The freedom of the novel and the constraint of audio
This current fabulous chunk of Christmas time off from that which pays the rent has enabled me to make a good solid head start on TableRappers audio novel - the big project for 2008. But the process of writing the audio episodes around the novel is proving to be an interesting challenge.
If you have been following along, the original TableRappers was conceived and written as a TV series some years ago, and is currently being reincarnated as a novel and audio novel.
The Script
Despite memories of long nights grafting over every last syllable of dialogue and the flow of story narrative around potential advertisement breaks (the sad reality of television screen writing), screenplays are in some respects more straightforward to write. They have a defined skeletal structure, specific guidelines of what will and will not work, and always come under the first rule: show, don’t tell*. The structure and ability to break down a screenplay into component parts, maneuvering them into the finished piece, fits nicely with my natural creative methodology. When learning to develop screenplays, the idea of a 80,000 word novel was, bluntly, terrifying.
The Novel
Freedom. With past fears now well and truly laid to rest - thanks not in a small part to years forcing myself to write blog posts - I have found writing the novel version such a release. Ideas about the interwoven lives of the characters which had to be chipped away to create a 47 minute screenplay, can at last be examined. There is a greater depth to the characters’ backstories (that which took place before the start of the story), and I have been able to discover some new and exciting dimensions to some of my characters which the freedom of the novel format will enable me to explore.
The Audio Novel
Now this is an entirely different animal. Lacking the severe time constraints of the screenplay, yet enforcing a compartmentalized reproduction of the full story. Each episode (chapter) must be of a specific length, in this case approximately 20 minutes, equating to around 3,000-3,500 words of written text. Add to this the challenge to have some kind of appropriate high-tension ending each time, and ensure the story flows naturally from episode to episode. Thus the audio book will have some scenes removed and some story elements re-ordered in order to improve the flow of the narrative in this particular medium. This is vital to the success of the audio, in my opinion, and an element where some audio novels have stumbled in offering the listeners the best possible journey through the story.
Despite the audio constraints, I am loving this process and the book version is most certainly better as a result of the audio requirements. The book release will be accompanied by additional material the audience will not hear within the audio, which, if I have done my job well and hooked the audio audience into the world of my characters, will offer additional incentive to buy the book.
*Show, don’t tell. The screenwriter must show the audience what is happening, not have a character, directly or indirectly, tell them about what is happening - or what has happened. ‘Telling’ is called exposition, and is widely used. You know the scene, two characters having a conversation which fills all the blanks for th puzzled audience - think James Bond just after he has been captured by the evil maniac who, rather than simply remove him from th equation, is desperately intent on telling him every detail of his plan for global domination. Poor use of exposition never moves the story forward and is a tool which is nearly always employed to patch up poor execution of the story elsewhere.
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