Does anyone else feel guilty every time they dare stray from the book? I've gone to so many movies where I was ranting the whole way home about how the book was better, they did this or that wrong, etc. Yet, most movies are adaptations of an earlier book, and most books do better if a movie is made of them.

This is actually why I decided to adapt a novel this year instead of doing an original work!

I've spent so much time griping about adaptations, I decided it was time to put up or shut up: could I do this? Could I capture the feel of the book while still making necessary changes (and not making unnecessary ones?)

It's a great challenge so far, but then, I'm still on the opening scene. I'm little behind.
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http://www.onegirlsopinion.net

I think, now that I'm doing an adaptation myself, you start to realize what things will translate from book/game/comic/manga to the screen. Sometimes you have to add to explain something or you have to rework something to make sure it works. I guess the challenge is making sure it's as close as you can to the world your working with.

I always hear screenwriters or directors and such talking about trying to stay true to the core of the book or the essence of the book and now I think I know what they mean. There's so much in a book that you just can't fit in a two hour movie that sometimes it's really hard to choose what's important and what's not.

"But as for me I am tormented with an everlasting itch for things remote."
- from "Moby Dick" by Herman Melville.

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Because of the nature of books, or in my case short stories since I'm adapting a series of them into one long screenplay, there are things that you have to change. In novels, the naration can reveal clues about certain character's wants, needs, goals, etc. There is no narration in movies however so these have to be translated somehow or they'll be lost.
At least that's my take on it.

Any way you slice it, movies and books are both great ways to tell stories but you can't get them to tell the story in the same way. That's why it's an adaptation.
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Oh my... I actually think I can do this. Of course I may go crazy in the process...

See, that's the beauty of adapting something I wrote...I have complete creative control over the script. Granted, it's a fanfiction I'm adapting, so...

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Pages written: 106
Cups of coffee consumned: 1
# of times I've worked on the script during class: 4
# of scenes/characters I've added to the original work: 6
# of times I've wondered what the hell I was thinking: 30

The Pros: Since the book you are adapting is good, you've got good material to work with. People who have read the book will want to see the movie.

The Cons: You still have to make the movie accessible to EVERYONE, including people who haven't read the book. That means explaining things, without boring the audience. People also have expectations. They want certain scenes IN the movie.

One of my biggest challenges is cutting and transitioning. How do I make this movie NOT seem choppy if I'm cutting out specific scenes for time?