Technobabble

I have never finished a Charles Dickens novel. Not once. A Christmas Carol notwithstanding, I've never managed to do more than scratch the surface of one of his longer works. But I have seen some of the movie versions, so I guess that counts. :)

The point I'm trying to illustrate with that is I believe the way people tell stories, and the way people want them told, has changed. In my opinion, the change comes from the long-term effect of films and television on our culture. We don't approach novels and written stories the same way anymore. They've been left behind. Nowadays, it's more a question of "will the book keep my attention as well as the movie did?"

We also live in an increasingly electronic age. We have Facebook, we have cell phones, we have text messaging and, of course, internet on those cell phones. We want things faster and easier than ever before. It's all about convenience, and no one likes waiting.

Things have changed ever since movies and TV have become larger parts of our culture. Movies hand us a story, giving us easy, spoon-fed entertainment. The usually ask for nothing in return other than the cost of a movie ticket and their overpriced popcorn. As a result, the attention span of the average person has shrunk to fit the typical 1 1/2 to 2 hour film. People still expect entertainment, but now they want it in a smaller package. Here's an example: at the midnight premiere of the newest Harry Potter film, there were more people stretched around the movie theater to get a a good seat than there were in line at the midnight launch of the book Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows a few years back. Just something to think about...

Hollywood could care less. Coming up with original stories is not their aim, they want to make money. True, there is an Oscar for "Best Original Screenplay", but if you don't count based-on-a-true-story movies (which are a loophole, in my opinion), how many original fictional screenplays do Hollywood screenwriters create? They're too busy pumping out shitty sequels and remakes to bother with anything new. It may also be a matter of not taking risks, instead looking to the New York Times Bestseller List or popular superhero comics for reliable moneymaking plunder.

For many modern writers, the way they approach the craft of writing has changed since TV and movies have become larger parts of our culture. Writers today learn as much about storytelling, perhaps even more, from film instead of from reading classic novels like writers did before. I won't pretend that I'm above this. Alfred Hitchcock's films and The Twilight Zone are among my biggest influences as a writer. If you're growing up around TV and movies as a child, would you sit down and watch a Disney movie, or pick up a copy of Great Expectations? Parents even give their toddlers iPhones in checkout lines at the grocery store to keep them occupied.

Today's writers, in order to remain current, have to adapt to the demands of their audience. Movie audiences want quick, suspenseful reads, along the lines of a film. If you were to pick up any John Grisham or Dan Brown novel, you would discover after leafing through a few pages that they have made their niche, found a formula that people love. In addition, their novels read almost like screenplays, making them easily adaptable to film. This is done with a purpose. The easier a book is to translate to film, the more likely a movie version is to be made, and having a movie version means more publicity for the original writer. If I were offered a movie deal for my (currently in the works) novel, I admit I would have a hard time saying "no", provided the material would be in the right hands and not tampered with too much. Movies aren't all bad. If they are done right, they can immortalize a story. Let's face it: no writer wants to see their work become obscure and forgotten. The only risk is losing the integrity of the original story along the way. The writer's intention must be maintained. That is why I believe classic novels must be kept classic. People should be encouraged to read them.

Enough of my fear-mongering. Let's get back to checking our Facebook pages...