How To Write An Adaptation: A Complete Guide [With Examples]

Adaptations are a tricky business. If a story has been told previously in another medium, is it still possible to put a new spin on it?

How do we go about telling the same story but in a different way?

In the case of films, adaptations can be particularly challenging.

Film is a relatively young medium, and many of the stories that have been told within it are adaptations from other sources.
 

What Is An Adaptation?

The most successful adaptations change the source material significantly and add their twists and visual style to make it feel fresh for an audience who may already know the story.

This happened famously in the screen adaptation of Game Of Thrones.

Adaptations are common in Hollywood because they are very cost-effective — producers don’t need to create an original script from scratch; they only have to buy the rights to the original story/book/play and then hire screenwriters and actors.

But adaptations don’t just appear in Hollywood blockbusters. There are also many independent adaptations created by low-budget filmmakers who want to tell their stories without spending years writing something new. This is where “fan-fiction.”

There are several different ways that a text can be adapted for film:

Addition — where new material is added; for example, a scene where Peter Parker gets bitten by a spider might be included in Spider-Man 3, which doesn’t appear in any of the Spider-Man comics

Subtraction — where material from the original story is omitted; for example, any mention of other Marvel heroes in Spider-Man 3 would have been subtracted as they cannot be included without permission and payment of royalties.

Amplification — where the material is expanded or developed; for example, extra scenes or dialogue could be added to develop characters or themes more fully.

Condensation — where elements are reduced or removed; for example, some scenes may be cut out entirely or simplified to make room for extra.

   

How Do You Write An Adaptation?

Adaptations are where things get interesting. Adaptations are not new stories; they’re retellings of existing stories, told from different points of view.

To write an adaptation, you have to be able to get inside the original author’s head, figure out what she was trying to say, and then find a way to say it in your own words. An adaptation is a kind of translation from one language into another — in this case, the language of fiction into the language of film.

You have to know the rules of both languages — in this case, how to write fiction and how to write for a film — then you have to apply those rules and re-create the story in your own words. Most adaptations fail because they ignore one or more of these steps.

For example, Some writers try to include everything in their adaptation, whether it works on screen or not. If a story is told through letters in the book, they’ll stick with letters on-screen — even if those letters take up five pages on screen when they only take up half a page on the page.

Or they’ll try to faithfully recreate every event and conversation between characters who can’t carry that much dialogue without sounding like robots reciting words written by someone else.

How Do You Make A Good Adaptation?

Adaptation is always a tricky thing for filmmakers to attempt. Many film adaptations of novels fail in the eyes of fans of the book, or worse, in the eyes of critics.

Although adaptations are always tricky to deal with, some rules can help us determine whether or not we have a good adaptation. Know why you’re adapting. There are many reasons for adopting a novel into a film, but if you don’t have the main reason for adopting, then your film will probably be bad.

I say this because if you don’t know why you’re adapting, then how do you know if it’s going to be good? It will most likely be bad because you don’t know what you’re shooting for regarding style and content. Is it just your interpretation of the novel? Or is there something else you want to achieve with your adaptation? If not, then there’s no reason to make the film and no point in bringing it out on screen.

Do background research on the original work and author if you want to make a good adaption, then do background research on both the original work and the author. How can your audience feel involved in your film without proper research on both?

What Does It Mean To Write An Adaptation?

Adapting source material is a rewarding way to get paid to write. Most adaptations are big-budget movies and television shows, but you can also adapt books, comic books, and even video games.

The key to adapting any source material is understanding what it is all about and how it works. Adaptations come in two basic types: literal adaptations that follow the source material closely and thematic adaptations that retain major themes but alter essential details.

   

Adapting a book is challenging because the author already knows how everything ends, so you need to find ways to keep the story from feeling rushed or predictable. If you’re writing an adaptation of a novel, it’s a good idea to add subplots that weren’t in the original work so that you can fill out the page count with new content.

When adopting a movie or TV show for a screenplay, ensure that your script follows the same arc as the original work. You don’t want your audience frustrated because your adaptation has taken them away from the familiar story they wanted to see on screen.

Video games present challenges when writing an adaptation because gameplay determines what happens next in many cases. If you’re writing an adaptation of a video game and include dialogue choices, make sure there are ways to relate to your audience.

Screenplay Adaptation Rights

Screenplay adaptation rights are a very popular topic lately. Many writers get frustrated when they work on their scripts for years but can’t find the right buyer for their screenplay.

This is where screenplay adaptation rights come into play. By selling your script, you are basically giving up your writing and film rights to that particular screenplay and will no longer be able to write it or make any further sales of it in the future.

This becomes an issue when you have a film that has developed a cult following. The film fans want more, but there are no plans for any sequels to be made.

The studios (especially if they aren’t made aware of the demand) have no real reason to pursue sequels, so why spend the money? If you believe your screenplay adaptation rights may be worth something in the future, you might consider holding onto them until the time is right.

It’s not always easy to determine what those times will be, but there are some things you can do to increase your chances of recovering some of your rights down the road: First of all, hold onto your original script as well as any notes or treatments that were used to create it. Sometimes TV shows or films that were created decades ago are rediscovered and given new life for

   

What Is a Literary Agent?

So, you want to be a writer. You have an idea for a novel.

You’ve written it, but now you need advice about getting it published.

I hope this post will be the first of many to help you become a successful author, so let’s get started! What is a literary agent? Literary agents are the people who help writers get published by helping them find publishers. They do this by reading manuscripts, writing proposals, and helping you negotiate contracts.

