Should I be a novelist or scriptwriter? / Theater play submissions

Neither is easier. I'm sorry to say. If you have a penchant to one over the other, I suppose then that could make it easier as you would have more passion. But they are equally difficult for entirely different reasons.

Theatres don't just accept plays from anyone. Usually, if they aren't doing the old standards, they either do a work from someone up and coming in the community, or have a contest. The best way to become known as a playwright is to write plays, have them workshopped, performed in a small theatre, get producers in to see them and hope they want to produce your work in a larger space. Btw, you do know there is a HUGE difference between play scripts and screenplays right?

Wow, that thread subject line is one heck of a hook.

In my experience, fan-fiction feedback is so meaningless as to be negatively useful.

Samuel Dark said:

OK, I have recently started writing a fan based script for Stargate (no, i don't want to pitch the idea to anyone), but if I am successful, get good feed back, should I be a novelist or scriptwriter?

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That's a bit like asking, "Should I climb Everest or Kilimanjaro?"

I'm just curious, will you only decide to continue with writing if you are "successful" with this script? In which case I'd have to ask, how do you define "successful"?

I wrote a couple of Star Trek fanfics when I was younger, but I soon realized that I preferred playing in my own sandbox with my own characters.

This question is about markets and which one to crack. If you write the novel, it could be turned into a screenplay in the rights deal, though.

All kidding aside, I'm not sure you need to separate the two. However, do understand you are talking to different markets with two completely different approaches in writing and success. And that's another great point -- what is your measuring stick for success? Get that clear in your head now.

In any case, I don't think you need to choose between your children. One can lead to the other.

PS. I am a fan of fanfic, though many detest it. I've always believed fanfic is a great way of sketvhing you own ideas, as one might draw Superman or Batman as a means of learning to draw. Best of luck with it.

Samuel Dark said:

OK, I have recently started writing a fan based script for Stargate (no, i don't want to pitch the idea to anyone), but if I am successful, get good feed back, should I be a novelist or scriptwriter?

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Getting good feedback about fanfic/fanscripts isn't going to tell you whether or not you've got what it takes to write your own fiction or scripts.

It might be fun, rewarding, good practice, or all of the above to work with someone else's characters and situations. But ultimately, being able to populate a world with your own characters is a key part of being a novelist, playwright, or screenwriter.

So if you enjoy writing a fan script, have fun with that. But the way to decide whether or not you should work on screenwriting is to write an original script of your own.

Actually, if what you're writing is in proper script format (from the formatting to using the show's typical format for an episode) and fits in with the show's tone/universe, it could be considered a spec script. (I'm not 100% on the terminology)

It is a long shot, but spec scripts are how you apply for a staff writing job on a tv show. That said, you still have to send out a query letter as they will just send it back unread if you send an unsolicited script. And unfortunately, I never got that far into my research on TV writing before being a novelist caught my fancy.

I'm also pretty sure that certain sci-fi tv shows have novels to accompany them. If that's your interest, you would want to track down the publishing company for those novels and look on their website and see what their submission process is.

As for which you SHOULD be writing, that is up to you. Writing fanfic type material is a valid way to start off before branching off into writing your own things. You can experiment with material by using characters that are already familiar to you and then figure out which feels more comfortable.

Good luck with this!

I had a professor ask me once if I was certain I wanted to write screenplays rather than novels. (My answer being both.)

He told me that the way I described things felt to him like a novelist's approach. "You use too many words for a screenplay." I worked over my pages, trimmed things and managed to change his mind but that comment has stuck with me.

If you want to write scripts you have to be succinct. The average screenplay is (I think) about a fifth the length of a novel. (I want to say about 20,000 words vs. 100,000 but my numbers could be off.)

There's nothing that says you can't do both. Or shouldn't try both. But be aware that novels and scripts make the most of different skills. A novel requires being able to convey information in a way that doesn't need pictures. A screenplay requires putting a lot of information in a small amount of space and then effectively creating pictures from it.

Just my two cents.

Do what you want. Take a shot at writing a novel and then try out screenwriting. After two days make a desicion.

Novels take a lot longer to finish than screenwriting.

BlueLucario said:

Do what you want. Take a shot at writing a novel and then try out screenwriting. After two days make a desicion.

Novels take a lot longer to finish than screenwriting.

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I think it would take a lot longer than two days to make a decision in this regard. Unless you're some genius who can write a complete novel in one day and a complete screenplay the next.

There's nothing that says one can't do both (be a screenwriter and a novelist). And they are both difficult. As I mentioned earlier, they take different kinds of writing skills.

