The Alchemy of Adaptation: From Book to Screen

A special afternoon class led by Patricia K. Meyer and Stacy Spruill.

If you have been referred to this page, you are enrolled in this class.

Please note: All assignments and participation are optional and/or can be done in advance of the workshop week. We understand you will have a full week of workshops, events and manuscripts to read! If you’d rather just sit in and listen, that is fine. A list of FAQs can be found below.

Introduction:
You are writing either fiction or non-fiction, or both, or possibly a hybrid of the two. The film and television business (including streaming networks) is fueled by adaptations of source material such as yours. Hollywood loves books, published, self-published works, too. (The Martian, on which the Matt Damon movie is based, was an obscure self-published novel. Moonlight originated as a play. Spotlight is based on a series of Boston Globe feature news stories.) Hollywood thrives on true stories or any riveting saga, real or imagined, already validated by an audience, hence the ongoing relationships between book/magazine publishers and film/television studios and production companies.

During our five 90-minute seminars, you will learn the challenging fundamentals of screenplay adaptation. We will focus on the crucial elements of screenwriting: character development, story structure, scene creation, and uses of dialogue, which shall help you lay the groundwork for an outline if not a future screenplay or series adaptation of your project. We will screen clips consistently as examples.

Optional Synopsis Treatment: Indicate in the online form (link below) if you would like to have us read a one-page synopsis of your project and use it in class to identify and break down its structure for a cinematic adaptation (a two-hour feature or a limited or ongoing series). Those who are interested should be willing to have the entire class read their project’s synopsis ahead of time, and participate in the class discussion. If the majority of you would like to submit for class discussion, my co-instructor, Stacy Spruill, and I will most likely break the class into two sections. Deadline to submit (optional): July 9.

Note: The project you are working with for this class may be a different one from what you will work on in the morning workshops or your individual conference.

Submit Brief Synopsis

Optional: Bring titles of your favorite features or TV series adaptations. Or your least favorites? Prepare to discuss why you feel they are successful or not. Some of my favorites: The Wizard of Oz, Angels in America, Forrest Gump, No Country for Old Men. Television: “House of Cards,” “Hannibal,” “Sherlock,” “The Crown.” Least favorites: Benjamin Button; “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”; TV: “The Sinner,” “Sex in the City.”

CLASS SCHEDULE*

All classes meet: 4:00 to 5:30 pm

*Subject to Adjustment

Tuesday, July 9, 2024

Introductions: Instructor & Writers

Power-Point presentation: “The Alchemy of Adaptation.” General discussion. Is every book, play, and true story appropriate or feasible for adaptation? Overview of Dramatic Screenplay structure.

Assignment: Complete the Hauge template and bring to class. Please email your work to me before class, as we will project it on screen for all to read and discuss. If you do not choose to have your work discussed in class, please let me know. However, do know that writers evolve most when exposing their work to feedback.

Print Hauge Template

Wednesday, July 10, 2024

Share writers’ Hauge story templates. Character Development power point presentation: Distilling, illuminating visually, discovering the arc.

Character and structure: Their symbiosis.

Assignment: Write character bios for your main character and protagonist. Use the Character Bio and Character Story Questions as a guide.

Reminder: Email your work to me before class so I can project for discussion.

Print Character Bio Sheet

Thursday, July 11, 2024

Workshop and discuss character bios. How will your deep-dive into your characters change your stories? (It will.) Discussion. Mapping character outlines based on character and storyline.

Assignment: With the foundation of your character bios, fill in the basic beats of your screenplay adaptation based on the provided template worksheets.

Print Screenplay Structure Worksheet

Print Screenplay Worksheet

Print Three Act Structure Template

Friday, July 12, 2024

No class. Hike, write, rest!

Saturday, July 13, 2024

Present story outlines and discuss.

Sunday, July 14, 2024

Finish workshopping outlines. Ideally, each of you will leave the conference with at least a broad-strokes approach to a screenplay adaptation of your work. May it inspire you to further develop your outline and perhaps eventually write the screenplay.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

1. How much homework will I have to do every night?

Homework for the class will be light and optional. At most I’ll be asking anyone who wants to take a stab at a structural breakdown of their book — a bare bones beat sheet, too. You can do the adaptation work later or never — whatever moves you. I will give you plenty of tools to do this when and if you’re ready to tackle an adaptation of your material.

2. What exactly do you want us to send you before class starts?

Optional: A one-page synopsis/overview of the book you’re working on — and thinking would make a viable film or television adaptation. I can glean a lot from your synopsis — and I will choose some of them to workshop in class on the whiteboard — suggesting an approach to your main character’s journey that would adhere to the screenplay or TV episode structure. You may use my ideas, or reject them entirely. Up to you. (Keep in mind that those of you with book projects already submitted a synopsis for the regular morning workshops.)

The extra handouts we sent you is simply a preview of some of the elements I’ll be discussing in class. No other work is required. I will be presenting lectures on the handouts, so not to worry about tackling anything now.

3. How else can I prepare for The Alchemy of Adaptation class?

You are welcome to bring up some of your favorite adaptations and why you feel enthusiastic about their film/TV versions. Every class, be bold and ready with your ideas and feedback.

4. What can I expect to take away once the class ends?

You may have been inspired enough to devise a beat outline for your project, identifying the three act breaks. You may have even written a treatment, which is a prose, narrative outline of your adaptation. Or you may simply have jotted down notes on the blank template I have attached to the introductory email. Up to you.

LEARN ABOUT SCREENPLAYS

Want to learn how to write screenplays and adaptations? Read them.

And if they are adaptations—read both the source material and the screenplay; then view the film or television series.

To find screenplays: Via Google, type in the script title and “PDF.” Or go to www.simplyscripts.com or http://www.script-o-rama.com/ and other sites.

Below are some examples to reference:

Non-Fiction

Erin Brockovich

Born on the 4^th of July

Milk

Hidden Figures

Thank you For Smoking

American Splendor

Twelve Years a Slave

Imitation Game

A Beautiful Mind

Novels/Fiction

Atonement

The Great Gatsby

The Fault in Our Stars

No Country for Old Men

Fight Club

Up in the Air

Deadpool

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

The Pianist

Forrest Gump

Gone Girl

The Girl on the Train

The Godfather

Lord of the Rings

The Color Purple

Precious

Short Stories

“Rear Window”

“All About Eve”

“Benjamin Button”

“Brokeback Mountain”

“The Swimmer”

“The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”

“The Birds”

“The Fall of the House of the Usher”

“The Most Dangerous Game”

Plays

Taming of the Shrew

(Modern Adaptations: Kiss Me Kate (musical version

Long Day’s Journey Into Night

Children of a Lesser God

A Streetcar Named Desire

Frost/Nixon

Amadeus

Driving Miss Daisy

Doubt

Sleuth

The Odd Couple