 Plenty of times, writers come up with an idea for a novel that could translate visually to film. The good news is that if you want to see your manuscript converted into a screenplay, there are two different routes that would make an adaptation possible. Most books that get released by a major publisher or are repped by an established agency get passed to an agent who tries to drum up interest in film/TV rights for a project. This makes total sense. A writer creates a good story, so the obvious goal is to sell it through every means possible, be that print books, e-books, foreign rights translations, serial excerpts, audio books, or, yes, movies/TV. If your new book-to-film agent (usually brought onboard by your book agent) can generate adaptation interest from producers, your work gets bought/optioned by Hollywood, and you’re off and running. This exact thing happened to my humor book, How to Survive a Garden Gnome Attack. Sony optioned the book and hired a screenwriter to adapt the work. But what if you want to see your work adapted into a screenplay, but are either indie-publishing it or the work hasn’t sold yet? The obvious option is to... ADAPT IT YOURSELF: 7 IMPORTANT TIPS FOR BEGINNERS You can always take matters into your own hands and compose the script yourself on spec. But the truth is that writing a screenplay is a completely different monster than tackling a novel or memoir. If your finished product doesn’t fit the usual mold of what a screenplay should look like, then a producer or agent won’t even consider it, and your time was wasted. So with that in mind, I wanted to lay out several simple-yet-important tips on how to write a script for any persons considering adapting their own book into a screenplay. Keeping in mind there is still much more to learn beyond this post, here are seven basic pieces of advice to get you started if the concept of scriptwriting is new to you. 1. Watch your length. Just as books have typical word count ranges, screenplays have length requirements, too, and the recommended length for a beginner’s screenplay is 90-109 pages. Since each page represents one minute of screen time, that sets up your movie to be 90-109 minutes. Most writers go wrong in this arena by trending long. 2. Screenplays thrive on minimalism. Always be thinking about how to cut, cut, cut. Screenplays rely on brevity. When characters have to say something, the best value you can provide is getting your point across in as few words of dialogue as possible. When you have to describe a scene or explain that a helicopter explodes, the quicker you can properly convey such information, the better you are. Give us information and dialogue in short, quick bursts. A lot of your novel will end up on the cutting room floor throughout the adaptation — and that’s OK. Plenty of novel/memoir content does not translate well visually to the screen, so cutting out sections or characters or subplots actually will improve your final script. (If you’re not good at killing your darlings, perhaps screenwriting is not the best arena for you.) And speaking of minimalism, it’s your job to write, not direct. That means you should never include any camera notes such as “Dolly in” or “Close up.” Avoid these directorial cues on every page. 3. Structure is valued (perhaps even to a fault), so read guides on plot and story. In the book-writing world, you have some areas where a formula is present and expected, such as what a reader expects out of a romance novel or a mystery. And on the other hand, you’ve got literary fiction, where there is no thing as formula. Anything goes. New screenwriters need to know that generally, Hollywood is much more former than latter. They oftentimes look for a recognizable structure, beats in the right places, an action sequence every X number of pages, an inciting incident around 12 minutes in, and so on and forth. If you want to get serious, here are trusted plot/story guides that many screenwriters swear by:
4. Invest in some good screenwriting software. Everyone’s used to writing in Word, so it’s not uncommon to balk at the thought of spending $200 or more on screenwriting software such as Final Draft or Movie Magic Screenwriter. But professional software is the best and only way for your script to look great and have perfect formatting. Buy it, and take some time to learn the basics of using it correctly.  5. Read lots of scripts! (And watch lots of movies, too!) See how a great story looks on the page before it gets translated to the screen. For example, if you don’t know how to format a flashback in your script, find other successful screenplays that did dealt with similar things and study how those writers handled it. Plus, once you start reading a bunch of movie scripts, you’ll learn all about screenwriting in other ways, noting simple things such as how “cluttered” pages — where there are big blocks of action text and dialogue text — are difficult to get through, whereas pages with short bursts of dialogue and sparse narrative create pleasing “white space” on the page. You’ll start to notice proven ways of introducing characters effectively, getting a point across quickly, or creating tension right before something bad happens. Learn by reading — simple as that. This is probably the most important thing you can do before writing your screenplay, but also the tip you’re most likely to skip. Why? Because doing this right — truly researching and reverse-engineering hundreds of stories to immerse yourself in the craft (i.e., reading scripts and studying movies) will take months. Most people do not want to put in such time. Those that do will love these websites: 6. Think visually. Screenwriting is the epitome of “show, don’t tell,” because, unless you have a voiceover narration, you will never be inside a character’s head. Dialogue is your key tool, and you will use that and simple action beats to flesh out characters and conflict. Always have your characters doing something, not thinking something or rehashing what we already know. 7. Once you’re ready, register the script and consider your options. The first thing you need to do when your script is complete is to register it with the Writer’s Guild of America for a small price. Following that, there are several options for attracting attention to your script. (I’m assuming you lack a slew of contacts and friends in the business who can guide you or pass your script around.) Possible next steps include the following:
Again, recognize that this is just a post full of first steps for those considering an adaptation of their own novel or memoir. There is much more to learn. I myself have taken to reading the website Script Shadow as of late as a helpful resource. Any websites, guides or tips for amateur screenwriters you want to share? Leave some helpful info in the comments. Attend a writers conference in 2025:
 This post by Chuck Sambuchino, freelance editor and lead director of Writing Day Workshops. Chuck is a former longtime staffer with Writer's Digest, editing the Guide to Literary Agents. He is the author of the writing guide CREATE YOUR WRITER PLATFORM as well as the bestselling humor book HOW TO SURVIVE A GARDEN GNOME ATTACK. His most recent books are all about pickleball -- daily tear-off calendars as well as the picture book GOODNIGHT, PICKLEBALL. He is a proud #GirlDad, movie geek, and guitar/piano player. Connect with him through WDW's Instagram and Twitter,
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