A screenplay may be short but you don't have as much leeway as you do with a novel in regards to length. If you want to write a feature film it HAS to be within 90-120 pages. (There are a few exceptions that are longer but most are written by established screenwriters who can get away with it.) A novel is usually around 100,000 words but there is a lot of room to play with that number and still have a chance at getting published.

A screenplay has a very specific structure. Read Aristotle's Poetics for more details. (Or, if you really must, Syd Field has a bunch of books on the subject that are basically what Aristotle said only dumbed down and repeated a bajillion times.) Novels have all sorts of different structures.

Making a decision between novelist or screenwriter is not something you will probably be able to do overnight. And, again, there's really no reason to choose one over the other. If your strongest idea would work best in screenplay format, then write a screenplay. If it would work best as a novel, then write a novel.

I've written some really crap screenplays. But that didn't convince me that I should only be a novelist. Just that I need to work on my story telling skills. And just because I've only ever finished one novel (and that was in high school and was totally lame) doesn't mean I shouldn't be a novelist. It means I need to work harder on my story telling skills.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that you can't let success or failure limit what you want to do. Do it because you want to.

Samuel Dark said:

OK, I have recently started writing a fan based script for Stargate (no, i don't want to pitch the idea to anyone), but if I am successful, get good feed back, should I be a novelist or scriptwriter? Which would be easier, not like that matters, and which would be more realistic of a goal? Or should I work on both, writing a novels and scripts, and see which one gets "published" first (I know it's not really "published" for scripts, but you get what I mean).

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Something is missing here: your energy.

How do you feel about writing scripts? How do you feel about writing novels?

Dale

Don't you know? Most writers are writing for an audience in the end.

But to get their work in book or film form and made available to the audience....

As a novelist, I'd say scriptwriting is easier. My Sister is a scriptwriter and says novel writing is probably easier. I'm older so I win.

JJ

dpaterso said:

Why don't you do a swap? You write the easy scripts and let your sister write the easy novels?

No need to thank me, that's why I get paid the big bucks.

-Derek

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There's a very good reason for this. Ummm...I like a challenge.

JJ

First of all, both are hard to write. Period. Of course there's not an easier way to go in the writing of the work. But in the selling, this is a completely different story.

This is how screenwriting works: Hollywood or lottery. Either you move to Hollywood and join the hoard of screenwriting zombies vying for a chance on the big screen, or you find your own director. In Hollywood, screenwriters get paid the least of anyone. Even those scripts that are accepted are bought for the most part at a commission rate. Meaning little or no royalties. Ever wonder why there was that writers' strike? That didn't start yesterday. The whole situation has been going on since the film industry started. As for TV shows, those writers are on a staff basis. Meaning you'd have to have a really, really good spec script to get in.

As for the lottery part of the equation. I call it that simply because that's about the chance you have. Or getting hit by lightning. What I mean is that you would have to find your own way. Either through an independent film, or through a director or producer who happens to run across your script. Not likely. Or you could produce your own film, hire your own director, in which case, well, you'd probably have to win the lottery.

As for novels, this is a much safer approach. See, a much higher percentage of novels get printed than scripts that get produced. No matter what anyone says, novels are longer. Therefore, they take more time to finish, and so while just as many, if not more people want to become novelists than screenwriters, less of those people have a finished manuscript. Less competition. Also, it takes less risk, as you do no not have to move to Hollywood to find a publisher.

As for your second question: Plays are chosen by the director or the producer, if they are not the same person. Either a director decides what play he or she will do, and contacts producers to attain funds, or a producer decides what play he or she will produce, and hires a director. As a local director, what I can say for you is this: Start with community theatre. Either find someone who wants to put on a production and show them your script, or put it on yourself. If you put it on yourself, make sure you count your costs. Advertising plus theatre space plus rehearsal space. If there is a nearby school with a good theatre, use that--it's cheaper. Under sections 40040-40048 of the educational code, it generally costs about $350 - $500 per night.

All in all, you will hear this over and over again: the worst thing you can do in this business is stand still. Expand outward in all directions if you can. You're only limited by time, which, take my word on this, you can always make time. Always.

I hope this has helped.

-giusti

I have done both, and speaking only for myself, my temperament and mental well-being is better suited for lone-wolfing it as a novelist. As good as the dollars may be for the few who are lucky at screenwriting, and even writing for others as a with as I also have done, nothing is more satisfying to me than controlling my own writing.

I started out writing screenplays but never found them as fulfilling as writing short stories or novels. There is a reason that so many screenwriters also direct or write novels; a screenplay isn't a finished piece of "art." It is a blueprint that someone else will take and change as they see fit. If you are successful then there will be numerous rewrites that will change the script drastically.

If you're serious about writing screenplays then I suggest you read William Goldman's "Which Lie Did I Tell."

Personally I think that writing a novel is a much more fulfilling experience.