Writing movies or film novels

I love movies, ever since I was a kid. Or that was what I thought. Later I discovered literature with lots of new and great stories. Then, music came into my life. Today, I know that I don’t really care about the way; what I really love is the story, the characters, the feelings, the ideas. I have a lot of stories in my mind and writing them is the easiest way to share them.

I was born in 1978. I grew up in the VHS, MTV and Spectrum days. Perhaps Balzac, Miguel de Unamuno or Steinbeck had literature as their only reference. But my generation has been influenced by thousands of stories in so many different ways, from books and movies to comics and video games. All that affects me when I write, and I think that is great. Combining all these influences provides a richness to the work. And that’s both good and necessary, because the new generations are even more multi disciplined than us. Language, aesthetics and styles must evolve.

Writers are usually divided in their views on this topic. The classics, or purists, say that literature should stay clear of the influences from other media; literature has its own style and its resources, and using techniques of film language or comic books only impoverishes the novel. 

The multi disciplined, on the other hand, argues that the origin of literature is storytelling. Perhaps over the years writers have experimented, in search of new narrative techniques, but the ultimate goal of a novel has always been to tell a story. Why shouldn’t we use all resources and references available, to help the reader believe the story and create more pleasure?

Some readers and journalists have told me, “When I read your novel I was completely immersed in the story. I could almost see every detail you described. It was like watching a movie.” Some writers I know find those comments almost offensive, and disrespectful to their work. In my case, it is the best compliment I can get.

That’s why I’m not sure if I write movies or film novels. But, “Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn”, because I only care about the storytelling.

 
Lethal as a Charlie Parker Solo, out now from 280 Steps, is a noir novel about a problem solver in 1950s Las Vegas, combining real history and fiction. Javier Márquez Sánchez (born 1978 in Seville, Spain) is Editor in Chief of the Spanish edition of Forbes. He has been Editor in Chief of the Spanish edition of Esquire Magazine and Deputy Director of Cambio16, and has written several novels, short stories collections and non-fiction books on film and music. Sometimes he plays music with his two bands, Rock & Books and The Last Drink. Lethal as a Charlie Parker Solo is his first novel being translated into English.

Connect with Javier at the following:
www.javiermarquezsanchez.com
www.facebook.com/javier.marquezsanchez
Twitter: @JavierMarquezSa

2 Comments

  1. Omnimystery News7 April 2014 at 13:46

    What an interesting perspective on writing from this author. Thanks so much for featuring him on your site!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dougie Brimson8 April 2014 at 10:04

    As someone who also writes both novels and movies, I could not have put it better myself.

    We sometimes forget that the most important person in this whole process is the reader/viewer because without them, we have nothing. So the very least we can give them is a decent story irrespective of how we deliver it!

    ReplyDelete

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