytelling challenges they face.  The first one I want to address goes directly to the reason the book is always better.

Turns out, most movie scripts are only between 100-120 pages long. The rule of thumb is, 1 page of script per minute of film (so, a 2-hour movie script would only be around 120 pages long). You can see the challenge right away. Most full-length novels average 300 pages, or more. The Reunion is just a few pages shy of 300.

Talking with Nick, that was his biggest challenge adapting it into a screenplay. Nick absolutely loved the book, as is. As novels go, he thought it was perfect and wouldn’t change a thing. But, there’s the rub. Even as a 2-hour movie, he had to cut out almost 2/3 of the book to get the story to fit the time constraint.

Of course, you can shave a few pages because you don’t have to describe very much in the script. One pan of the camera, and you set the scene. But that only takes out a little (especially in my books, I’m definitely a minimalist when it comes to descriptive paragraphs).

But see, this kind of challenge happens every time a novel is made into a movie. Can you imagine completing your full-length novel then having an editor hand it back to you saying, “Okay, we like it, but we need you to delete 200 pages, but still keep the best parts of the story intact.”

There are other reasons why I believe people always like the book better (we’ll talk about some next time). But this one alone has given me a new depth of sympathy and appreciation for screenwriters who try and tackle such a seemingly insurmountable storytelling challenge as this.

_______________________________________________________________________ 

Dan Walsh is the bestselling author of 21 novels (all available on Amazon), including The Unfinished Gift, Rescuing Finley, When Night Comes and The Reunion (now being made into a feature film). Over 750,000 of his books are in print or downloaded. He's won both the Carol and Selah Awards multiple times, 4 of his novels have been finalists for RT Reviews Inspirational Novel of the Year. Reviewers often remark about Dan's rich, character-driven storylines and page-turning suspense (even with his more inspirational books). He's been writing full-time since 2010. He and his wife Cindi have been married 42 years, have 2 grown children and 4 grandchildren. They live in the Daytona Beach area, where Dan grew up. You can follow him on Facebook or Twitter, read his blog, or preview all his books by visiting his website at http://www.danwalshbooks.com Dan’s books: If These Walls Could Talk - DAN'S NEWEST NOVEL, When Night Comes, Remembering Dresden, Unintended Consequences,  Perilous Treasure,  Rescuing Finley, Finding Riley,  Saving Parker and  The Deepest Waters (2nd Ed)

One of Our 1,032 Authors Attended the Golden Globes!

By Doyne Phillips, Managing Editor for Southern Writers Magazine

As of the Jan/Feb 2017 issue 1,032 are the number of Authors we have promoted in Southern Writers Magazine since we began in 2011. You may be one of the 1,032 and if so you are in good company. Many of our authors have done well. Many have been recognized for their abilities with acknowledgements from their peers, publishers and institutions.

While watching the Golden Globes on Jan 8^th, 2017 I noticed one of our 1,032 authors in the crowd of celebrities. Later I found that he was also a nominee in the Best Actor in a Drama category for Captain Fantastic! Yes, there sat Viggo Mortensen, the poet. Mortensen graced our Issue #6 in 2012. The article was titled On the Poet’s Road and was written by Sherry Perkins as a fantastic insight to the actors handling of rejection. I offered a Suite T post on this in May 2012 you can read. Better yet you can order a back copy of issue #6 and read the magazine article on Viggo Mortensen. It will be well worth your time.

The important thing to note about Mortensen and the other 1,031 authors is they all have shared with us what their thoughts are on writing and the way they have found to be the best for them to do so. In business it is said the “Sin of the Desert” is to know where the water is and not share it. These authors know where the water is and they are more than willing to share that with each of us that want to know. You can only imagine how invaluable the knowledge shared by these thousand plus authors can be to the new, the published or the established author.

If you haven’t had an opportunity to gain some of this knowledge you can begin today. Don’t let another issue go out without your name on it. 

Also read our blog site Suite T every day. It too has a lot to offer from our authors. Become knowledgeable and once you do you too can share with others where the water is. Go to our Home Page and click on Subscribe today! 

Who knows, we may even see you at the Globes!     

In Front of a Live Audience

by Gary Fearon, Creative Director, Southern Writers Magazine

In his Golden Globe acceptance speech Sunday night (for the movie Django Unchained), writer/director Quentin Tarantino provided some valuable insight into his approach to writing award-winners.  Specifically thanking the friends who are part of his life when he is writing, he explained that they don't realize how important they are to the creative process.

"When I read it to you, I hear it through your ears," said Tarantino, who shares scenes with his friends, not so much to receive feedback as to test his work out loud in front of an actual audience.

We've all heard that it's good practice for writers to read their work aloud to see if it sounds as good in the ear as it does on the page.  But wouldn't it be great to have a live audience to bounce every new scene off of?

Most of us actually do have that opportunity if we're connected to a writers group, as there are often fellow writers willing to stay late or meet separately for the purpose of some mutual critiquing.

At the same time, many of us are such perfectionists that we don't want to release our words until we ourselves have honed them to our personal satisfaction.  Both methods do the trick, and it clearly depends on the individual.  With as many approaches to writing as there are writers, it's all a matter of whatever works for you.

The question is, Is your particular approach working for you?  Are you getting as much written as you'd like, and are you pleased with what's getting on the page?  If the answer is no, perhaps another method would be worth a try.

If you're finding that you leave your critique group feeling confused or discouraged, it may be time to work as a loner until you regain your equilibrium. Or if you've written alone for so long that you find it hard to gauge how your adoring public will react, it could well be time to branch out and seek some hearing ears.

Whether we read our work aloud to ourselves or to others whose opinions we value, let's sing Quentin's Theme and hear our words through the audience's ears.