FROM ONE TO THE OTHER

It started off as a screenplay. A western. The kind with horses. I gave myself 105 pages to wrap it up. Much longer I’m told and producers lose interest.

I’ve enjoyed reading westerns over the years and decided to write a novel from the screenplay of mine. Working title: ‘COWBOY’.

I’ve heard from others who read a book and later check out to see if it’s been made into a film. Many enjoy one as much as the other.

Writing a screenplay from a book is easier to me than writing a book from a screenplay. A book gives you more room to explore the plot and develop it. Some third of a book goes into a screenplay.

Starting off with a blank page seems one heck of a mountain to climb. You’ve done solid research to back up the story. Characters come along and help you drive the plot. All set? Let’s go.

Author’s comment: The first draft of a manuscript or screenplay sets the plot, the action. The story itself will tell you when it ends. A first draft, done. Now the real work: Rewrite, rewrite, rewrite.