We're doing something a bit different today at my blog. Jennifer Brown-Thomas is here today talking about her book, Blissful Lies, that was made into a movie. So let's learn a bit about both by reading on and visiting the other blogs hosting this tour, as well as getting all my readers signed up for the giveaway at the bottom of the post. So let's welcome Jennifer and learn about the book to movie process......
"Perseverance is a great element of success. If you knock long enough and loud enough at the gate, you are sure to wake up somebody." ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Such an inspiring quote. I’ve learned in my limited experience that it takes an exceeding amount of effort and perseverance to become successful in this life—no matter the task or chosen career field. When I set out to first, make a movie, and then later to write the novel, Blissful Lies, no one told me how challenging it would be running from one medium of storytelling, to another. But it was. Very challenging. Retraining my brain to think outside of itself in order to switch gears and go from creating the screenplay to having to re-create the entire story with a broadened horizon of understanding for the reader was harder than I expected.
The two worlds aren’t really interchangeable. A screenplay is an outline, telling the actors the story and giving them the freedom to implement the verbiage in a way they see fit. With a novel, however, the writer is executing everything from start to finish and hoping to relay the storyline effectively, while creating characters the readers can love, root for and relate to, while also trying to leave the audience with a sense of satisfaction when the story comes to an end.
Once I sat down and started to recreate the story from scratch, essentially, it allowed me to be more creative. I got a chance to give the characters more of a story, a sense of who they are as people, and that’s something you miss out on when creating a screenplay. When asked if I enjoy writing the book or the screenplays more, I always call it a draw. I enjoy writing the screenplays in the sense that I enjoy creating shots in my head that will transcribe well onto film. But when it comes to working on the novel, I enjoy having no limits or restraints when it comes to page or word count and that’s always a struggle for me when writing in a screenplay format. I’m longwinded! I’ve been told on multiple occasions I should write for television.
Everyone is born with gifts and talent—mine just happens to be descriptive verbiage and I love creating make believe worlds for my readers in any medium—whether it’s on film or in novels, they’re both challenging and fulfilling in their own ways.
Thank you so much for having me! I look forward to reading more on your blog and chatting with your readers.
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At just 25 years old, Jennifer Brown-Thomas is a celebrated book author and movie director. Her first novel, Blissful Lies, combines both of her passions.
At the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, she presented Blissful Lies (the movie) starring Emmy award winning actress, Leann Hunley. YTINIFNI Pictures is working to bring the film to DVD and on-demand television this spring.
Jennifer is a married, Texas Christian University graduate and mother of one. Her newest venture, LBT Enterprises, is set to launch a fragrance, a children's clothing line and more.
Jennifer is a married, Texas Christian University graduate and mother of one. Her newest venture, LBT Enterprises, is set to launch a fragrance, a children's clothing line and more.
Watch for more novels from Jennifer - the next on its way is Vindictive Grounds. In February, Jennifer will begin directing the film version of this novel. She says, "It definitely has more of the explicit sexual contact comparable to Fifty Shades of Grey."
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Joder, it's a treat getting to read a post from an author who is also a movie director/screenwriter. Thanks for inviting Jennifer to stop by and share her thoughts on writing for the page versus writing for the screen.
ReplyDeleteI'm happy to host and love learning about the process of turning books into movies! Would love to see the movie of this soon.
DeleteJoder,
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for taking the time to post about Blissful Lies! Love your blog and look forward to chatting with you in the future. Xoxo.
I actually came to see your entry for the Avon Addicts Blog Hop tour, but decided to stick around and look around.
ReplyDeleteThe book looks like an interesting read. I'll check it out. :)