7 Reasons Why Studying Screenwriting

Can Make You A Better Novelist by

Max Kinnings
Lucy V. Hay

In this game, it’s a given the script development model is king. Start with a logline
and a pitch then develop them into a short form outline with character biographies.
Then, work up a longer scene-by-scene outline that you might want to call a treatment
– or you might not depending on which screenwriting books you read – and then, hey
presto, you “go to script” – and there it is, a first draft screenplay. It’s like growing a
plant and once it’s grown, you water it with rewrites. Or maybe you prefer the
architect’s plans metaphor? Regardless, the script development model has achieved its
ubiquity because it works. Only it doesn’t always work of course. There are bound to
be exceptions and people love to cite the exceptions. But they are just that, exceptions
that prove a rule.

So what happens if you take that script development model and transfer it to the world
of novel writing? Is that a good idea? Anecdotal evidence from Creative Writing
students of mine over the past few years would indicate that the rules of screenwriting
are worth knowing and considering when writing a novel. And here’s why:

1. Loglines in the sand. Thinking of a short pitch or logline helps to focus your mind
on the exact nature of a story, the central character and their goal or struggle. It also
allows you to consider the all-important tone of the story and ultimately its genre (of
which more in a moment). Many first time novelists become obsessed with writing
beautiful prose and that’s a good thing. But they also often fail to consider the story
and its impact as much as they should.

2. Who the hell is this guy/gal? The process of writing character biographies in
which “internal character” – the key events in the character’s life up to the moment
that the story starts – and “external character” – how the character reveals their true
self as they respond to the challenges and difficulties in the story, is extremely
valuable in all forms of storytelling, not just screenwriting where it appears to be most
prominent. Without consideration of a character’s wants and needs, a narrative can
lack drive.

3. Get some treatment. Writing treatments and outlines helps to develop an effective
narrative. Isolating key story beats, plot points, reversals, set-ups and pay-offs makes
the writer consider the effect they will have on the reader or audience of the piece of
work. This can prevent the self-indulgence that many writers of fiction can fall victim
to.

4. Terminate with extreme prejudice. Screenwriting’s emphasis on overall structure

and story forces the writer to be more disciplined with their writing and encourages
them to “kill their darlings”. Many first time novels – as with first time screenplays –
are poorly structured. Even if a writer intends to break narrative rules and eschew
traditional storytelling styles in a novel, knowledge of classic dramatic structure is
invaluable.

5. Paint me the picture. Writing visually is a skill that many prose fiction writers
struggle to master when they first start writing for the screen. While stream-of-
consciousness, internal dialogue and thoughts provide many of the pleasures of prose
fiction, the practice of writing visually – and only visually – sharpens your writing
skills and forces you to consider more clearly the character’s point-of-view from
which you are writing.

6. This isn’t what I paid for. An understanding of genre and genre conventions is
essential in all forms of storytelling but none more so than in screenwriting. By
making a point of considering genre right from the start of the writing process, the
writer of fiction is encouraged to forge an understanding of their audience, reader or
ultimate end-user.

7. Less is always and forever, more. The every-second-counts ethos of screenwriting

and insistence on scenes having a change of emotional charge or “scale of conflict”
from start to finish can force writers of fiction to be more economical with their words
and more aware of the drama that they create. The crime and thriller genres, in
particular, benefit from the stripping away of extraneous padding from story beats and
plot points. In these styles of writing, it really is the leaner the better.

I know, I know, writing a novel is high art and art can never be taught. We won’t get
into that argument here. All I’ll say is that not all writers need to think of themselves
as artists and many are happy to leave the judgment as to whether their work is art or
not to others. Many of us just want to write fiction as well as we possibly can and
even if we have no intention of ever writing a film, television or web drama, a study
of the discipline of screenwriting and its emphasis on a structured methodology and
process can – and I emphasise can – be a good way of helping to achieve our goal. As
I am currently discovering, it can also make you a better writer of digital games. But
I’ll save that for another blog.

Max Kinnings is a novelist and screenwriter. He is Head of Subject in Creative

Writing at London’s Brunel University and is due to lead a Guardian Masterclass in
screen adaptation on September 21/22.