After publishing a novel some years ago about my time in the Peace Corps in Africa, I am working on a screenplay based on it. Deciding what to cut is some of the hardest work. Deciding what works on the page and what works in film is the challenge. Any insights anyone may wish to share are welcome,
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After playing volleyball the first year at Nebraska in 1975, I wrote a screenplay with the help of Lew Hunter. I know how hard it was to leave out some of the events, but using the “Save the Cat,” outline I decided what could be used and what couldn’t.
In 1975, no one thought that anybody would pay to watch inferior women play varsity sports. They didn’t know that one day there would be 92,003 fans on a football field to watch a volleyball game. Writing the script needed some facts but mostly needed organization of those facts and love for the story.
Keep at it, it’s worth it.
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Welcome to the community, Michael Varga. It's great to meet you. Here's a blog that'll help you navigate Stage 32 and connect with creatives and industry pros: www.stage32.com/blog/how-to-successfully-navigate-the-stage-32-platform-...
I adapted some books into scripts way back. I talked with the authors and read through the books, making notes of the most important things and most visual things that needed to be in the scripts.
Also think about the cost of things. For one of the books I adapted, there was a HUGE battle scene that would've cost probably millions and millions to film, so the book scene was changed to something else in the script.
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Welcome to Stage 32, Michael! Adapting your own novel into a screenplay is an exciting but challenging process, especially when it comes to deciding what to cut and what to visually translate for film. One of the best approaches is to focus on the core cinematic moments—the key emotional beats, conflicts, and turning points that engage an audience visually and dramatically. If a scene relies heavily on internal thoughts or narration, consider how to externalize those emotions through action, dialogue, or subtext.
For more insights, I’d recommend checking out both the Authoring Lounge and the Screenwriting Lounge here on Stage 32. The Authoring Lounge is a great space to discuss adaptation challenges with fellow authors, while the Screenwriting Lounge can connect you with writers who have experience adapting novels into scripts. You can find them both here: https://www.stage32.com/lounge.
Looking forward to seeing how your adaptation develops! What’s been the toughest scene to adapt so far?
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Thanks for your insights. While there are a lot of visually stimulating scenes in the novel, some of the tribal rituals that I document may be too much for an American audience to handle. It 's important to create the sense of what is happening among the tribes, but perhaps without being too explicit.
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Hi, Michael Varga. Your comment is for Ashley, but hope you don't mind me chiming in. Maybe write general descriptions of what's happening among the tribes instead of going into graphic detail. And once you start getting feedback on your script, you'll know if the scenes are too graphic for an American audience to handle.
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Yes, I have a sense of where the "line" is about what I can convey without offending. It's a delicate balancing act, without losing the authenticity of the unique culture of the tribes.