Novelizing a Screenplay
In Deep Cover – The Unknowing Agent, an Army Intelligence officer finds himself amid an espionage plot when he defies orders and follows a cryptic message. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
The story of how this came about is different from how my most recent book release, Watching Volume 1: The Garden Museum Heist, came about. With that one, there was a definite event that triggered the story. With Deep Cover, I did something I’d never attempted before. The story started out as a screenplay I’d written about 15 years ago. I wasn’t ready to start Volume 2 of Watching, so I was thinking about different possibilities for my next project. With that in mind, I decided to review some of those earlier screenplays and, when I came across Deep Cover, found that it resonated with me and was even more relevant today than when I originally conceived it.
When you first sat down to write this story, did you know where you were going, or did the twists come as you were writing?
Because I had written the story so long ago, I had a general idea about where it was going. That being said, novelizing a screenplay has taught me that changes to the story are inevitable. With a novel, you are much more free to expand on themes, concepts, and background. One of my favorite things about writing is that the characters and events lead you in directions that you had not originally intended. Deep Cover was no different. So yes, many of the twists were new and came to me as I was writing.
What character did you enjoy writing for? Was there one that was more challenging to write for?
I think I enjoyed writing for Stephen Beck the most. That character speaks in the first voice and so I was able to insert myself into his head, which leads to me trying to think like him. In doing so, I find that it leads to places I may not have otherwise gone, which is just so much fun!
I think the greatest challenge for me was writing for Pushkin. He is so different from anybody I’ve actually had contact with. In addition, I had specific goals for how I wanted the reader to react to him. While it was more challenging, it was also fun to come up with the various scenarios and backstories. He was one of my favorites.
What is the next book you are working on, and when will it be available?
I’m currently writing Volume 2 of the Watching series. Hopefully, it will be available during the early part of 2025.
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Original source: https://literarytitan.com/2024/03/30/novelizing-a-screenplay/
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