So, I've recently discovered SCREENWRITING. As someone who enjoys writing novels and short stories, I've never really thought much about playwriting/screenwriting. But a month or so ago, I started watching How to Get Away With Murder, written by Peter Nowalk. I finished the first season almost within a day. It was exactly what I wanted in a television show- drama, action, suspense, mystery, romance- EVERYTHING! So, if you haven't seen it yet, you should watch it.
ANYWAY! Watching that show inspired me. Last year, I had an idea to write a thriller novel about a hitman, where the reader doesn't know which one of the characters is the actual hitman. I tried very hard to write it, but it just never worked out. Then, I had an idea: why don't I write it as a television show? And thus began my research on "how to write a television script." Let me tell you- it is VERY different from writing a novel. I knew that the formatting between a book and a script was going to be different, but I didn't realize that the plot structure, plot points, characters, and overall design of the story were going to be so different as well.
Here are some of the similarities and differences between screenwriting and novel writing- keep in mind that I'm writing a SERIAL sixty-minute-long-episodes-with-15-episodes-in-a-season television show, so when I say "writing a television script," I mean the type I'm writing. A serial TV show unfolds the main plot or conflict over the entire show, episode-by-episode. Examples would be Mad Men, Vikings, Grey's Anatomy, and How to Get Away With Murder.
~ RESEARCH ~
To write a television script, you need a lot of research! Research careers, different countries, different people, politics, etc. When writing a novel, you may need the occasional Google search, but generally, the research is much more limited (if required at all). Same with planning- usually, I write my books with very little plot structure. I get an idea, I come up with a few characters, and then I write. Television, however, you only have a precious 60 pages (the number of pages in a typical hour-long episode script) to get in as much plot as you can- which means you need a very specific idea of what needs to happen in that episode. Not to mention, if anyone does ever turn your script into a television show, your characters have to be modern and relatable to your audience.
~PLOT~
I've realized that when you're reading a novel, you're more patient than when you're watching a television show. You can read probably thirty pages of a book before anything significant to the plot happens. In television, however, viewers need to be interested and intrigued the second your characters appear. It's not enough to have an exciting premise for your show; someone watching television will get bored a lot faster than when they're reading a book. This means that, in a television show, you have to have a very fast-paced, messy plot. And LOTS of subplots that are just as important and interesting as the main plot.
~ STRUCTURE ~
Teaser v.s. hook
Everyone knows that the way to start a novel is with a HOOK- something to grab the reader's attention and keep them wanting more. Television scripts have a similar start, called a teaser. Not all scripts have it, but it's typically 3-5 pages long, coming before the first act, where the conflict of the series (or episode) is foreshadowed. It's a great way to grab a reader's attention and intrigue them to watch more. A teaser can be a scene from later in the season, giving the viewer a glimpse of what's to happen, or something that happens before the actual story starts.
Acts v.s. Chapters
Like how a novel can have a different number of chapters depending on the genre and author, television scripts are the same with acts. Chapters in a book usually mark a new milestone for the characters or plot. Or they break up the events in the book, so the reader isn't overwhelmed by so much information. Acts are a little different. There are typically four or five acts in an hour-long television show, and each one does something different. Each act is roughly 12 pages. From what I've learned, here is their set-up:
Act 1: introduction.
Typically 15-20 minutes long, act one can introduce the conflict or build tension. Often in television, act one ends in a cliffhanger that hooks the viewer into watching the rest of the episode.
Act 2: raising tension. This is where your characters start to feel the heat of a situation gone wrong. The conflict builds, and tension is raised. Your characters should think that they've just about figured everything out until - BAM! Plot twist! Cliffhanger and... Act 3: tough times. Hope seems lost. The bad guys are prevailing until... Bobby has an idea! This could be the chance your characters need to save the day. Your viewers will want to know how things will turn out and how the good-guys could still win. Act 4: resolution! Bobby's idea is (insert idea here) and WOW! It works! Your characters have rallied and prevailed, gaining yet another win! Your viewer is pumped.
Some shows choose to end the episode here, often because everything that needs to be done has been done. Other times, act four ends with yet ANOTHER CLIFFHANGER, which can end the episode, or...
Act 5: closure.
THE END! This is your closure, wrap-up, finale type-thing. This will resolve the previous cliffhanger. Act 5 is your characters' happy ending, and everything is appropriately finished.
Personally, I've struggled a lot with the formatting of acts. I'm used to stretching this type of five-act system over the course of an ENTIRE novel. Instead, I have to do this every episode and over an entire season. It's a lot of work.
~ DIALOGUE~
Writing dialogue in scripts is pretty much the same as in novels. Each character should sound different when they talk- your older brother doesn't speak the same way your grandmother does. And depending on the time period your show or book is set in, the dialogue will either be fancy/intellectual or casual modern-day-slang. Either way, as long as the conversation seems real, it's written the same for both shows and novels.
~ CHARACTERS ~
The relationships between characters in books don't always have to have chemistry to start. Actually, in many romance or YA novels, the characters often dislike each other before any chemistry is hinted between them. In television, you don't typically have those slow-burning romances where it might take an entire book for two characters to grow close to each other. In television, it happens MUCH faster- typically within an hour-long episode. So if you're a writer like me who enjoys building and hinting at a romance between characters, you have to be much quicker about it. You don't want to watch five episodes of two characters slowly gaining interest in each other. In a season, your characters are under a lot of pressure to grow, and change, and bond throughout those episodes continually.
Speaking of chemistry, the main characters you have in your television show have to be compatible. They have to compliment each other. In books, you may have a billion side characters that help your protagonist along. In television, you generally only have a small number of characters, so you have to keep in mind the expression, "Quality, not quantity". Realistically, you can't hire a hundred new actors to play every character in your show.
I also left out a lot of history for the characters in my television script. When writing a novel, I usually know every detail of my character's past. For my script, I didn't know nearly as much. I know everything about their present lives, but nothing of their history. Why? If I ever want to add details or different plots in my show, I want to have free rein, and know that anything I want to add about their past, I can!
Otherwise, I used the same methods of character building.
~ SO WHAT DO I LIKE BETTER? SCREENWRITING OR NOVEL WRITING? ~
If I've learned anything, it's how different the two are. In the end, I'd probably choose novel writing, just because that's what I'm more comfortable with. But that doesn't mean I'm not going to try the screenwriting thing!
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