Calling all creative types... by Cathy Ace

Reading - We live in a world of TVs at the gas station, split screens, crawl lines, sound notifications, personal message alerts and a thousand other pipes feeding information direct to our over-stimulated brains. What's the place of books in all of that clamour? Do you worry about the future of reading?

This is an interesting question, because I get the chance to answer it as both a reader, and an author. 

First of all, as a reader I know that books play an important and unique role in my life – yes, I enjoy watching TV, movies, and following the news etc, but books? They take me to a different place than anything I can watch on a screen, or listen to as I drive. They transport me to the worlds the author has sketched, which I then complete for myself. 

For me, that’s the main difference between books and any other form of entertainment – I get to participate…I am part of the creative process as I read. Yes, I know that listening to a play on the radio (which I often do, thanks to BBC Radio 4, a radio station I still listen to avidly, despite the fact I no longer live in the UK) means I am still using my imagination to complete the experience, but the voices of the actors mean I have more input into their character than simply the words on the page and my involvement…something also true of listening to books, vs reading them. Not bad, but different.

I also very much enjoy watching TV and movie versions of works by authors I love to read. Again - a different experience entirely. 

 

Bearing this is mind, I have to assume that other readers become equally involved in bringing my work to life for themselves – so I believe each reader’s experience of my written work will differ slightly. And THAT’S what breaks through the clamour…the fact that readers choose to focus on my words and my characters and my worlds for themselves…not allowing other distractions to intervene. 

It’s also why I don’t worry about the future of reading; I believe every thinking person will always want to read, as opposed to enjoying other forms of entertainment. And I don’t believe that human beings will cease to want to think for themselves, nor stop enjoying being part of the creative process – by reading.

I'd be honoured if you'd consider reading my work - you can find out about it, and me, here: cathyace.com

 

Giving it all away... by Cathy Ace

BUSINESS: If a major producer/production company wanted to option or buy your book…but wanted to change it in major ways, as often happens in Hollywood, would you still sell it? Explain your reasons and your limitations. But remember, once you sell something to Hollywood, except in extremely rare instances, you lose control over the film property.

This is an interesting question, and one I believe I would have answered differently a few months ago. This is a topic which has led me to many hours of pondering recently, and I have sought counsel from several authors I know who have already been through the process of having their work produced for the screen, be it of the large or small variety.

With author Ann Cleeves and Brenda Blethyn, who brings Vera Stanhope to life on-screen, at Malice Domestic 2018

What I have discovered is that the right response to having work “taken over” is different for different people, and that a certain amount of soul-searching is required to come up with the right answer for oneself. Do you want to focus on writing books, and let the production pros get on with their version of your books and characters? Was your deepest desire always to become a screen writer so you’ll grab the chance to be 100% on-board and take your novel as just the starting point for an on-screen adventure that you oversee completely? Or are you somewhere in between those two extremes? 

With James Runcie, at CrimeFest UK 2016

Linwood Barclay recently wrote the screenplay for the movie based on his book “Never Saw It Coming”, whereas Peter Robinson was absolutely hands-off the British TV productions of his DCI Banks novels. Ann Cleeves has an excellent, informal relationship with the company bringing Vera to our screens, while Maureen Jennings writes one script per season for the Murdoch Mysteries. James Runcie is an Executive Producer (but chooses to be informed of decisions, rather than giving input to them) for the Grantchester series, whereas MC Beaton is a script editor, often on-set, for the Agatha Raisin series. 

With Maureen Jennings, Bloody Words 2014

I’m thinking that, for me, it would be best to stand back and let the pros get on with what they want to do, but to keep the relationship with the production company lively and interactive. Ultimately, I see myself as a storyteller, not a film maker, so I can continue to tell my stories, while film makers interpret them for the screen. All that being said...any of these scenarios is still a dream for me, so you know...take it all with a handful of salt.

I'd be honoured if you'd consider reading my work - you can find out about it, and me, here: cathyace.com