by Robert Gately
I don’t believe that jumping genres should be avoided simply because someone out there in cyberspace said you shouldn’t do it. I converted novels into screenplays, and screenplays into stage plays, with pretty good contest results and, if nothing else, it was a lesson and … fun.
I say, if you have the passion to write, then write. If it’s a screenplay I would opt for simplicity and consistency over complexity and inconsistency. In a novel, stick with plot and structure and do whatever the hell you want. In either case, Picasso had good advice: “Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.”
For me, I try to follow a couple of rules. First, it’s paramount for me to elicit emotion from the reader or viewer. I’ll try my best to make the reader fall in love with a character. In novel writing I can take my time. I’m not restricted to a page length. In a screenplay I am.
And, second, I try to create a tangible goal for the hero and set him or her on an edge-of-your-seat journey where we can measure the success or failure of that goal at the climax point.