Every year for ScriptFrenzy I adapt my previous NaNo novel. It's always daunting at first, knowing I love every subplot and story line, but that I only have 110 pages or so of script. A good 40% of the material is going to have to go.

I discovered Blake Snyder's Beat Sheet last year and it is now my starting point for every adaptation. By dropping the novel story into the beat sheet, I have a good idea if I have too much material in one part and not enough for another, or if it's going to fit at all.

The Beat Sheet is much maligned for being formulaic, so don't feel you have to stick with it, but when I'm sitting around waiting for the Frenzy to start and want to feel like I'm actively getting organized to Fade In, then this has proven a tried and true way to get the planning stages going.

You can find his blank beat sheet plus a filled out one as an example at

http://www.blakesnyder.com/tools/

Thanks for posting this - I plan to try it with my adaptation this year. It definitely was a major reality check as far as just how little time you have in a screenplay to introduce major characters, themes, and events. I'm new to this, so I appreciate the guidance!

Wow, Blake Snyder's site is great. Thanks for pointing it out! I'll definitely be using that beat sheet (among other things). :)

Oh! I've heard of that book "Save The Cat" at a screenwriting class I took. There was a lot of discussion pro and con for that approach. I figure whatever works for you is fine since everyone has different needs. I tend to work more efficiently with some structure, so I will definitely be taking a look at this. Thanks!

Sounds awesome, but I can't make the link work, for some reason ...

The discrepancy in length between a novel and a film is the exact reason why I'm adapting a short story of mine, instead of a novel. (Although I DO like the idea of adapting your NaNo every year ... )

Thanks for the link. I'm going to try it today (or tomorrow), and, hopefully, all will be well.

*Fingers crossed*

Looks interesting - I think I've heard of this site before.

I'm also adapting my NaNoWriMo novel, although I'm probably just going to adapt the whole thing and cut later. At my current rate, the script will probably be about 140 pages long, which isn't too bad to cut down. Heck, if I stop spending half a page on setting description, I might cut 40 pages right there. ^_^