Literary agents are also your advocates in the publishing world. They’re more than just salespeople – they’re your partners in ensuring that your book will be successful and bringing your vision to life.

There are two kinds of literary agents: those who work on commission and those who work on salary (the latter are sometimes called “packagers”). The choice is up to you.

No one will hire an agent without knowing what they charge, so if you want a commission-based agent, make sure you’re prepared for that expense and that there’s no guarantee of success.

A commission-based agent works on a percentage of whatever money is made from your book (usually 15-20%), which means if no money is made from your book, no money will be given to agents.

Do You Need a Literary Agent To Write An Adaptation?

Every writer is a reader, and every writer has that moment when they think, “I could do that..” Adapting a book into a screenplay is not as easy as it looks.

The process requires the ability to read between the lines of the book, the story beats, and the character arcs. You need to be able to take an author’s language and make it visual. And finally, you need to be able to match up your script with the right studio or producer.

Many writers approach me with ideas to adapt, and while I love seeing what they’ve written, I urge them first to speak with an agent who handles adaptations.

Here are some reasons why: Agents know what studios/producers are looking for. Your script needs to be able to stand on its own two feet. Still, it also needs to satisfy all those components that producers and studios look for when buying an adaptation: it has to be capable of being shot in the time frame given (90 days or less), and it needs a strong “hook” for marketing purposes, it has to have a three-act structure, be short enough so that actors can memorize their lines, etc.

Alright, so what if you can write something that hits all those marks?

Literary Adaptation

In the literary sense, adaptation is a process by which a piece of writing is transformed into another work. This transformation can be done for many reasons: for the sake of aesthetics, for political reasons, or to make a commentary on the original work.

The transformation of literature can be applied to many forms: film, music, and theatre are just a few examples. In this article, I will focus specifically on film adaptations, as they are arguably the most common form of adaptation in our day and age.

Since the invention of motion pictures in the late nineteenth century, millions upon millions of viewers have flocked to their local cinemas to watch their favorite books brought to life on screen.

Adapting literature into film has become such a popular pastime that there are now entire award ceremonies dedicated to celebrating the best screenwriters who successfully translate their favorite novels into an enjoyable cinematic experience.

However, despite the countless awards and box office triumphs that film adaptations have produced over the years, there have also been countless failures; literary adaptations which were doomed from page one – due to everything from poor casting decisions to lackluster direction.

To this end, I have decided to compile a list of my personal least favorite literary adaptations. I shall attempt to do so objectively; taking.

   

Reach Out To The Literary Agent

Every author has a story to tell. And every story deserves to be heard, but for that to happen, you need an agent. 

This is why I’m giving you five tips on how to reach out to literary agents. I’ve been working in publishing for over thirteen years and have had the pleasure of working with debut novelists and New York Ties best-selling authors. 

Over my career, I’ve received hundreds of submissions from aspiring writers; and I’ve also been lucky enough to receive many great queries from talented writers who have become good friends over the years.

So today, I’m sharing some tips on reaching out to literary agents – because if you follow these simple steps, your chances of success will improve significantly.

Make sure your query letter is perfect.

Your query letter (the letter that accompanies your manuscript) is the first impression an agent gets of your writing – so make sure it’s professional and polished before sending it out into the world.

There are plenty of resources online about what makes a strong query letter – and it’s worth doing some research if this is your first time approaching an agent. Don’t leave anything to chance – because if your query isn’t 100% perfect, an agent might not even read your manuscript.

Book To Film Adaptations

If you’re a bookworm, you’ve probably heard about the 2012 film adaptation of The Great Gatsby. The novel by F.

Scott Fitzgerald is a classic, but it’s also one of the most adapted books of all time.

Overview: While we won’t get into the reasons why The Great Gatsby is one of the most popular novels ever written, its popularity in film adaptations is undeniable. There have been six movie versions — seven if you count an early silent version made in 1926 that only survives as a trailer — and several more are currently in production or development stages.

Despite the current frenzy surrounding these adaptations, Hollywood has been trying to translate The Great Gatsby to the silver screen for nearly 100 years.

In fact, one of the first attempts to bring Fitzgerald’s novel to life was adapted for film.

In 1926, Paramount released a silent version based on two different scripts by Joseph L. Mankiewicz and James O’Neill (the father of Eugene O’Neill).

The trailer for this version is still available online, but there are no known copies of the film itself (though an uncut copy is rumored to exist somewhere in Europe).

   

How To Adapt A Book Into A Movie

Adapting a book into a movie is a daunting task. It’s something that only the most talented scriptwriters can do successfully, but it’s also something that every aspiring scriptwriter dreams of doing.

The main problem with adapting a book for the big screen is that you will have to lose some of the stories. No matter how hard you try, there are just certain things that aren’t going to translate from one medium to another.

You’ll also have to cut out essential elements of the story if you want the film to be able to run for an acceptable length of time. There are other issues, too, such as how your movie will end and how you will introduce all of your characters.

There’s even the issue of whether people will like it, which ultimately depends on whether you’ve managed to lay down enough groundwork in your script so that people will care about what happens in your film.

The best way to adapt a book into a movie is to read the book and then begin writing a screenplay based on what you’ve read. If the book has been written recently, then it should be relatively easy for you to write your screenplay based on what you’ve read because the details will still be fresh in your memory.

Write An Adaptation Find The Material

Adaptations are unique creative endeavors. Finding the right material is perhaps the most important step to take.