Can anyone suggest software that would fascilitate putting a novel into play format?

I don't think anything will make it easy to turn a novel into a play format. The best that software like Story Weaver 3 can do is give you a framework for organizing your materials...but, frankly, you could do that with a pad of paper and a pencil and save $30. Best software? Make sure you understand the underlying structure of how plays are created (study plays and books on playwriting). If you have done that already, and I assume you have, then you have to strip the novel down to the bare bones of characters, plot, reduced settings (because unless you have unlimited funds, most theaters prefer one scene plays, or stripped down staging), and see if you can compact what may be the messy structure of a novel into the stricter requirements of a play. Take a look at the book "Working" versus the musical "Working" and see what was done to create the sense of Studs Terkel's book while streamlining it. You probably don't have the funds to create a "Nicholas Nicklebye" epic of six hours, endless sets and characters, that takes two sessions to show...that was an exception and not the rule. A lot of the decisions you need to make about creating a play have nothing to do with software. Now, if you just need the format of a play for a template, you can pick up any play at the library and create the structure in your word processing program. I'm not one for elaborate systems. Been there, done that, and never wrote a thing worthwhile but I sure wasted a lot of time playing with it. Sorry, that's probably not the response you wanted. Perhaps someone has better advice. I'm eager to learn if such software exists. Just because I'm unaware of it doesn't mean it doesn't. Good luck. :)

Attached Link: http://web.archive.org/web/20010627161432/http://www.teleport.com/%7Ecdeemer/stage-dir.html

"I was meeting with the director who was doing the first play I'd ever had produced. We were meeting in his office, reading the script aloud to one another. After a few pages, I noticed that no one was reading my lengthy stage directions (I'd come to theater from fiction writing, hardly the best training) - and I pointed this out. The director looked at me in shock and said: "Read the stage directions? Oh, I'm sorry. I was under the impression that I was directing the play!" Charles Deemer

Attached Link: http://www.playwriting101.com/04.shtml

and formatting ideas.

Thanks for the input, Dialyn... I don't even own a word-processing program (except for the very old version that came with my pc - useless.) I was hoping for something that would let me just click a button to say that this paragraph is stage instructions, this one the narrator, actor A or B, etc... and also, to have two windows open - one for the rough draft, and one for the polished version side by side. I was just supposing that such programs exist - no real info. The reason for wanting to do this novel (wip) as a play is because I lack the skills necessary to pull it off as a novel! It is definitely in the catagory of "weird," with little actual dialogue and much of the monologue just "thoughts." i.e. I could more easily do this as a comic strip with word balloons and thought balloons and scene blocks. Lol - that just might be my best option, now that I think of it! (Just kidding, I think.) Anyway, I could envision it as a two person play. As I reread my first 5-6 pages, I became confused as to how best to differentiate the speakers. (Main character flips repeatedly into mental monolog/dialog with self, even during two person conversations.) Sigh...perhaps I'll just finish typing up what I have as is, and hand it off to others for input. TY, ~Tien

Attached Link: http://www.rsalsbury.co.uk/rd.htm

I think if all you are looking for is a way to do formatting, then there are software packages to do that, but they are not going to do the work for you of creating a dramatic structure for your play. Some of the problems you are experiencing...differentiating between the speakers...has to do with something you have to work on yourself. Who are these people? What is their background? How did they come to be on the stage together? Why are they in conflict? And they better be in conflict, or it will be a boring play. What is their relationship to each other? Are they strangers? Related? Friends? Lovers? Answer the age old questions of who, what, where and how in relationship to the characters and their problem. I don't think writing a play should be seen as being easier than writing a novel. A play has its own challenges. Any word processing program, by the way, can open two windows at the same time so you can compare versions. Here is an almost free software that might help. It's called RoughDraft. Never used it. The description sounds close to something that might help you: "RoughDraft is a freeware word processor. Although suitable for general use, it has features specifically designed for writers of novels, short stories, articles, poetry, plays and screenplays. It's designed to be as practical as possible, offering all the features you need, but without being complicated or awkward to use."

