If you’re “novelizing” a movie or show…

You’re converting film into writing. You’re transferring imagery and emotion across mediums.

I tried with a clip from Curb Your Enthusiasm:

“Something I wanted to tell you,” Jeff searched for it…

Larry looked at him. He was holding a teacup.

“Oh!” he remembered. “I went by Leo’s delicatessen. You know what’s up on the board? A brand new sandwich called…” he leaned in, “the LA-RRY DA-VID.’”

“What?” Larry, wide-eyed: “Get out of here!”

“Swear to God!” Jeff leaned back. “Swear to God.”

“Leo named a sandwich after me?”

“Leo named a sandwich after you.”

“You’re kidding.”

“Yep yep yep he did.”

“I can’t believe it.” (He really couldn’t.) “I’m on the board?”

“You’re on the board.”

Larry’s voice dropped an octave. “What is it?”

“Let’s see, uh,” Jeff searched, “uh, there’s whitefish… uh, sable, uh…”

“Sable?”

“...onions, capers...”

“What?”

“...and cream cheese.”

“What??” Larry winced. “That’s the sandwich?”

“Yeah.”

Larry slurped his tea. “That’s a disgusting fucking sandwich.”

(Lol.)

You can novelize as much or as little as you like. The point is to capture specific images, feelings, nuances.

It’s a nice exercise, I think, especially if you’re practicing dialogue. Challenging and fun.

Try it?

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