I have a confession. For someone who spends her time writing novels, it’s kind of a deep, dark secret, so brace yourself. I like movies better than books.
Shocking, I know.
Don’t get me wrong. I couldn’t live without books. I practically breathe books. I gobble more than 100 books a year. Why?
Because I love the way words line up on a page.
I love the dance they create.
I love the precision and the intensity of the craft.
But even more than I love words, I love stories.
And, in my own personal experience, there are certain aspects of storytelling that movies are able to offer that books can’t.
Now, before all the bibliophiles start howling and clicking the red X in the corner of their browsers, let me repeat: in my own personal experience. Many, maybe even most, readers and writers won’t agree with me. But whatever your own thoughts on the superiority/inferiority of books versus movies, you have to admit movies have much from which the lowly novelist can learn.
What Movies Can Teach You About Writing Novels
So why might novelists do well to mimic movies in some areas?
When it comes to storytelling, movies bring a sensual arsenal to the table. Viewers are bombarded with visual and audio stimuli; they are shown exactly what the characters are experiencing, in real time. Novelists may need paragraph upon paragraph of description to set a scene, but a director needs only a single shot. Writers will struggle for their entire careers to “show” instead of “tell.” Movies never have that problem.
Lights! Camera! Action! by Alfi Thompson (affiliate link)
Characters who have a real person behind them are immediately brought to life. Inflection in dialogue is instantaneous. Facial expressions convey in seconds what words accomplish only with studied effort.
In her insightful book Lights! Camera! Fiction!, Alfie Thompson points out:
Screenwriters have an advantage when it comes to bringing characters to life. Actors and actresses play the assigned roles and infuse some personality into the character. …if the actor is wonderfully gifted, he can convey a feeling or attitude even if the writer’s words aren’t chosen carefully. Even if the script is pathetic and the actor is as wooden as a walking, talking tree, it’s hard for the audience not to see a “well-rounded” character when a living, breathing, real-life person is walking around on-screen.
The Advantage Novels Still Possess Even in the Age of Movies
With all that said, the written word gives us things movies never can, including:
- A unique voice.
- Deeper character introspection.
- Authorial commentary.
All these things are wonderful and important, but they can sometimes seem pale in light of the visual immediacy, the raw connection of a film. Why else do most of dream of having our stories adapted for the big screen? Of course, the vast majority of us will never see our stories up on the big screen. But that doesn’t mean we still can’t learn from what I call the movie factor.
How to Strengthen Your Novels With the “Movie Factor”
I want my stories to play out like a movie inside the readers’ head. I want them to see the progression of the scenes, the characters walking around, the sweep of the landscape–just as if they were watching a movie. My stories do play out like movies in my own head.
Whenever you’re approaching a big or tricky scene, try this. Stop, close your eyes, and visualize what the scene would look like in a movie. Visualize everything: angles, lighting, stage directions. Even try to conjure up a soundtrack. The results are always intense.
This technique can do wonders for helping you see your work clearly. Details, colors, tiny sounds—all those wonderful telling details—will be come to the fore of your imagination. Infeasible actions or stunts will become easier to spot. Unnecessary dialogue will fall away.
Really, this is nothing more than an intense visualization, with a little bit of a dramatic spin. Even if only in your own personal view, it will inch your stories a little closer to the vibrancy of a movie screen.
Whenever you can combine the best features of these two worlds—movies and books—you’ll be able to come up with a product worth any reader’s price of admission.
Wordplayers, tell me your opinions! Even though you’re writing novels, do you ever imagine your books as movie adaptations? Tell me in the comments!
