Books to Plays/Films
Age Category 12+ upwards
Imagine you are going to turn one of the following books into a play or film.
The Blue Book of Nebo, Manon Steffan Ros, Translated from Welsh by Manon Steffan Ros, Firefly Press (2022)
Dragonfly Eyes, Cao Wenxuan, Translated from Chinese by Helen Wang, Walker Books (2021)
The Memoirs of a Basque Cow, Bernard Atxaga, Translated from Basque by Margaret Jull Costa, Young Dedalus (2020)
Winter in Wartime, Jan Terlouw, Translated from Dutch by Laura Watkinson, Pushkin Children’s Books (2018)
Lampie and the Children of the Sea, Annet Schaap, Translated from Dutch by Laura Watkinson, Pushkin Children’s Books (2019)
1. What would you call your play or film?
2. Can you come up with a catchy slogan to promote your play or film?
3. Try to create a script or screenplay either taking a section of the book or the whole story.
4. Develop the plot and choose your cast of characters.
TIPS
1. Remember that it is important to find the title first. (Some of the books have good titles already such as No and Me but you will need a good slogan that helps explain what the film is about.
2. Before starting read other screenplays or scripts to understand the dialogue.
3. There needs to be a good plot with suspense and emotion, for example, The Game is full of suspense while the story of No and Me follows a more gentle pace. For films don’t use too many words as it is about the pictures – think in pictures.
4. Get your story – write up lots of ideas, and create an outline. roadmap - maybe create a storyboard.
5. Choose your cast of characters – build them up in your mind.
6. Set the scene including details such as time of day, setting and actions of characters in the scenes.
7. Decide how the story is to unfold e.g. a narrator may introduce the characters. A character may set up the characters through dialogue (conversation) or a monologue (thinking aloud).
8. Make sure you tell the reader/actor in the script or screenplay what is happening that the narrator is not communicating.
9. Develop a rough draft.
10. Be prepared to revise and edit.
