This may sound like a stupid question. They are called "Screenplays" after all, and it is safe to assume that we write them with the hope that one day they'll be produced, performed, filmed.

But...there is a recognised literary subgenre called "Closest Screenplays" or "Lesescenarios" in which the script is written with the express purpose to be read, in the same way as a book is (and so can be more descriptive, less bound by screenplay rules). While this is a very small movement, and not primarily a Western one at the moment, it strikes me that with the rise of the Net, with sites like this, and now the ability of writers to publish "unproduced" screenplays for eReaders, this is an area that could become potentially a major literary form in years to come.

So, when you write your screenplays, do you do so with the thought in mind that they might one day be made as a film, or are you writing them as literary works to be read?

For the record, having spent many years trying for the former, I am now much more interested in exploring the latter...

(also posted on MoviePoet for those who are members of both sites)

[A] new form, that of the published film-script ... is extraordinarily powerful ... [and] makes us wonder whether this may not be a pointer towards the way novels may be written in future. ... It is written, of course, in film language; we "dissolve to," the camera "tracks back," we see someone "in close up"; but we soon get used to all this, and adapt our imaginations to the whole movement, or the series of disjointed movements which make up the whole. The question arises: Do we need to see it on the film? Perhaps the answer is: We shall not need to see it only when the script is written so well ... That will be a rare occurrence, but a master in the art of the novel might well become a master in this new form.

~ The Spectator, 1953

The following is well worth taking a look at:

Production's "dubious advantage"
Lesescenarios, closet drama, and the (screen)writer's riposte
Quimby Melton
http://scriptjr.nl/issues/1.1/productions-dubious-advantage.php

An interesting concept. That would be very useful if these screenplay/novels become something that's read by a wider audience. If such a screenplay could establish it had a following, it would have more interest to producers.

I'm not sure it will ever develop a wider audience. Reading a book is a very different thing. But I could be wrong. People today have much shorter attentions spans, so maybe they could find more entertainment in reading something that is a much quicker read, like a screenplay. How long are these hybrids, typically?

Most of those I have read about have been Japanese or French, so can't answer that authoritatively!

But - Aldous Huxley used screenplay formatting for part of one of his novels, and there's a YA book called "Monster" that integrates script layout. These are standard novel length books, but are not exclusively written in this form, rather mixing different forms.

The idea, as I understand it, is that you are freed from some of the restraints of screenplay writing. You want to write flowery descriptions, and put in camera directions, you can!

Steinbeck was so taken with the screenplay format that he used it as a template for some of his books (ironically not any adapted for the screen), and I have seen novelists advise that writing your first draft as a screenplay is one way to ensure it has structure (you then rewrite it - effectively writing an adaptation of the script you have written).

I find this rather a fascinating area full of possibilities...

Simon

It's intriguing. But the fact that it was attempted decades ago by famous writers, and yet did not establish a footing, might be a clue as to where it's going.

I can see why writers are tempted. It must be hard to switch back and forth from novel writing to screen. Having to change the verb tenses and all that. If you're going to go the distance and write a novel, at the proper length and with the standard description, you're better off just writing the novel in the regular way. Then, writing the screenplay shouldn't be that hard.

I'd interested though. Post anything else you find out, if you don't mind.

Quoted from leitskev It's intriguing. But the fact that it was attempted decades ago by famous writers, and yet did not establish a footing, might be a clue as to where it's going. I can see why writers are tempted. It must be hard to switch back and forth from novel writing to screen. Having to change the verb tenses and all that. If you're going to go the distance and write a novel, at the proper length and with the standard description, you're better off just writing the novel in the regular way. Then, writing the screenplay shouldn't be that hard. I'd interested though. Post anything else you find out, if you don't mind.

Yes, Kevin... I once worked with one really good storyteller, (I'd have to check my emails for his name, but he had trouble with the tense in script form, but he was really good!) I've learned that when I write in so called "novel form" compared to "script form" it's very hard to switch gears because it feels like I'm plugging into a different part of my brain and so yes! Yes I understand this difficulty.

... but on to the question...

I've learned that I'm far too independently minded to write strictly for the sake of being produced. It is the case always, that I fall in love with "things". If someone else falls in love with "things" and we, together develop a rapport, then the magic happens. There's nothing else to say about it. We just start working and voila!

