Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Novels vs. Screenplays, Are They Really So Different?

Everyone knows that the format of a novel is completely different from the format of a screenplay. But are they really so different?

I don't think so. When writing a screenplay or play, the writer must include characters, plot development, dialogue, and settings. Aren't these same elements in novels?

Of course they are. The difference between screenplays and novels is in the format of the typed page. In screenplays the characters and their dialogue are set apart from the stage directions. At least in the screenplays I've seen in script form, the character's name is to the far left margin of the page with the dialogue written in block form to the right, leaving white space below the character's name. Stage directions, or rather the actions, are typed in parenthesis and italicized. The setting of the scene is usually typed at the beginning of the scene before any stage directions or dialogue are given.

In a novel the stage directions are written as part of the narrative in the novel and intertwined with the dialogue. The character's names are in the tags, and the actions show up, often, as beats. The setting shows up in narrative prose seen through the eyes of the characters as they "look" upon the scenery before them.

So, screenplays and novels are the same, just as cars and trucks are the same.

kmparis

Saturday, August 18, 2007

When to Make Changes & When Not To

Changes can be good, but only if those changes are made for specific reasons.

When writers create a storyline, the writer plots out ideas and characters and develops scenes and begins writing. Then the writer hits a wall. The story is not working. Now what?

The writer can resort to any number of ways to solve the problem. One of those ways is to pass what has been written to a friend or critique partner to read and make suggestions. Very effective - sometimes. What you, as the writer, need to remember about critique suggestions is whether or not the changes suggested make sense. Did the person doing the critique have a personal dislike of the writing? Or is the critique back by solid reasoning?

I have a friend who hates tomatoes and onion. If I entered a recipe into a contest where she is the judge, and I had both tomatoes and onions in abundance in my dish, how do you think she would score my concoction? I'll tell you, she'd score it very low.

Look at suggestions under a microscope. Weigh them carefully before abandoning your own ideas. But if the critiquer's ideas have validity then employ them.

What I find invaluable is the brainstorming sessions I have with friends. In a brainstorming session, ideas are thrown out without regard to how well they would work. Whatever comes to mind is allowable. You make note of them all, then later consider each one. Eliminate the ones that are completely from left field. Focus on the ones with potential. Sometimes it takes a couple of sessions or so before you settle on a solution to your plot problem. To me brainstorming should be a part of each critique group. Brainstorming is as important as the editing, if not more so.

kmparis

Sunday, August 12, 2007

Falling Stars

Tonight is the main event for the annual Perseid Shower. The sky is clear and there is no moon - perfect for viewing the sky.

The trick is to find a place without the lights of town interfering and without a stand of trees to block vision. Hard to do in east Texas. Even with the cities nearby growing and expanding, there are still thousands of acres of land filled with trees.

I think I have come up with a good place. It's a couple of miles from my home. There is a small hill that overlooks a plot of land where trees have been removed to provide space to grow hay. It faces the east, and there is a driveway leading to the top of the hill. The drawback? The drive leads to an old, family cemetery. Now, I know some people who wouldn't be caught dead (pun intended) sitting there watching shooting stars streaking across the sky in the middle of a cemetery, but that's not a problem for me.

I'm not superstitious nor afraid of the dark. I'll take a large, cold diet Dr. Pepper with me and lock my doors, just to be on the safe side. Too bad I don't have a camera that will take night pictures. I'll bet those pictures would be spectacular.

kmparis

Saturday, August 11, 2007

An ETWA Writing Assignment

Our president has hit on an ingenious idea, in my opinion. Monthly writing assignments for the members of the group and any visitors who wish to participate.

In July, Gay Ingram presented a program and at the end an assignment was given - write a 1,000 - 2,000 word piece in any genre on one of five topics. The topics were: a cabin in the woods, a cold morning, an empty parking garage, a woman on the beach, and one other that I can't remember at this moment. Brain lock is terrible you know.

Last night, at the August meeting, members brought in their projects and read them with the members present. They were wonderful. I did notice that each person who completed the assignment wrote in the same genre as they usually do. That's beneficial in one way because at least people wrote something.

Then before we were dismissed, the president gave out another writing assignment - take one topic and write it in three genres. These are shorter, only 250 - 500 words, but it will force each person who participates to write in at least two genres different from the genre in which he or she usually writes. The topic can be anything, even one of last month's topics, just so all three genres are on the same topic.

I'm a former teacher by profession, so this type of thing is exciting in itself. I came home and wrote the first of my three versions. Now, I chose a typical genre to start with - romance. But I plan on the other two versions to be a teen story and a science fiction story, or maybe a western. Hmmm, I'll have to think about that for a while. Can't wait to get typing on the next one.

kmparis

Tuesday, August 07, 2007

Flee the Night - A Book Review

Flee the Night by Susan May Warren didn’t make my tears flee into the night; it brought them forth to my eyes. The ending to Ms. Warren’s romantic suspense novel made me sniff my tears back.

Along the way, Flee the Night brought a chuckle or two. Susan’s heroine, CIA operative on-the-run -– Lacey Montgomery -– needs to find her missing daughter and begin a new life, in that order. The world of conspiracy and terror that her late husband, John, drew her into quickly turned Lacey’s life into a nightmare. Will she ever wake up and find the nightmare gone?

Maybe Jim Micah can help out on that end. Ms. Warren’s hero, Green Beret-on-leave Jim Micah has all the tools Lacey needs to help her with both problems. But will he use them for her? Chances are Lacey’s going to be out of luck. Jim Micah happens to be her former friend and her dead husband’s best friend. Then what’s the problem? Jim Micah happens to believe that Lacey Montgomery has gotten away with murder far too long - the murder of her husband.

