Storytelling for Animation, Screenwriting, and Novels

Subjects covered

Writer EJ DeBrun has experience in animation, screenwriting, and novels.

Asked about the similarities between writing novels and screenplays, EJ replied that the similarities are simple: there are words and there's a story.

Conversely, point of view is the main difference. Whereas with novels the current trend is for a deep point of view, i.e., getting into the characters' heads, internal monologues, etc., that doesn't happen with screenplays, which are for a visual medium. Screenplays favor action over description.

EJ also pointed out that in long-form writing, the author controls the outcome; in screenwriting, the script is just the beginning of a process over which the writer does not have control of the final outcome.

To understand the difference between how novels and screenplays are written, EJ suggested looking at works that have been adapted well, e.g., the 2005 movie Pride and Prejudice, and ones that haven’t.

Asked about the Hero's Journey and why it works well, EJ explained that it's a proven structure that eliminates the need to reinvent the wheel. She emphasized that how something happens in a story is more interesting than what happens, so a familiar structure can be reused effectively.

Regarding storytelling in animation, EJ noted that animation is a medium, not a genre; consequently, the narrative structure in animation is similar to in other storytelling