People who love to read books and those who can’t stay away from movies are considered to be very different. Many people who do both claim that books are better than their movies. On the other hand, some people who read books see the movie potential in every book they read. One thing that people must understand is that behind every movie is a written storyline. When the dialogue in a particular movie blows away the people watching, it’s all thanks to the person who wrote the screenplay. There are several things that novelists can learn from screenwriters.

One of the things is that every piece of writing has to be structured. According to Syd Field, who wrote The Screenwriter’s Workbook, a screenplay can be divided into three acts: a setup, a confrontation, and a resolution. Novels share a similar structure because they don’t aimlessly meander from one unrelated moment to another. Readers are supposed to get lost in the novel and reach the end with great anticipation.

Another thing that novelists can learn from screenwriters is to cut to the chase. One minute of a movie is equivalent to one page of a screenplay. Most films are between 90 and 120 minutes so a screenwriter has to tell the whole story in a similar number of pages. If the plot does not become clear within the first few minutes, viewers lose interest. Also, if too much of the movie is spent on pointless scenes, the story will not get enough time to be developed, told, and concluded without the film feeling rushed.

Character development is another lesson novelists should take from screenwriters. Screenwriters have an uncanny ability to create solid characters because they simply have no other option. Few people will stare at a screen for two hours without a connection to the characters. This is the same case for novels because unless the characters are well developed, the plot will feel a bit empty. Readers of a novel rely on the words to develop solid, three-dimensional characters to add substance to the story.

Novelists should also know that every scene is important. Most people have at some point found themselves watching scenes of a movie where nothing much happens. Characters meet at some point and engage in dialogue that has nothing to do with the plot. The natural deduction that most people would come up with is that the movie is a bad one.

Screenwriters write so that their work can be turned into visual images. However, they cannot write everything for their audience so they have to use dialogue and nuanced action. It is the job of the actors and director to see the film coming to life through the words on the page. They also have to be able to read between the lines and if they can’t, the scene will not be as the writer intended. Novelists also have to write in a way that the audience can visualize the story unfolding. They have to be careful not to write too much detail to avoid boring readers. Novelists should not be afraid to leave a trail of breadcrumbs for fear that readers might be unable to connect the dots.