Adding Sound and Image

by Jeanette O'Hagan

It's been one of those days, with a sick child, shuffling between doctor appointments and scans, and then the school concert this evening. Not quite what I planned as I pull my thoughts together late at night. Yet, I've be mulling over this idea for a few weeks while reading The Everything Guide to Writing Graphic Novels by Mark Ellis and Melissa Martin Ellis. Yep, that's right Graphic Novels.

When writing our stories - whether fiction or non-fiction - we think target audience and genre, traditional versus Indie publishing, print or e-book (or maybe both), picture book or chapter book (if we write for children) or even poetry or prose, but there are some other options that we may not have considered.

I've been pondering three ways of adding sound and/or image to our story telling.

Film

With so many great movies these days based on books, who hasn't thought about their book becoming a movie. Just think of Indie author Andy Weir, whose book The Martian became a block-buster movie.  If only, some savvy director will pick up our book and launch it on the big screen.

It great to daydream, but one possibility is to write our story as a script - whether for a two hour movie or a TV series, and then pitch it to networks and movie makers.

Books and movies approach storytelling in different ways, have different limitations and possibilities. Movies (generally) are more stream-lined, are visual, fast-paced and focus on action and (short, sharp) dialogue. Most movie adaption of necessity simplifies the plot, cuts down the number of characters. A TV series can be more faithful to the novel (think BBC Pride and Prejudice mini-series versus any of the movie adaptations). A movie can 'show' in a way a novel can't. The setting can be presented in a single frame, in loving detail which would take pages to write (as many 19th centuries authors did).

On the other hand, good novels take us inside the head of the characters. They also give us the room to exercise our own imagination, to co-create with the author. Movies struggle to convey internal thoughts, though a good actor can convey a lot through body language, tone of voice, posture etc.

Of course, we often bemoan that the movie is nowhere as good as the book. Yet, how often have we been totally enthralled by a good movie or hooked by a TV series. There are different ways of storytelling with different powers to engage. One way to explore that is to explore script writing or, perhaps, to speak to a script writer.

Sound recordings

Another opportunity to reach a wider audience is to produce an audio-tape of your book. Many people for various reasons now consume their fiction and non-fiction through audio.  This may be as they commute or preform mundane tasks, thus making best use of their time or because they take in more through audio channels. Or it could be that due to age or other reasons, reading is now difficult if not impossible.

Once again, reading a book is a different experience to hearing it read for us. Though, how many of us first learned our love for books in the laps of reading parents, grandparents or perhaps teachers and Pajama Angels?  When we hear a book read, it adds another dimension to the experience and can be enjoyed in situations where usually it's impractical to read a book, e.g. driving a car, doing the ironing, having a shower (though I know of a friend who could manage that feat).

There are different options from companies that will convert your novel or story to audio for a price, to entities like Audible that do it for little or no upfront fees in return for a portion of the royalties. Whichever option is chosen, the choice of narrator (or narrators) is surely of great importance, from the quality of his or her voice, to their skill in dramatic narration. Nothing can put a person to sleep faster than a monotone.

Graphic Novels

Graphic Novels are becoming increasingly popular among teens, but also among adults and fandoms. Once again, this is a medium that may reach a different audience, an audience who are reluctant to read books.  For instance, The Action Bible presents biblical narrative in a way that engages young people and that can provide a bridge to reading. Production of graphic novels with digital artwork and print on demand printers means it is now more accessible for independent artists.

Graphic Novels use a combination of pictures and text to tell the story - often in panels as in a comic book. Thus they have writers and artists - and traditionally may require a penciller (who does the intial drawings), an inker, a letterer and a colourist. Or sometimes the writer and artist are one. Both the script and the artwork are important to the story and need to work in concert. Obviously, long speeches without action may be problematical in a graphic novel. On the other hand, internal thoughts can be shown through thought bubbles. The artwork often uses exaggerated poses or easily identifiable features to show character, emotion and body language. One might also choose between a more Western approach (think D C Comics and Marvel) or Japanese Anime and Manga (Spirited Away or Howl's Moving Castle) or a blend of the two (Avatar: The Last Air Bender).

The Graphic Novel is perhaps more often used for Children's and Young Adult stories, or for Superhero, Crime, Adventure and Speculative Fiction, though it has also been effectively used for memoir, historical stories and biblical narratives.

Venturing forth

Each of these media have unique challenges and needs for story telling. Not all stories make good movies or graphic novels. These media are also require collaboration - much as an illustrator in the picture book is a co-author, so too the director, set designers and actors, the narrator or the visual artist can add different and new dimensions to the story. We as authors may find that threatening. On the other hand, thinking about how our story might translate in different media can help us think differently and perhaps more creatively, even if we don't venture forth in the world beyond text.

I've been thinking about sound recordings and graphic novel for Heart of the Mountain, or writing a script about my uncle's life story. Whether that ever becomes a reality or not, it's been fun imagining it to be so.

What about you? Have you ever considered your story in a different media than text alone? If so what? Have you forayed into one or more of these areas? If so, what pointers and tips would you give those of us standing at the borderlands, wondering whether to enter? And a bonus question, what Christian novel would you love to see as a movie, audio-recording or graphic novel?

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Images © Jeanette O'Hagan

Jeanette O’Hagan first started spinning tales in the world of Nardva at the age of eight or nine. She enjoys writing secondary world fiction, poetry, blogging and editing.

Her Nardvan stories span continents, time and cultures. They involve a mixture of courtly intrigue, adventure, romance and/or shapeshifters and magic users.

Recent publications include Heart of the Mountain: a short novella, The Herbalist's Daughter: a short story and Lakwi's Lament: a short story. Her other short stories and poems are published in a number of anthologies including Glimpses of Light, Another Time Another Place and Like a Girl. Jeanette is also writing her Akrad’s Legacy Series—a Young Adult secondary world fantasy fiction with adventure, courtly intrigue and romantic elements.

Jeanette has practised medicine, studied communication, history, theology and a Master of Arts (Writing). She loves reading, painting, travel, catching up for coffee with friends, pondering the meaning of life and communicating God’s great love. She lives in Brisbane with her husband and children.

Find her at her Facebook Page or at Goodreads or on Amazon or on her websites  JennysThread.com or Jeanette O'Hagan Writes . if you want to stay up-to-date with latest publications and developments, sign up to Jeanette O'Hagan Writes e-mail newsletter.