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