Do you know of any novels that read more like screenplays?

[evolutionaryFan]

I like screenplays because they keep descriptions to a minimum. It's filled with dialogue and action... things to keep the plot moving.

I find descriptions in novels generally extremely hard to get to, and I will often skip them. I usually can't visualize the things being described and I tend to tune it out.

Are there any novels that read more like screenplays?

Do you know any authors that write with this kind of screenwriting style?

Thanks.

[Zelena]

Truth to be told, fanfics make me this impression: full of dialogues, few descriptions… I find that rather annoying.

Once, I thought I bought the novel “Christine” by Stephen King and I was buying the script of the movie… Here it is: https://www.scripts.com/script/christine_5511

A true novel full of dialogues? I thing the serie of heroic fantasy novels by David Eddings are not that bad from this point of view: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Belgariad

The books written by Anthony Horowitz, too… he also worked for TV.

[evolutionaryFan]

Truth to be told, fanfics make me this impression: full of dialogues, few descriptions… I find that rather annoying.

Once, I thought I bought the novel “Christine” by Stephen King and I was buying the script of the movie… Here it is: https://www.scripts.com/script/christine_5511

A true novel full of dialogues? I thing the serie of heroic fantasy novels by David Eddings are not that bad from this point of view: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Belgariad

The books written by Anthony Horowitz, too… he also worked for TV.

Thanks! I'll check those out.

I don't mind descriptions of characters' states of mind (although this wouldn't fit the screenplay style which is all show don't tell). It's the physical descriptions that don't pertain to actions or plot that bog me down.

[JackDaw]

I'd say a lot of popular crime fiction and thrillers are written in that style..James Hadley Chase crime novels, Ed McBain crime, Desmond Bagley thrillers.

[evolutionaryFan]

I'd say a lot of popular crime fiction and thrillers are written in that style..James Hadley Chase crime novels, Ed McBain crime, Desmond Bagley thrillers.

cool! Thanks!

[seismic-2]

Probably the best solution is to read plays, rather than novels. The downside is that any really complicated action that can't be shown onstage has to take place offstage, and then the characters have to talk about it afterwards to let us know what happened.

[From The Shadows]

Truth to be told, fanfics make me this impression: full of dialogues, few descriptions… I find that rather annoying.

Once, I thought I bought the novel “Christine” by Stephen King and I was buying the script of the movie… Here it is: https://www.scripts.com/script/christine_5511

A true novel full of dialogues? I thing the serie of heroic fantasy novels by David Eddings are not that bad from this point of view: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Belgariad

The books written by Anthony Horowitz, too… he also worked for TV.

I was thinking more of scripts rather than screenplays the poster wanted.

And fanfictions. My. I can tell you of the different writing styles. There are sooo many fandoms. ones you wouldn't think of. Many that are very thick on description. Some of those fandoms are book fandoms, though. And you can tell when a sci-fi TV show like Star Trek or a comic and movie fic is written by a book fan that is a book fan that enjoys those long descriptions. Those who like that style sometimes beta and encourage you to write more description.

[Zelena]

And fanfictions. My. I can tell you of the different writing styles. There are sooo many fandoms. ones you wouldn't think of. Many that are very thick on description. Some of those fandoms are book fandoms, though. And you can tell when a sci-fi TV show like Star Trek or a comic and movie fic is written by a book fan that is a book fan that enjoys those long descriptions. Those who like that style sometimes beta and encourage you to write more description.

It’s true that fanfics based on book fandoms are usually more stylish… And sometimes, I find stories based on TV shows that also based on books… and the double influence produces something more literary than usual.

[OopsIdiditagain]

Truth to be told, fanfics make me this impression: full of dialogues, few descriptions… I find that rather annoying.

Once, I thought I bought the novel “Christine” by Stephen King and I was buying the script of the movie… Here it is: https://www.scripts.com/script/christine_5511

A true novel full of dialogues? I thing the serie of heroic fantasy novels by David Eddings are not that bad from this point of view: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Belgariad

The books written by Anthony Horowitz, too… he also worked for TV.

