Author vs Screenwriter
Do you want to be an author, screenwriter, or both?
Hi, I’m Tony B. Richard, and if you are considering either, I’d like to share a few things with you.
Five years ago, I had a dream to write a TV series.
I did my research and quickly discovered that the best path to Hollywood often starts with a published book. So, I decided to write books first. I wrote six interconnected stories about different people making first contact with aliens. And through trial, error, and lots of rewriting, I learned some things I want to share with you today.
First: Pick one Point of View
My early drafts were a mess of what writers call “head hopping”—jumping between every character’s thoughts. My critique group set me straight: readers need an anchor.
By the way, other authors are your best source of feedback, and it’s usually free in exchange for your comments on their work.
Anyway, readers need to experience the story through specific eyes; they need to feel like they are that character. This forced me to show the emotions of the other characters through their actions and dialogue.
Second: Screenplays have no thoughts
When I submitted my first screenplay to a contest, I put in the character’s thoughts as voiceovers, but then I got the feedback that it’s not acceptable. No internal thoughts, just action and dialogue. But how do you reveal what characters are thinking without speaking their thoughts? My solution? I created a sidekick, a character that my main character could confide in and argue with. Plus, now, I had a character who could be captured, and my main character had to rescue him. Much more exciting.
Another thing is that everyone’s the hero of their own story.
Every character believes they’re doing the right thing based on their experiences and values. The alien that one character sees as a threat, another sees as a refugee needing help.
I initially wrote my villain to be in it for himself, and while that’s a good story, it will not draw the readers in as if he’s doing what he thinks is best for his country. If your audience can see the villain in themselves, they are less likely to forget them.
Next: Nobody can write the story in your head but you.
I had the idea for these books running around in my head for at least a decade before I started writing them. I thought these stories were so obvious that someone else would write them first, but no one did. So, during Covid, when I had nothing better to do, I started writing.
My first book (if you want to call it that), was basically an outline of the whole story, and as I mentioned before, I was head hopping. Once I hit “Publish”, I thought that I was done with writing and could move on with life. But then someone offered to edit my book and found so much wrong that I had to break it down into smaller chunks and create a separate book for each character.
Believe it or not, all feedback is good, it lets you know what the readers are thinking.
It’s hard not to take negative feedback personally. Almost every time I received feedback from someone, I was angry for a week or two. “They just don’t understand my story,” I thought. But then it hit me; that’s because I didn’t explain it well. Now, when I get feedback, I appreciate it. I still might get annoyed for a minute or two, but most of the time, they have a point.
This leads me to: You can’t please everyone.
While all feedback is good, not all feedback is useful. Eventually, you’re going to get conflicting feedback, or their comment doesn’t agree with your vision. It’s important to at least consider their feedback, even when you think they’re wrong.
Lastly, don’t be afraid to rewrite.
There were so many times I had to rewrite my story, and sometimes it meant getting rid of my favorite scene, but it’s necessary. So, do you want to be an author or screenwriter? Recently I learned that once you give your screenplay away, it’s not yours anymore. Even if you were able to direct your story, an actor can’t convincingly portray your characters the way you envision them; the actor has to play your character the way they understand them, or it won’t be convincing.
Steven Spielberg talked about this when making “The Fabelmans,” a story loosely based on his own life; he found it difficult because he couldn’t recreate the scenes as he remembered them. The actors have to put a little of themselves into the part.
So, I’m glad I wrote the books before the screenplays, because this way, I was able to get those thoughts out, so that readers will know how I intended the story to go. Also, now an actor not only has the script but can read that character’s book with all their thoughts. They still might have to change the character a little to match their personality, but at least they have somewhere to start.
My character, General Frank Jones, is so dramatically different from the average person that my editor couldn’t understand him. I don’t think an actor could possibly play anything close to my vision of him without reading “The Woundless War”. Yes, that title tells you he’s got a lot of tough decisions to make.
I’m glad I wrote the book first. It’s much easier to get help writing, and it costs less. I wish you the best of luck, and hope that we will be reading or watching your stories soon.
I’m Tony B. Richard, and thanks for watching.