novelizing film

This is a long one.

There’s a theme in Rocket Summer that touches on child abuse and abandonment… this is Darlene’s perspective.

Continue reading Converting a screenplay to a novel: Rocket Summer

Another excerpt from the novelization of the Rocket Summer screenplay. “It was everything she’d imagined…”

Continue reading Converting Screenplay to Novel: Rocket Summer

Another chapter down… now we’re at the point where a great trust has been broken. It was a delicate trust to begin with.

Continue reading Screenplay to Novel – Rocket Summer

It’s time for a new excerpt of the slowly project of converting a screenplay into a novel.

So I may have been giving up too much information (spoilers) in the previous posts.

I’ll try to stop that.

These kids will do anything for this project of theirs… even get a haircut.

Why? One day you’ll be able to buy the book and find out…

Continue reading Screenplay to Novel: Rocket Summer – the haircut

It’s time for a new excerpt of the slowly project of converting a screenplay into a novel.

Those who have followed this project from its inception know that the characters have had their genders reversed. Not in the context of the story, but as a practical point.

Originally, the lead boy was Charlie. He had a crush on Lacey, and was best friends with Davey. Davey had a big brother, Mike, who they had to invite into their summer project because he had a truck and a driver’s license. Charlie hated Mike. Not just because he was a huge jerk (he was) but also because Lacey had a crush on Mike.

During the editing process, the producers felt they had a better shot at selling the film if it revolved around a female lead. So Charlie became Lacey, Lacey became Charlie, and Mike became Darlene.

So Lacey’s problem is that she likes Charlie, but Charlie likes Darlene.

Darlene still needed to be all the things Mike had been: older, a badass, and handy with a wrench. And the object of someone’s desires.

Here’s my take on Darlene…

Continue reading Screenplay to Novel: Rocket Summer – On Darlene

Here’s the latest excerpt on the slowly progressing process of converting a screenplay into a novel.

Berta was a character that originally had a much bigger part in the story… she was inspired a bit by the storyline in Breaking Away, where the kid has to get a job at the local car wash. He’s derided by his pals for taking the job (and being responsible) and is so incensed by the whole thing that he quits before he even starts, punching the time clock (literally) and walking off before his first shift begins.

I always felt like that was an interesting story point, but that by having him quit right away, we missed an opportunity to see how the experience of working  might have affected the story.

Berta was my take on that… Lacey’s boss at the job Lacey hates. But I kept Lacey on the job, because I felt it was part of her maturation process. Through all the edits, Berta’s part has been mightily whittled down, but I’ve brought some of it back in the novel.

Continue reading Novelizing a Screenplay: Rocket Summer – the Berta excerpt.