OopsIdiditagain: I hate it when I find a fanfic with a good premise and the entire thing is written like this.

[LordMikel]

Probably the best solution is to read plays, rather than novels. The downside is that any really complicated action that can't be shown onstage has to take place offstage, and then the characters have to talk about it afterwards to let us know what happened.

I will second that. One of the best I ever read was the Star Wars as if written by Shakespeare. Truly brilliant writing.

[Chubistian]

Have you read No Country For Old Men? I think Cormac McCarthy intended for it to be a screenplay, then made it into a novel and later on it was adapted into a feature film directed by the Coen brothers. It has a lot of similarities to a screenplay: actions are in present as they develop, and it has a visualty to it instead of going too much into the characters's inner thoughts. McCarthy usually uses this style, so I also recommend (though not as close to a screenplay like No Country For Old Men) The Road, Blood Meridian and All The Pretty Horses

[JackDaw]

cool! Thanks!

It’s not just those two authors that write that way within crime fiction (or thrillers)...I think quite a few do (though I’m biased, it’s a style I like myself, so maybe I’ve just sought out authors that do it.)

But another example is Dick Francis (a strange mix of thrillers/ crime usually set against a horse racing background), or Peter Lovesey (crime...both present day or sometimes set in the past.). Similarly Agatha Christie’s stuff is very, very plot driven without much extraneous detail...though certainly old fashioned now, and maybe doesn’t have the degree of action you’d like.

One easy way to proceed once libraries are open again (in UK ours are shut, so guessing yours might be) is to just go to local library, go to crime and thrillers section...and just sample first couple of pages of books. Any that have style you like will “grab” you from the start...guys like Dick Francis don’t expect readers to wait 20 pages for something interesting to happen.

[evolutionaryFan]

Have you read No Country For Old Men? I think Cormac McCarthy intended for it to be a screenplay, then made it into a novel and later on it was adapted into a feature film directed by the Coen brothers. It has a lot of similarities to a screenplay: actions are in present as they develop, and it has a visualty to it instead of going too much into the characters's inner thoughts. McCarthy usually uses this style, so I also recommend (though not as close to a screenplay like No Country For Old Men) The Road, Blood Meridian and All The Pretty Horses

cool! No, I haven't read it. Thanks for the suggestions!

[evolutionaryFan]

It’s not just those two authors that write that way within crime fiction (or thrillers)...I think quite a few do (though I’m biased, it’s a style I like myself, so maybe I’ve just sought out authors that do it.)

But another example is Dick Francis (a strange mix of thrillers/ crime usually set against a horse racing background), or Peter Lovesey (crime...both present day or sometimes set in the past.). Similarly Agatha Christie’s stuff is very, very plot driven without much extraneous detail...though certainly old fashioned now, and maybe doesn’t have the degree of action you’d like.

One easy way to proceed once libraries are open again (in UK ours are shut, so guessing yours might be) is to just go to local library, go to crime and thrillers section...and just sample first couple of pages of books. Any that have style you like will “grab” you from the start...guys like Dick Francis don’t expect readers to wait 20 pages for something interesting to happen.

Interesting you mention Agatha Christie. When I read your post I first thought of Arthur Conan Doyle and Sherlock Holmes books... then I read online that Doyle has very flowery prose.

[JackDaw]

Interesting you mention Agatha Christie. When I read your post I first thought of Arthur Conan Doyle and Sherlock Holmes books... then I read online that Doyle has very flowery prose.

Decades since I read the Sherlock Holmes stories but really, really surprised that any one could describe Conan Doyle’s prose as “very flowery”, my memory of the stories is that the stories move at a cracking pace...and are strongly plot driven...there’s all sorts of reasons why there have been so many tv/cinema adaptations of his work.

(I think Conan Doyle’s Lost World was also very good, my reaction to reading it was “wish he’d written more fantasy”.)