Terry Shames's Blog: 7 Criminal Minds, page 67

Adapting a Book Into a Film, by Josh Stallings

Q: Why do you think so few beloved books become equally beloved films? Do you have a personal list of exceptions?

A: I started my adult writing journey in screenplays. A couple that got made had limited releases and disappeared. I have been asked if I want to turn any of my books into screenplays. NO, REALLY, NO. I have never felt I had the distance or objectivity with my books to be able to translate them into film.   

For an adaptation to work it needs a screenwriter who can discover the essence...

Medium Fidelity, by Catriona

Reading - Why do you think so few beloved books become equally beloved films? Do you have a personal list of exceptions?

Gabriel was on the money on Tuesday, pointing out that simply because of scope and scale short stories make for good movies. "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption", "The Birds", "Brokeback Mountain". And wasn't 2001 based on a short story too?

I don't have a problem with the cutting that necessarily goes on to turn a 100K word novel into a 90min movie, mind you. If the ada...

Ready for my close-up? by Cathy Ace

Reading - Why do you think so few beloved books become equally beloved films? Do you have a personal list of exceptions?

Phot courtesy of Free@LastTVI’ve just been through an exceptionally interesting process – reading the screenplay for a book of mine. 
The prospect was exciting, because it was the first step in bringing my Cait Morgan Mysteries to the screen:  Free@LastTV (Agatha Raisin) has been working on this process right through the pandemic pause, and now beyond. It was slow going for a w...

Why This | Why That by Gabriel Valjan

 

Why do you think so few beloved books become equally beloved films? Do you have a personal list of exceptions?

 

Screenwriters are told, ‘Do not submit a screenplay longer than 120 pages.’ Likewise, the sweet spot for novels is somewhere between 80,000 to 100,000 words. The reason why is simple: one page of a screenplay is one minute of film. Time is money to movie studios, and it costs publishers to print books. The page length may explain why, historically, the short story ...

To Be or Not to Be Truthful to the Author

 Q Why do you think so few beloved books become equally beloved films? Do you have a personal list of exceptions?

-from Susan

 

Great question, and one that I think about whenever the air goes out of a hopeful balloon of anticipation. I read and hear stories of contemporary authors who are crushed or furious when the dream they had of seeing their novel turned into a movie or series turns out to be something else entirely. 

 

We all know some of the authors who’ve made that transition successfully: H...

I Am a Writer

 In Lucy Worsley’s biography of Agatha Christie, we learned that Christie always wrote “married woman” in the “occupation” line on her passport. How did you navigate going public with being a writer? 

 

 

Abir here, and today’s question is a poignant one: when were you happy calling yourself a writer? 

 

It’s the dream, right? The day we can stand up in a room and honestly call ourself a writer – it’s what many of us aspire to. It’s the prize, the goal, it's what sustains us over the years of hard wo...

Claiming the Title of Writer from James W. Ziskin

In Lucy Worsley’s biography of Agatha Christie, we learned that Christie always wrote “married woman” in the “occupation” line on her passport. How did you navigate going public with being a writer? 

Me “writing” my name at
Interabang Bookstore, Dallas
I don’t recall there was ever any mention of profession in my passport, but, when traveling abroad, I used to write the word “business” on landing cards in the space earmarked for profession. Not sure why I balked at putting “businessman.” Maybe I d...

Bonified

In Lucy Worsley’s biography of Agatha Christie, we learned that Christie always wrote “married woman” in the “occupation” line on her passport. How did you navigate going public with being a writer? 

by Dietrich

Around the time of my first novel, Ride the Lightning, somebody asked me, “So, what do you do?” And it felt odd saying that I was a writer. It had taken many short stories and a completed novel for me to say it aloud — more importantly — believing it myself. So, I had to adjust my own defi...

Writer, What Else?

 

Terry here, with the topic for this week: In Lucy Worsley’s biography of Agatha Christie, we learned that Christie always wrote “married woman” in the “occupation” line on her passport. How did you navigate going public with being a writer? 
 It’s hard to imagine that the prolific and unendingly popular Agatha Christie identified her occupation as “married woman.” By that standard, I suppose Jane Austen was “unmarried woman.” Dick Francis was “retired jockey.” Wallace Stevens? “Insurance sale...

In the Public Eye

In Lucy Worsley’s biography of Agatha Christie, we learned that Christie always wrote “married woman” in the “occupation” line on her passport. How did you navigate going public with being a writer? 

Brenda at the keyboard.

One only has to hear the intrusive stories of exploitation that some people in the public eye have suffered to know that privacy needs to be protected. Fame can be an incredible burden.Think of Princess Diana, Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck (first time around), Harry and Meghan...