Movie and Book Plots Are Different
I have been spending my Friday evenings hanging out with friends for the last 30 years. One of our favorite pastimes is to watch YouTube videos. The subject matter encompasses music, humor, crafting, technical lectures, computers, racing, and educational topics.
Last week, we watched a YouTube Pitch Meeting about the live-action Snow White movie. If you’ve never watched one of these videos, the host pretends to humorously tell himself (as if he were the movie studio) about the movie and why it would be a good idea to make it. IE, he is “pitching it.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0nSF...
One of the popular catchphrases in these Pitch Meetings is “super easy, barely an inconvenience.” The host uses this comical phrase to describe a scene where the characters easily overcome a significant obstacle. One example occurs when Snow White breaks the evil queen’s spell by saying the names and occupations of the townspeople.
This funny phrase got me thinking about the differences between a movie plot and a book plot. But first, what is a movie from a story perspective? A screenwriter creates a script to capture the plot, using a relatively small amount of dialogue to convey the story. The remaining details are visually conveyed.
A book contains a vast quantity of text and sometimes pictures. More text is required because something simple, like a car, needs a paragraph to be described accurately. The resulting book has substantially more details, but the movie provides a more visually appealing representation.
Yet, there is more to it. I contend that the story is different because of the limited movie format. Sure, the characters could spend ten minutes describing something, but moviegoers would be bored to tears as they sat through a five-hour movie.
Unfortunately, this limited format results in scenes that range from glossing over details to those that lack coherence. Typically, moviegoers ignore these issues and enjoy the film, but sometimes, the omissions are so glaring that the movie suffers.
I wanted to highlight a classic inconsistency that occurred in the Lord of The Rings trilogy. At the beginning of the first movie, the main characters ride large birds. Then, they spend days traveling by foot through harsh terrain while fighting off the enemy. So… Why not fly the whole way?
The author, J.R.R. Tolkien, provided a logical reason why it was not possible to fly, but this detail was omitted from the film. And the audience understands. “Hey, they glossed over that. No big deal.”
The reason behind this decision is that the audience did not need a boring bird explanation. Instead, they sought drama, action, large-scale battle scenes, epic music, attractive characters, computer-generated dragons, impressive weaponry, and over-the-top action. All in 4K with Dolby Digital sound! And the movies indeed delivered.
Books are vastly different. When I write, a big part of my thought process focuses on conveying exactly what is happening and why. Bad reviews confirm the difference. A moviegoer would complain about the lack of drama, slow pacing, and mild action. Yet, a reader would complain about a confusing plot, poor descriptions, lackluster characters, and missing details.
I spend hours at the outline stage to work out precisely how my plot will unfold. I never want to see logic problems, confusing characters, controversy, or poor flow. Then I spend months writing and even more time editing. Ultimately, my goal is to have every detail polished to perfection. Not one word out of place.
Thus, I would never allow one of my characters to use a silly method to break a spell. Instead, I would fully define all aspects of the spell. Then, the character would spend pages thinking of possible ways to break it, and only then would I allow them to try one of those methods. Of course, I would not allow their first attempt to work. Why? Trial and error often lead to great drama, and failures are frequently the most memorable moments.
While the two approaches may ultimately converge, the journey is different, and I have a final example to illustrate this. I have only laughed twice while reading a book, but I laugh all the time during movies.
You’re the best -Bill
June 19, 2025
Last week, we watched a YouTube Pitch Meeting about the live-action Snow White movie. If you’ve never watched one of these videos, the host pretends to humorously tell himself (as if he were the movie studio) about the movie and why it would be a good idea to make it. IE, he is “pitching it.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0nSF...
One of the popular catchphrases in these Pitch Meetings is “super easy, barely an inconvenience.” The host uses this comical phrase to describe a scene where the characters easily overcome a significant obstacle. One example occurs when Snow White breaks the evil queen’s spell by saying the names and occupations of the townspeople.
This funny phrase got me thinking about the differences between a movie plot and a book plot. But first, what is a movie from a story perspective? A screenwriter creates a script to capture the plot, using a relatively small amount of dialogue to convey the story. The remaining details are visually conveyed.
A book contains a vast quantity of text and sometimes pictures. More text is required because something simple, like a car, needs a paragraph to be described accurately. The resulting book has substantially more details, but the movie provides a more visually appealing representation.
Yet, there is more to it. I contend that the story is different because of the limited movie format. Sure, the characters could spend ten minutes describing something, but moviegoers would be bored to tears as they sat through a five-hour movie.
Unfortunately, this limited format results in scenes that range from glossing over details to those that lack coherence. Typically, moviegoers ignore these issues and enjoy the film, but sometimes, the omissions are so glaring that the movie suffers.
I wanted to highlight a classic inconsistency that occurred in the Lord of The Rings trilogy. At the beginning of the first movie, the main characters ride large birds. Then, they spend days traveling by foot through harsh terrain while fighting off the enemy. So… Why not fly the whole way?
The author, J.R.R. Tolkien, provided a logical reason why it was not possible to fly, but this detail was omitted from the film. And the audience understands. “Hey, they glossed over that. No big deal.”
The reason behind this decision is that the audience did not need a boring bird explanation. Instead, they sought drama, action, large-scale battle scenes, epic music, attractive characters, computer-generated dragons, impressive weaponry, and over-the-top action. All in 4K with Dolby Digital sound! And the movies indeed delivered.
Books are vastly different. When I write, a big part of my thought process focuses on conveying exactly what is happening and why. Bad reviews confirm the difference. A moviegoer would complain about the lack of drama, slow pacing, and mild action. Yet, a reader would complain about a confusing plot, poor descriptions, lackluster characters, and missing details.
I spend hours at the outline stage to work out precisely how my plot will unfold. I never want to see logic problems, confusing characters, controversy, or poor flow. Then I spend months writing and even more time editing. Ultimately, my goal is to have every detail polished to perfection. Not one word out of place.
Thus, I would never allow one of my characters to use a silly method to break a spell. Instead, I would fully define all aspects of the spell. Then, the character would spend pages thinking of possible ways to break it, and only then would I allow them to try one of those methods. Of course, I would not allow their first attempt to work. Why? Trial and error often lead to great drama, and failures are frequently the most memorable moments.
While the two approaches may ultimately converge, the journey is different, and I have a final example to illustrate this. I have only laughed twice while reading a book, but I laugh all the time during movies.
You’re the best -Bill
June 19, 2025
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