Books to Movies, Novels to Films Part 2

Books to Film – Novels to Movies Part 2
Look below for part 1 of this post

It has come to my attention that some of my favorite novels are coming to the big screen.

One such anticipated film is Friday Night Knitting Club By Kate Jacobs. It was a very good read, but I’m jumping out of my skin to see what they do with the movie. Why? Well according to internet sources, Julia Roberts was cast for the starring role. And I personally love Julia. But that movie was originally scheduled for release in 2010… now it’s been pushed back to 2013 and I’m wondering what happened to the original idea.

Next on the list, and I have an all consuming urge to travel to the future so I can see this one TODAY, is Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander. According to IMDB.com, it is scheduled for release this year! But hey, see above to understand that might not happen. Anyone who has read this series and contemplated a movie version has agreed on two things. One: It would need to be a mini-series to capture even a smidgen of the storyline and character development. Two: There is no actor on earth who could play the scrumptious role of our beloved Jamie and do him justice. So far, the finished product of this film is only a rumor. Only time will tell if it will ever hit the big screen. Time machine anyone?

Last but not least, a project I’m super-stoked about (probably because it actually looks like it will happen) is Janet Evanovich’s “Stephanie Plum” series coming to the big screen! What makes this different than the other two promises above? Well, according to IMDB.Com One for the Money: A Stephanie Plum Novel is completed and due for release on January 27th 2012. Katherine Heigl will star as the beloved and quirky Jersey girl, Stephanie Plum.

Will these novels-to-film projects produce chair-rumbling applause and standing ovations of new cult followers, or sighs and heads shaking in bitter disappointment? Will those who have read these pieces of art enjoy the films more than those who haven’t? Or will those fresh to the storyline, without expectations, enjoy the movies more than the readers? Only time will tell.

Has any book-to-movies moved you in a special way? Leave a comment below on your hits or missed.

Blog Hop Day #3 - Blogs

Monday - Blogs
Here is a chance to share something about 3 blogs you follow and why, it may be one that you have found on Saturday or Sunday, or one you have followed for a while.

Blog #1
The Leaky Pencil
What can I say? Chris is a Canadian author, also from Ontario, like myself and he's a smart and funny guy. He also provided a flash fiction challenge on his blog, and I'm a sucker for flash fiction.

Blog #2
One Voice - Write Right
I met Joni through the F2K writing course. Her blog has an interesting and honest voice - plus it's loaded with tons of fun and useful information.

Blog #3
JM Tohline
I'm new to this blog, and I've loved it so far. I wish him great success with his novel "The Great Lenore". I can hardly wait to get my hands on it.

My First Blog Hop

I'm joining my first Blog Hop. Do I have any idea what that means? Not particularly, but I've enjoyed reading the results of other Blog Hops so I thought I'd give it a go.
Visit RJR Daydreamer for details on this Hop. Looks like fun and you still have until the weekend to join.

Stephen King's book: On Writing

For all of you wonderful fiction writer's out there, if you haven't picked up Stephen King's On Writing yet, you don't know what you are missing!

Who better to learn the art of successful fiction writing from than the King himself? It's definitely #1 on my list. I'll never be able to look at a dandelion the same again!

Nina

A Free Writing Course

Greetings all,

I know I haven't been very active lately, I will admit not much writing has been getting done. A prologue, Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 are complete but not to my satisfaction. Something is missing. Some crucial element that ties the writing to the pictures and words in my head.
Which leads me to the free writing course. I figured I needed a little extra help on the delivery of my sentences, on creating my scenes and finding "my voice". Low and behold, I get an email for a free writing course, so I checked it out. It actually seems pretty cool. I'm only in the orientation week, but so far so good. Everyone is really nice and helpful, and it's a fun community.
Its called the F2K writing course, and I'm not sure if they are still accepting students but if you wanna try to see if you can get in, the link is http://www.writersvillage.com/free/
There are instructions right on the main page explaining how to sign up for the course.
Happy Writing!
Nina

Writing Lesson - The Hyphen

Ok yes, I know, I know... We should have learned this in elementary school. In fact, it's quite possible that I did, and then forgot. But I was having a hard time figuring out if I should hyphenate certain words in my novel, and lucky for me, I came across an article that addressed this specific issue.

So here is the rule: A hyphen is used to join two words that describe an object, when the descriptive words can't be used on their own.

Example: The blood-stained walls
You can't describe the walls as simply blood, or simply stained. Therefore a hyphen is required.

Example #2: The mushy, green peas.
Both words can describe the peas on their own, therefore no hyphen is required.

So for those of you who like little tricks for grammar and punctuation, I hope this comes in handy.

How to Show Not Tell

If you've taking any sort of writing course, or read any articles on creative writing, you are bound to have come across the phrase "Show don't Tell". Click here to read my article on "How to Show Not Tell".
Let me know if you find it useful, or if you have any other tricks for Showing not Telling.

Hit the 1500 word mark!

I hit the 1500 word mark on my novel. A total of 1588 actually. It's still the rough draft, which will need a lot of re-writing and editing, but it's a good start. I find it good to walk away from it when I know exactly what comes next, and I'm excited to write about it... That way when I sit back down to keep going, I'm not staring at a blank page. It keeps me pumped up about getting back to it. I suppose the same argument could be made for not leaving the work when you are still passionate about it, but so far this works for me.

What is your novel about?

If you happen to mention to someone that you're writing a novel, the question of "What is the story about" is bound to follow. I personally have a really hard time with this answer. I have so many ideas floating around in my head, so many twists, turns and sub-stories that a brief 1 minute explanation just would not do.

So an exercise was generated after this very issue came up. In between 200-250 words, what is your novel about? Write it out for yourself, not for anyone else. Don't worry about sentence structure or proper tenses, just do it for you.

Let me know how it goes!