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Treatments: From Novel to Movie

by Sandra T. Wales, D.Ed.

After the novel is written, those of us in self-publishing or in charge of a small press know the job isn't done. There are several way to make that novel continue to work for you. One is to adapt the novel to movies. Although "treatment" is the Hollywood term for synopsis, there are differences between the two.

A synopsis and a treatment are similar in that they are short versions of a story told in present tense. The resemblance ends there. A synopsis is a summary of the plot line of a story. It tells the story whereas the treatment shows the story - as it should since it's for a visual medium. The synopsis is a shorter, literal version of a longer work and its purpose is to describe, not sell. As an author, I'm not certain I agree wit this common assumption. I want my synopsis to sell the novel. Established authors are able to complete three chapters of a work in progress, add the synopsis, and send this proposal to a publisher.

A treatment requires the writer to use action verbs and intense, urgent language. It requires a "hook" in the first paragraph in order to sell the idea in ten or twenty single-spaced pages in block style. I'm sure these "rules" could be broken if the idea is exciting and exactly what a producer wants, but it's the norm in the film industry.

In Writing Treatments That Sell, authors Kenneth Atchity and Chi-Li Wong break the treatment into three acts. Act One introduces us to the protagonist, established an emotional link to the audience, provides us with the mood, and introduces us to the main character and his problem. We should like the protagonist or, at least, admire him for what he needs to do. If we don't see the viewpoint character right away, he needs to be talked about by another person. Audiences usually don't care for obscurity and guessing games, about who to like and trust. How does the hero's problem relate to ours? Can we share his needs? His desires? His angst?

Act Two shows us how the hero reacts to one obstacle after another. There's an adage in advice to mystery writers - make it bad, then make it worse. It applies to any story. A good example of bad to worse is in the garbage pit scene in the original Star Wars movie. Our heroes are in the midst of the most disgusting sludge complete with a tentacles monster that tires to drown one of the. That seems to be bad to worse, but it doesn't stop there. They're in a giant compacting machine and the walls close in. Will they escape? Of course the audience knows the heroes can't die there; the movie isn't over. Still the excitement builds.

Act Two is the bulk of your treatment. It also includes a reversal in fortune for the hero - the bad to worse part. How does he react to the challenge? Like a hero? The reversals keep going until it seems the hero can't do it. However, at some point the hero's perseverance is rewarded. His fortune turns. Life is better for him. But not for long. Again there is a setback and our hero must fight until once again he's in control. Can he accomplish his goal?

Act Three contains the punch. The crisis occurs here, the climax and the resolution. It's short and to the point. The writer builds the scenes until the audience is about to explode, then he or she ties everything up in a neat little package that leaves the viewer satisfied.

Every scene in a movie must contain conflict and move the plot forward. (Haven't we heard this before in Creative Writing 101?). Each scene must show growth of a character and all action, even the smallest, must have meaning. In theatre there's a saying that if a shotgun is in Act One, it must be used by Act Three. The same can be said for the treatment.

The task of writing a treatment from a novel seems daunting and it is. Because of my theatre writing background, I was in the habit of storyboarding my novels. Using this I was able to quickly write a treatment even though I had written the novel a decade ago. Next month I'll explain the storyboard format that I've found useful. It's another tool for writers that helps slash through the jungle to creativity.

Sandra Wales, aka Haley Elizabeth Garwood, created the award-winning Warrior Queen Series. The Forgotten Queen, Swords Across the Thames, Ashes of Britannia, and Zenobia (available March 2005) are all based on real heroic women in historical times. Contact Sandra at The Writers Block - WritersblkyatAOL.com and order her books at www.Amazon.com

Excerpted from the SPAN Connection newsletter (Copyright January 2005 SPAN). SPAN is a non-profit association of benefit to authors, self-publishers, and small presses. Visit http://www.SPANnet.org for more information.