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This post will look at some simple steps for how to adapt stories effectively and give you some of our own examples. So, you’ve got a story you think your kids would enjoy because of one or more of the following: It has a good storyline with a clear message. It has engaging colourful pictures.
- Find The Structure
- Focus on The Key Conflict
- Read Between The Lines/Expand on The Story
- Find The Central Theme/Search For Relevancy
- Break Down The Characters
- Find The Visual Potency
Whilst a short story is by definition, short, the structure is still vitally important to making it work. And the key part of identifying how you might adapt a short story into a longer form is to find the essential structure of the piece. 1. Where does the first, second and third act break down? 2. What happens at the beginning, middle and end? 3....
What is the burning conflict that drives the plot? However long or short the story, conflict is always crucial. So hone in on what conflict defines the protagonist‘s struggle. Then, if needs be, build from there. What does the story need to solve for them? How is this expressed in the short story? The protagonist‘s struggle should manifest both via...
As with all adaptations, you have licence to make changes where you see fit. And this will probably be more important when you adapt a short story than a regular book to screenadaptation. What’s important in making additions to the story is staying true to its essence. The way to do this is to read between the lines of the story. A short story will...
What is the short story’s fundamental message and theme? Just as with structure and narrative, the story may be short but if it’s worth its salt, it will still have something distinctive it wants to say thematically. So ensure that you understand this theme clearly and are filtering it through the heart of your adaptation process. This themeneeds t...
When seeking to adapt a short story, a great way to assess the characters who make up the entire story is to lay them out in front of you. 1. Make a definitive list of all the different characters in the story; from the main characters to the supporting roles, and even the background players. With all the different characters in front of you, you c...
How will this story look on-screen? Visualizing the action is crucial when you adapt a short story. And this is often one of the biggest parts of translating something from a literary work into a cinematic one. There might be, for example, a narrator within the book. So how do you make this technique more cinematic? What might, for instance, accomp...
In this lesson, students practice narrative writing as they work together to write, illustrate, and narrate a new version of a story.
How to Adapt a Story. To create an adaptation, you must distill a story down to its four engines. Defined as follows, these engines combine to create complex stories. Environment: what is an average day for the characters? how is this changed? Action/Plot: what happens in the story? what are important moments a.k.a plot points?
As resources permit, the Sherlock Center creates adapted versions of popular literature for use by students, teachers and families. For questions, email Jennifer Carrier. These resources are searchable in the fields below.
In the ever-evolving landscape of storytelling, adaptation stands as a beacon of creativity, offering storytellers the opportunity to reimagine, reinvent, and breathe new life into narratives. As...
Literary adaptation is adapting a literary source (e.g. a novel, short story, poem) to another genre or medium, such as a film, stage play, or video game.