TY again... downloading Roughdraft and busy reading through the info at playwriting101.com (very informative!) No problem with lectures, lol... If I didn't want input, I wouldn't post, eh? RE: "Who are these people? What is their background? How did they come to be on the stage together? Why are they in conflict? And they better be in conflict, or it will be a boring play. What is their relationship to each other? Are they strangers? Related? Friends? Lovers? Answer the age old questions of who, what, where and how in relationship to the characters and their problem." - One female with bad brain chemistry (or several other possibilities which appear valid because of different scenes) and two men (one of whom may only be a figment of her imagination) - I don't want to give away the plot here, but basically it is meant to purposely confuse the reader/viewer as to what is really happening to the main female character. So, as it is currently written in my head, there is no definitive ending. I am hoping, somehow, to avoid having to offer one. It will probably end with a narrated poem.

It's okay to start writing with no end in sight, but it is a very good idea to make decisions about your characters even if the results are ambiguous to the audience. I go to plays regularly and the weakest part of modern plays is inevitably the second act and the ending...to the point that I feel like walking out at intermission. Why? Because the authors spend a lot of time with their beginnings and the first act closing lines, and then they drift in the second act. Next weakest part is the character development because the writers are so busy being clever that they forget to develop the characters...thinking, I guess, that the actors will flesh out their creation, but I wouldn't depend on that as an idea. It takes a great actor to create a character out of nothing. I encourage you with all my heart to put as much thought and effort into the second act as the first. Remember, plays are written to be seen and heard by an audience. Novels are meant to be written for the reader. Plays have acts that are stops along the road. Novels are the road. Be very clear on whom you are writing for...I'd make that decision before I moved forward with the story because it will make all the difference in the world as to how your plotline reveals itself. Just a suggestions. Safe to ignore.

How could I ignore someone who offers new insights free of charge? (-: If you are willing to look at my first couple pages, I think you will quickly see why I am a bit perplexed. How do I differentiate her talking to herself, to someone else, to God or air? (I had originally toyed with different fonts or bold/italic etc.) oh well - more tomorrow.

Well, it depends on what you are writing. With a play, you would do it with stage directions. ****************************** FLAVIA turns forward stage front, talking out to the audience: I sometimes wonder if I just imagined him...if he was just someone I wanted so bad to be real that he became real to me. But what was he really? FLAVIA turns back to GERALD. Please, read your poem to me again. I love the sound of your voice. I want to hear your voice. GERALD seems to speak but no words are audible. FLAVIA turns away from him and to TOM. Did you put the groceries away? TOM: I left the cans on the counter. You always tell me I put those away wrong. FLAVIA: That's because you always do, darling. ********************* I don't have the formating down but you get the idea. The directions and way the characters speak give the clues as to what is going away. A novel would need narrative to give the signals that the actors are giving with their bodies and the tone of their voices. Hope that gives you kind of an idea of what I mean, for what it is worth (and given the fact I don't have a play on Broadway, that's not much). ;)

wow - I didn't have my two male characters in the same scene, but I like your version, too! (Have you tried to get a play on Broadway?) I have no great ambitions, other than to get it written to my satisfaction. My original idea was for a graphic novel ... I soon realized that I couldn't do sufficient illustrating to justify the title and still include all the written words. I did one quick synopsis and version, which I misplaced for weeks. Then, I did a total rewrite - more words... somehow, it lost it's punch, imo. Now, I'm trying to find a happy medium... and the right format. I really don't have a problem with trying to write it both as a novel and a play simultaneously. What I have a problem with is writing them separately, it seems. I always said that writing a novel was beyond me - this is my first attempt. Working against me is that I spent years writing free-form poetry. I tend to revert to this, despite my intention not to do so. (Though, I did think that I would intersperse the novel with poems.) I think I could work this into play format as well. By the way, www.playwriting101.com had some very good information - thanks!

I'd say experiment until you find the format that works right for you. :) The nice thing about writing is that everything is possible and the only mistake you can make is not giving it a try. I doubt if novel writing is beyond you...it just may not be the right format. And writing poetry hardly counts against you...just ask Shakespeare. ;)

lol - are you an insomniac too? and yes, I am much taken with Shakespeare's style!

It's 10 pm on my side of the world...I'm just about ready to go to bed and do some creative dreaming. :) Write on.

Goodnight, and sweet dreams! It's 1:12 am here (-: I love to go to sleep as the sun rises, lol.