Book Movies: casting characters, motorcycle man, strange descriptions, evocative ambiguity-Ep.8

A 30-minute tangent episode in which we obsess over the good, the bad, and the ugly of book movies. Come along as we ponder character descriptions, icky tropes, unusual visualizations, and bad adaptations. Kaisha talks about her struggles when reading science fiction and Kelsey dreams about the perfect movie adaptation of her favorite Dean Koontz novel. Learn about Kelsey’s woman crush and the romance description that confuses Kaisha. It’s a blast, don’t miss it!

Welcome to Read.Write.Repeat.

This month we will be giving away an advanced reader copy of The Vengeance of Mothers by Jim Fergus. We explain how to enter toward the end of the show notes. You can find other Giveaways on the giveaways tab and in the Give us a Shout tab. Be sure to check those out. We ship worldwide, so don’t hesitate to enter our giveaway.

Who do you cast as characters in your favorite novels?

  • Kaisha seems to favor Tom Hardy, though she doesn’t often do this.
  • I often cast people I know in real life.
  • When I’m writing I will often cast a character at the start, but as they come into their own, they usually veer away from the actor or model I cast as them.

Listeners weigh in:

  • Who do you cast as characters in your favorite novels?

Let us know in the comments section below, or by tagging us on social media! Your response might be featured in an upcoming show!

What character descriptions do you dislike?

  • Kaisha can’t stand the ponytail-motorcycle-leather jacket as a description meant to be sexually attractive.
  • I’m not a huge fan of overly exact descriptions.
  • We chat about description techniques and how ambiguity allows the reader to insert themselves.
  • The book I mentioned is Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud
  • Describing a character by saying they look like an actor-bleck!
    1. This is only good when it is done in an unexpected way as in Dean Koontz’s Demon Seed.
  • Using what is hot in pop culture can date your story in a bad way.
  • Describing the character in relationship to how your other character is supposed to feel about them is a way better way of handling descriptions.
  • Making sure descriptions are doing double duty. What does the description reveal about the character? Make sure details are meaningful.

Listeners weigh in:

  • Are there any descriptions you absolutely detest in writing?

Let us know in the comments section below, or by tagging us on social media! Your response might be featured in an upcoming show!

Times when the book and the movie were two totally separate experiences.

  • Kaisha watched The Princess Bride before she ever read it. When she finally did, they felt like two separate stories to her. She loves them both in different ways.
  • My favorite movie is Practical Magic. I want to read the book, but Kaisha tells me it is completely different from the movie.

Listeners weigh in:

  • Have you ever had this experience?

Let us know in the comments section below, or by tagging us on social media! Your response might be featured in an upcoming show!

Do you have a preference when it comes to book-movie adaptations? Watch the movie first, or read the book first?

  • Kaisha feels like her watching Practical Magic may have ruined the book for her.
  • I find that generally, reading the book first ruins the movie for me because it is never as good as the book.
    • Sphere by Michael Crichton. Really, almost anything by Crichton. Especially Timeline.
  • Jurassic Park for me falls into the last category, the books and the movies brought totally different but equally enjoyable experiences.
  • Congo was another one of these.

Listeners weigh in:

  • Which do you prefer?

Let us know in the comments section below, or by tagging us on social media! Your response might be featured in an upcoming show!

Is there a movie that you liked better than the book?

  • I couldn’t think of one. I was still stuck on Michael Crichton and brought up that I absolutely loved The 13th Warrior but have never read Eaters of the Dead.
  • Kaisha was in the same boat. She has a movie she loves so much she’s afraid to read the book: The English Patient.

Listeners weigh in:

  • Is there a movie that you liked better than the book?

Let us know in the comments section below, or by tagging us on social media! Your response might be featured in an upcoming show!

What is your favorite book that hasn’t been made into a movie and who would you cast as the leading characters?

  • Kaisha wants to see Lolly Willows turned into a BBC movie.
  • I want to see Brother Odd turned into a movie. I loved who they cast as Odd Thomas in the first movie–Anton Yelchin–(Chekov in the new Star Trek). Sadly he is with us no more.
  • Kaisha finally thought of two movies that was better than the book:
    1. Bright Young Things from Vile Bodies.
    2. The first Harry Potter movie. (Please don’t hate us!)

Listeners weigh in:

  • Tell us about who you would cast for your favorite novel!

Let us know in the comments section below, or by tagging us on social media! Your response might be featured in an upcoming show!

Connect and Win!!

  • Don’t forget to enter our giveaway for August. This month we will be giving away an advanced reader copy of The Vengeance of Mothers by Jim Fergus! To enter, rate us and leave a review on Itunes, and then let us know how to get in touch with you if you win on any of our social media platforms. A winner will be drawn at random on September first.
  • If anything sparked an idea for you, or you have thoughts or ideas about what we should discuss next. Let us know. Fill out our survey for a chance to win cool prizes!

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Thanks for listening to Read.Write.Repeat! Talk with you next time!

Featured Photo by Lloyd Dirks on Unsplash