Q: When you write the characters, are you being faithful to the book?
A: Great question! Sometimes adaptations bear little resemblance to the original. Since GREEN DARKNESS is full of historical detail that is background information, which will have to be edited. We’re trying to be faithful to the core of the novel – especially the part of the book that deals with the past.
The “flavor” of the novel is very much dependant on Celia, the female character in the past. She is already a well-rounded and believable character, so we’ve pretty much left her alone. She is perfect for her time period.
On the other hand, her love interest, in the past, suffers from a one-dimensional portrayal. We’re beefing him up and fleshing him out (real beef-cake LOL-- he is portrayed as a hunk in the novel!). Since he’s a monk and the religious turmoil of the times is a crucial aspect of the plot, he’s getting a larger, more pivotal role.
We’ve decided to bring the story right into the present because the 'present-day' in the novel is 1968 and just flipping the characters into modern day doesn’t work. We have some updating to do to give our present-day characters more modern sensibilities. They were too stereo-typical, too clichéd for today’s sophisticated audiences.
Also, because of the reincarnation aspect, we want to make sure the present day characteristics reflect their past in some way--either as an enhancement or a complete opposite of a past-life character trait.
We’ve had to combine several characters and eliminated one from the past altogether. No spoilers here! :)
I hope that answers your question!
We’ll be dealing with more questions in the next few blogs. Is there anything about the process that intrigues you? If so, let your fingers do the asking…
Angela
No comments:
Post a Comment