Personally, I love to work with others rather than working solitary, but I have yet to find someone who really likes to collaborate in that way. Most of those that I've met are too egoistic and don't really want to share and toss the ball around....

That's what I really enjoy. I like to play and combine business with pleasure. I'm probably hard to work with that way because I think I'm too impulsive for most people, but that's me and I just can't change me. It's like I'm hardwired to be one of those unfailing "fliers", built for improvisation and carefree wit....

Rather strange you know, since scripts are... you know... Scripted? Which means planned? Prepared ahead of time? ...

And I much prefer improvisation over carved in stone work.

Anyways, thank you for the opportunity to answer your question. My hope is that we can pool together our resources and as we create, may we combine business and pleasure in doing so.

Thanks again.

Sandra

One thing I would say is that really, if you think about it, there is no standard "novel" format.

They can be written as letters, diaries, emails, backwards, from different perspectives, first person, third person, you name it!

The idea of writing a story in a form similar to, derived from, the screenplay would seem to me to be perfectly acceptable within this context. Just another way for a author to tell a story.

I am really interested in this area, and I will post any more I find on it.

Thanks for your comments.

Quoted from SLM One thing I would say is that really, if you think about it, there is no standard "novel" format. They can be written as letters, diaries, emails, backwards, from different perspectives, first person, third person, you name it! The idea of writing a story in a form similar to, derived from, the screenplay would seem to me to be perfectly acceptable within this context. Just another way for a author to tell a story. I am really interested in this area, and I will post any more I find on it. Thanks for your comments.

And thank you, SLM. You are correct. I think many of us associate "novel format" (although I know that now I'm using a very absolute and unnatural paradigm, with third person delivery.) I know this is far from the truth in regular delivery. (After all, we humans, well, we have this innate sense within us that tells us when we should "give up the ghost". Tee-hee. How many Computer Programs even know what The Ghost really is?!!! ?...

...So how much more difficult comes the question... or The Demand if one sees it as such...

We can speculate dearly, but the most important, (We think) ...

Is to communicate and make that most important and valuable connection.

Good night and G-d bless.

Sandra E. Watson

Hey Sandra

It sounds like my writing method has been similar to yours. I don't script the whole story in advance either. Sometimes I write the first sequence of scenes to get my mind in the right framework for the story, get the characters established in my head, the tone, the world. Then I stop and script out key plot points. I try to focus on the inner development of the protagonist, but it's something I really need to improve on. The pause to plot the key points takes me a couple of days. Then I start writing again. But most of what will happen is still pretty much a mystery to me.

If I could plot it all out, it seems it would be much easier. I'm just not smart enough to do that in advance. However, not knowing everything that will happen in the story actually makes it a little bit of an adventure for me, makes the writing more fun.

That's kind of the problem I have with things like Save the Cat, and I have to admit, I do let it influence me now. The more beholden we are to these formulas, though, the more our stories actually feel plotted. It comes through in the script and the film. That's the problem with a lot of films today. They feel so plotted. I guess the trick is to plot them but make it not feel plotted. Paint by the numbers in a way that looks natural.

SLM

Novels definitely have a wide range of acceptable formats. What really makes them different than screen, I think, is the descriptions of inner thoughts and feelings. The inner narrative. Like I said, I am interested, but I suspect there's a reason no one has succeeded at this before(right?). To write a 300 page novel, but put it in screen form, would that add anything for the novel reader's experience of the story? It would be hard to do.

During the time I have written my short scripts and posted them here, it was the best time of all, because I’ve received lot of magnificent reviews from different people with or without experience in screenwriting. I learned too much with SS members. Yes, I’ve written for to be read not for to be produced.

I hate to sound like a pedant, and I'm sorry to point out something that might be so obvious.

I do read screenplays for fun, and do believe they can be 'works of art' in themselves.

However, the very fact that they are 'blueprints' for the visual medium of film means that they will always fall short of being as widely read and as entertaining as a 'novel' (whatever format the a 'novel' may be in).  

A screenplay is just the first step in a bigger storytelling journey which then consists of cinematography, lighting, sound design/score, acting, editing, etc etc.  

Basically -- this wont catch on. Cast your mind back to the first time you saw a screenplay. Now think about someone who may enjoy films but couldnt give a rats arse how they are constucted from script to screen. Think they wanna read one? I doubt it.