: Re: Transitioning from novel writing to screenwriting? I've been studying writing for several years, and I feel fairly confident in my ability to write a novel. Before I take the plunge and go for

@Kevin153

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To transition to screenwriter from a novelist you need to:

Master screenplay format, which is very strict and standardized
Learn to approach writing as a collaboration, not a solo activity.
You may still write your screenplay alone, but it will
not be a movie without the additional work of up to thousands of
other people (for a big blockbuster).
Focus more on dialog and plot, and learn to do without the work done by the richness of your descriptive prose.

With all that said, I would heavily question your opening assumption, which seems to be that screenwriting is an intrinsically easier and more lucrative career than novelist. A movie is MUCH more expensive and labor-intensive to produce than a book. Furthermore, as a novelist, you can complete a book alone, even if no one publishes it. But it takes a whole team of people to create a movie (unless you are filming yourself on your iPhone). Therefore there are a lot more novels published than movies made, which in turn means that there are fewer successful screenwriters than successful novelists.

Yes, you'll make a huge amount of money --if you successfully sell a Hollywood blockbuster screenplay (sometimes, even if they don't actually ever film it). But if your film is a quiet indie short, you might not make any money from it at all. And where a novelist can live and work anywhere, an unknown Hollywood screenwriting hopeful is likely going to need to live in LA and work the face-to-face social networks.

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