A couple of months ago I wrote about my writing project, in which I would adapt my movie screenplay into a book. I wrote about how I would do the writing myself and that I wouldn't give the project for anyone else to do.
After all, since I wrote the original screenplay, there was no reason why I wouldn't be able to write the book version too. It was clear that I should try to write it myself - even though I didn't have any previous experience in writing novels.
So when it comes to how things have progressed lately, it can be said that I have managed to get things done here. Even though I haven't finished the book yet, I've been busy with it and should be able to finish it in the next couple of months or so.
The biggest reason that I'm relatively confident that I'll get the job done is because I managed to write the rough draft already. I wrote a draft (in Finnish), which is a lot like the original film screenplay version that I wrote last year.
By that I mean that all the characters and all the events that are in the movie version are also in the novel version. I didn't have to cut any of the storylines or the plot points that were in the original version of the screenplay.
What this basically means is that in order to be able to write a solid book, I 'more or less' only have to follow the road map (the draft) and make sure that I keep the reader involved in the story. That's all that it takes to write a solid book - at least in theory.
Still, just because I can rely on a story that is well written and that makes sense, that doesn't mean that I have been able to make everything work right way. I'm not saying that I haven't had any setbacks during the adaptation process.
On the contrary, the minute I started the second phase of the project - making the draft look like an actual book - it became apparent that I would face obstacles here. There were obvious challenges that I hadn't thought about before.
For example, in the book version, I needed to create a narrative (third person) that would mimic the original version's friendly tone. I would have to make sure that the characters were genuinely likable, because otherwise the story just wouldn't be worth following.
The other really big challenge in the book version has had to do with the pacing of the story. It has been a lot more difficult to give the story a solid pace, so that the scenes could have a relaxed feel and that the pacing wouldn't feel rushed.
Especially considering that there are so many transitions - characters moving from one place to another - time lapses etc. - it hasn't been easy to figure things out. It has been a lot more challenging to give the story a solid flow than I had expected.
Still, when I think about this project as a whole, just because I have had these challenges, that doesn't mean that I'm screwed. I'm not thinking that I'm not good enough and that I should give someone else the chance to finish the book.
After all, when it comes to projects like these, I tend to be really persistent and won't give up easily. Instead of giving up, I'm willing to try almost every possible solution in order to make sure that the story works and feels natural.
In that sense, even though I still have things to do here, I'll keep going. I'll keep going and will make sure that no matter what happens, I won't give up just because I might sometimes have bad days or just because I don't always get things done.
After all, as long as I'll keep writing on a consistent basis, eventually I'll be able to finish the book. I'll be able to finish the book and will have the chance to do something else that I might find to be interesting and that might be worth my time.
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