This was the first book I’ve read by Susan May Warren, but it won’t be the last. I’m now in search of the next book in the Team Hope series. I’m hoping that Hank and Sarah will be featured. They captured my attention immediately in Flee the Night.

kmparis

Saturday, August 04, 2007

Boo Hiss - A Book Review

Boo Hiss slithered on the scene and has taken readers aback. Rene Gutteridge’s newest installment in the Boo series has the town searching – for why a soccer field has just appeared in Skary, Indiana when there are no soccer teams, for why all of the sudden everyone in town is Internet crazy when the local coffee shop begins offering Internet access along with its new fancy coffees, and for a missing two-headed pet boa constrictor named Bob and Fred.

Throw into the mix a newly-wed couple, Melb and Oliver, who discover they are expectant parents unexpectedly, strife between newly-weds Wolfe and Ainsley Boone because of Melb’s and Oliver’s little problem, the hunt for Bob/Fred that goes on all over Skary, and the breach in reality for the town’s mayor thrusting the assistant mayor into the position of finding a solution to Skary’s money problems all alone, and you have a hilarious mix of plotlines to tickle your fancy.

Poor Wolfe is still at a loss, searching for that elusive new writing project. Facing editors to pitch projects is scary. It’s been a long while since Wolfe has had to do that. And poor Alfred, because of Wolfe’s desertion of his horror writing career, has had his career as an agent bottom out as well. Now Alfred, too, must find a new way to continue his career. Since Wolfe is so gung-ho Christian writing, Alfred figures he might as well join the bandwagon too. The results – totally insane.

Boo Hiss is fast-paced and captivating. You’ll turn page after page, looking for the next comic installment in the lives of Skary’s townspeople. And you’ll be sad when you reach the last page for the characters in Skary have become like friends to you, and you’ll miss them when the book is finished.

kmparis

Friday, August 03, 2007

The Reluctant Burglar - A Book Review

Jill Elizabeth Nelson has written a suspense named Reluctant Burglar that will steal your attention. Reluctant Burglar is the first in Ms. Nelson’s To Catch A Thief series.

In this novel Desiree “Desi” Jacobs is pitted against her neimisis, Special Agent Anthony Lucano. Tony belives Hiram Jacobs and possibly his daughter, Desi are stealing priceless works of art. Before Tony can make his arrest, Hiram Jacobs is murdered. That leaves Desi. Is she involved? Or is she innocent?

Special Agent Lucano is a fake Christian, in Desi’s opinion. He joined their church just to harass Desi and her father. Now he is the one to announce to Desi the news of her father’s murder.
Desi is left to sort out the facts, alone, after the death of her father. Will Desi be able to clear her father’s name before her life is taken as well? Can Desi ever trust anyone again?

Tony continues to hound her in his efforts to solve his missing art case. Then the whole case explodes. Can Desi ever make sense of the pieces of her life raining down around her?
Jill’s writing style is easy to read and her characters are attractive. I’m looking forward to reading the next book in her series, Reluctant Runaway.

kmparis

Thursday, August 02, 2007

Boo Who - A Book Review

Boo Who is Rene Gutteridge’s next installment of the Boo series. And it follows with just as much fun as the original. Wolfe “Boo” Boone is trying to live a new life as Skary, Indiana’s newest used car salesman instead of writing the horror novels he is so known for all over the world.

But something’s not working. Wolfe finds the requirements of selling used cars a little too uncomfortable. Writing is what he knows, but he refuses, despite all efforts of his agent, to continue to write such things for the secular market. While he searches for a topic better suited to his status as a new Christian, Wolfe finds himself being overshadowed by the rising status of his finaceĆ©, Ainsley Parker.

Alfred Tennison, Wolfe’s agent, devises a plan to get his best resource back on track – he’ll use Ainsley’s talents in cooking, decorating, etc., to make Wolfe jealous enough to return to his writing life.

Meantime the town has been inundated with mysterious figures flitting through the woods, strange screams in the night, and a psychological therapist who sets up for business in Skary, quite by accident, and has more patients than he ever dreamed of in his life.

Will all the new stresses in Ainsley’s life tear her apart from Wolfe and send their dream wedding down the drain? Will Wolfe give in to Alfred’s efforts and return to writing horror fiction? Will Sheriff Parker’s cat recover from his deep state of depression? All are questions that can only be answered by reading Boo Who.

kmparis

Wednesday, August 01, 2007

Before I Wake - A Book Review

Before I Wake, Dee Henderson’s most recent novel, is just as gripping as the rest of her books. Rae Gabriella arrives in Justice, Illinois in search of a quiet place to settle and regroup her life. A former undercover investigator for the FBI, Rae is left dangling after her last case goes awry.

Rae’s former boyfriend, Bruce Chapel, has invited her to come to Justice to work with him as his partner in his private investigation service. Rae moves into town just as peace and quiet abandons Justice. On her way into town, Rae meets Sheriff Nathan Justice, thanks to her lead foot.

When bodies begin appearing in Justice, the town is flabbergasted. Could the murders be connected? Together Rae, Nathan and Bruce work to solve the crimes. Then Rae becomes a target. Why? What did she know? Time is against them. Will they figure it out before Rae becomes another casulty?

As usual, Dee’s writing grabs the reader and keeps the pages turning. The dash of romance Dee mixes into her suspense is just enough to satisfy readers who want it but not so much as to turn off readers who’d rather not have it.

Now, who will Rae Gabriella end up with – Nathan Justice or Bruce Chapel? We’ll just have to wait and see.

kmparis