WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON BOOK-TO-MOVIE ADAPTATIONS? WOULD YOU ONE DAY WANT YOUR BOOK MADE INTO A MOVIE, OR PROBABLY NOT?

I love that we’ve all had varying responses to this prompt. It’s somewhat controversial, but our posts are interesting because of it!

While I completely understand the idea that a movie adaptation of your novel could compromise its integrity, I personally would be on board with having my book made into a movie.

I have a few reasons to explain my enthusiasm for a book-to-movie adaptation (in no particular order):

1. It’d be great to see my book come to life on screen as a new way for my readers to experience the story/world/characters I’ve created.

I do believe movies are just another art form, and thus can and will be slightly different from the books they’re based on. That said, if the producer decides it’s okay to completely screw it up, he might as well call it by a different title. In short, I understand there’s no way for my book to translate perfectly on screen. And that’s okay, as long as the overall story is the same.

2. What author wouldn’t want to meet potentially well-known actors/actresses portraying their characters?

Um, super cool. I’d be trying really hard to be professional, but it probably wouldn’t work out. I’d take lots of pictures with captions like, DO YOU KNOW WHO THIS IS?!

3. I’m not naïve enough to believe I’d be consulted on every aspect of the movie, but I’d like to have some influence.

This, I think, is becoming less of an issue. I was especially excited after reading about Veronica Roth and John Green’s involvement with their book-to-movie adaptations. (Not that I’m assuming I’m even anywhere in their league, or that my book would ever be so popular.)

And there is the possibility of actually appearing in the movie, as a minor character or an extra or something like that. (When I saw Veronica Roth on screen during the Divergent zip-lining scene, I punched my sister in the arm and stage-whispered “IT’S VERONICA ROTH!”)

Book-to-movie adaptations I believe were done well:

Harry Potter
The Help
Hunger Games
The Book Thief
Divergent
Fault in Our Stars

Unfortunately, sometimes book-to-movie adaptations disappoint. The casting is all wrong, because someone forgot to pay attention to the details that make the character memorable and beloved, or several major plot points were overlooked, or the tone of the film is off.

When movie adaptations are made of the first book in a series, I worry about future adaptions of the remaining books. If the first movie doesn’t do well, the fans can be sure the rest of the series won’t make it to the screen. Which, in my opinion, just isn’t fair (to the author or the fan base).

The movie adaptations of Eragon, Percy Jackson, City of Bones, and Vampire Academy could have been better. And if they had been better, we might have had the pleasure of watching the entire series unfold.

And that concludes my thoughts on book-to-movie adaptations. I’m looking forward to seeing The Maze Runner and The Giver in theaters, and hope I’ll only have good things to say. We shall see.

*I apologize for the late post. Better late than never, I guess? I meant to write this post well in advance and have it scheduled, but I procrastinated when I returned home from vacation, and then went straight to college orientation for two days. Oh, the excuses. Sigh.

Be sure to check out the other blogs participating in the chain! Also, please share your thoughts!

June 5 – Against the Shadows
June 6 – The Loony Teen Writer
June 7 – Sammi Talk
June 8 – The Little Engine That Couldn’t
June 9 – This Page Intentionally Left Blank
June 10 – Relatively Curious
June 11 – Charley R’s Learning Tower of Plot
June 12 – Tara Therese
June 13 – The Weirdy Station…And Once in a While Everything, Something, and Nothing
June 14 – fairy skeletons
June 15 – Musings From Neville’s Navel
June 16 – The A.R. Files
June 17 – Magic and Writing
June 18 – A Mirror Made of Words
June 19 – Brooke Reviews
June 20 – Miriam Joy Writes
June 21 – page eight hundred ninety
June 22 – Unikke Lyfe
June 23 – Aaron and Tamara Cole Books
June 24 – Butterflies of the Imagination
June 25 – The Upstairs Archives
June 26 – Turtles in My Soup
June 27 – Miss Alexandrina
June 28 – Teens Can Write, Too!

WHAT KINDS OF PUBLISHED BOOKS WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE MORE OF?

This is inspired by the Twitter hashtag #RBWL (stands for Reader/Blogger Wishlist), which is basically a place for people to post about the kinds of plots/characters/themes/genres/etc they personally would like to see in more published books.

I love this prompt, because as writers it gives us a chance to truly think about what we’d like to read and then to go forth and write it. Anyway, I have been giving this a lot of thought.

So, my list:

1. Books with multiple perspectives / books that follow the story lines of multiple characters.

I’ve found I really enjoy these books that highlight more than one character. If it’s done well, it adds depth to the story and to the relationship between characters. (This includes both first person narrations and books written entirely in third person).

Examples: Raven Boys, Cinder, Sea of Shadows, Panic, Legend, Game of Thrones, Percy Jackson

2. More retellings.

It’s exciting when I’m already familiar with the storyline, because this means there’s a good chance I’ll like the book. And when the author manages to captivate me with a unique spin on the story, I’m very appreciative.

Examples: Cinder/Scarlet/Cress

3. I would like to see futuristic novels that aren’t necessarily dystopian.

(Okay, this was brought to my attention by Emma at Awkwordly Emma. Credit where credit is due.) I love dystopian novels, but for the most part they’re typically about governmental corruption and that gets old. It’s the world-building that excites me every time, so there should definitely be more YA novels with super cool futuristic settings and unique plotlines.

4. Also, while we’re on the subject of dystopia, why don’t we ever see the new (and soon-to-be-corrupt) government being built / constructed?

(Wouldn’t this make for awesome prequels to some of our favorite dystopian novels?)

5. Books featuring healthy family units.

It pains me when so many of the parents/guardians in YA are neglectful, absent, selfish, or abusive. Of course, there is a reality to this. And it makes for excellent conflict. But I would just like to see a healthy familial unit for once, because they do exist. Not to say that “healthy” family units are perfect, because there is no such thing as a perfect person, much less a perfect family.

Examples: Harry Potter (the Weasleys), Raven Boys (Blue’s mother/aunts), Divergent (Tris’ parents), The Book Thief (Hans and Rosa Hubermann)

6. Though I’ve read middle grade mysteries and adult mystery novels, I have yet to read an engaging YA mystery. I think this could be a really beloved genre, if only there were more YA mysteries.

Example: The Cuckoos Calling by Robert Galbraith (It isn’t YA, but it’s a great mystery.)

Be sure to check out the other participating blogs!

May 5th – Sammi Talk
May 6th – Nerds Inc.
May 7th – Against the Shadows
May 8th – The Upstairs Archives
May 9th – The Little Engine That Couldn’t
May 10th – Life of a Random
May 11th – Relatively Curious
May 12th – Hugs & Kisses of Poetry
May 13th – Musings from Neville’s Navel
May 14th – The Looney Teen Writer
May 15th – This Page Intentionally Left Blank
May 16th – Tara Therese
May 17th – Miriam Joy Writes
May 18th – Writer’s Write, Right?
May 19th – Writing Portfolio
May 20th – Magic and Writing
May 21st – Unikke Lyfe
May 22nd – Brooke Reviews
May 23rd – page eight hundred ninety
May 24th – Laughing at Live Dragons
May 25th – Avon’s Babbles
May 26th – The Unsimple Mind
May 27th – The Writing Duo
May 28th – Lily’s Notes in the Margins
May 29th – Sun, Sand, Stars and Dreams
May 30th – Teens Can Write, Too! – We’ll announce the topic for June’s blog chain!