Books to Movies

Here’s a trend you may not have thought about. Books are being made into movies.

Sure, we all know that. And if you’re a writer, it’s exciting to think about your book being bought by a Hollywood producer or studio. It’s happened to other writers, why not you? It’s happened in the past, so why not now?

But is the trend slowing down? We all know how hard it is to break into the publishing field. The movie business is even harder.

Well, according to the January 6th Sacbee.com, the trend is still strong. The article, “Between the Lines: Books-to-Movie Trend Not Slowing,” had this to say:

It's apparent that not all movies are derived from original screenplays, despite the roles of Hollywood writers. Many of the best films had their source material in books. For instance, at theaters now are "I Am Legend" (by Richard Matheson, published in 1954), "Atonement" (Ian McEwan, 2001), "No Country for Old Men" (Cormac McCarthy, 2005) and "The Kite Runner" (Khaled Hosseini, 2005).

Books to movies has a solid foundation. Consider Cracked.com’s list of “8 Kick-Ass Movies You Didn’t Know were Based on Books.” That list includes First Blood, the start of the Rambo movies. It was a book by David Morrell. Remember the scary movie called The Thing? That was based on the book Who Goes There? Did you know Psycho was also the name of the book by Robert Bloch? Check out Cracked.com’s website for the full list.

Some more recent examples would be The Nanny Diaries which came out in 2003. Or how about the 2006 book The Emperor’s Children just bought by Ron Howard’s Imagine? You can read about these and other deals in Publishers Weekly.

So, it still happens. No, it’s not easy, but it’s sure exciting when it happens to someone you know or love reading. Or … and here’s a New Year’s wish … to you!

High Concept Books III

Okay, let’s finish up on some of the traits common to big concept books:

Examine most best-sellers, and you'll find they have a rhythm, an ebb and flow, a definite pace. The protagonist gets in trouble or encounters a problem, things slack off, then pick up again. Up, down, higher, higher. The physical danger grows or the emotional investment intensifies. Chapters end in mid-crisis or with a hook. The readers don't want to put the book down. They turn the page and keep reading. It's tense, the characters are intriguing, the plot gripping. We're caught up in the roller coaster ride.

Another thing about big books is that they tend to be told through multiple Points of View. We don't just stay in the protagonist's head. We see things through another character(s) eyes -- often the antagonist's. We not only see what they see, we hear, feel, agonize, hurt, and hope as they do. We empathize with them. We identify with, and are emotionally invested with, more than just the main character. That doesn't mean we automatically root for the bad guy, just because we're in his head, though.

Now ... should you use these points as a how-to to create a blockbuster? No. There's no formula that guarantees a best-seller. Of course there have been plenty of books that became best-sellers that had none of these characteristics. But, if you're wanting to write a big book, keep these points in mind. They are traits common to the majority of high-concept books. You might want to weave them into yours.

High Concept Books II

Continuing with high concept books … here are a couple more things to keep in mind as you contemplate writing one:

In addition to larger-than-life characters, big books usually have "high concept." To me, that means two things. One, the premise of the book is outlandish or highly dramatic. It can even mean bizarre or unbelievable. (Of course, the author's job is to make it believable.) A high-concept book is exciting, sweeping, maybe controversial. But despite all that, the "big idea" novel, secondly, has a single or simple backbone. It has a dramatic question that the reader can hang onto. In Silence of the Lambs, that backbone was "Will Clarice catch the serial killer?"

If you're trying to write that high concept novel, consider the setting you choose. Big novels tend to be set in exotic locales. Does that mean you have to travel to Africa or Antarctica? Not necessarily. Look around. Do you live on a reservation? To a lot of readers, that's an exciting setting. Do you have first-hand knowledge of what it's like to be a Secret Service agent? That's a world only a few can live in, but a lot of people would want to know about. Do you love medieval England? Could you take your readers into the little known world of a forensic pathologist? Do you know the behind-the-scenes workings of an airport, mega-amusement park, or the IRS? Can you write about rich, powerful, or famous people and the world they inhabit?

High Concept Books

Writers try to keep abreast of what's happening in the publishing world. After all, it directly affects us. We read writing magazines, visit news websites, belong to writers' organizations. We notice what books make the bestseller lists, which ones are sold near the checkout counters at the grocery store, which ones get special placement in the bookstore. So, I'm sure we've all heard the mantra that mid-list authors are being squeezed out. Publishers want the "big book" or are looking for the "big idea."

But, what the heck is the BIG BOOK?

That's hard to define. But, over the next few days, let's try.

In the big novel, the stakes are high. Very high. That doesn't mean, though, that it has to involve the very future of the country or a race of people. It could be that one of the major characters in your book is in dire peril. But if it is only one person's life or future, usually that character is representative, either directly or subtly, of a larger community. The reader can see that the character's problem could easily be or become his dilemma. He wants that character to survive and triumph because it gives him hope that he, and humankind, will find solutions, redemption, or survival.

If you've read some of the best-sellers, you've probably noticed that the main characters are larger-than-life. Big novels have big characters. They do extraordinary, steel-emotioned, desperate, even outrageous things. They do what you or I hope we would do in impossible situations. Somehow, through their amazing inner strength, or their physical power, or their intelligence, wit, energy, daring, guts, and spirit, they transform themselves, and, in the process, us. Look at Clarice Starling in Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris. She started off ordinary and became extraordinary.

Tomorrow, more things that define the big or high concept book.