Stop Remaking Films! Adapt These Books to Movies Instead…

With the recent announcements of the Ghostbusters “sequel”/reboot and the new trailer for the remake of Poltergeist, I’ve seen a lot of people outraged. While I’m not outraged, I simply wish that Hollywood would bring out more original ideas. And yes, I know it’s about money and producing ideas that are guaranteed to sell. But there are TONS of great books out there, especially with the rise of independent publishing.

Here is a list of 5 books that I’d love to see made into movies:

This one has actually been rumored for years and I find myself searching on Google every few days for news as these are my favorite books of all time. Ron Howard has the movie rights, and it’s been very close to production several times. Many actors have been tied to it, and Howard has an awesome idea of wanting to film the series over 3-4 movies with a television series in between the release of each movie. 
Rumors of Netflix and HBO being interested in the show have popped up, but Howard hasn’t been able to get a studio to produce the movies.
These books would translate so well to movies! And with Matthew McConaughey already casted as Randall Flagg in The Stand (Flagg is also the primary villain throughout The Dark Tower series), he’d be perfect for these movies!
Get it done, Ron Howard! Please! 
With the rise in popularity for zombie films, Slow Burn would be perfect!
Author Bobby Adair takes a slightly different take on zombies in this book series, and it would make for a great, fast paced adaptation. And the lead character, Zed, would be a lot of fun to watch on screen! Plus, I’m Texan and would just love to see a zombie movie in Texas. Just sayin’…
While Run comes up as my third favorite Crouch book behind Wayward Pines and Abandon, those two books are already being adapted to television. And I think Run would make a GREAT movie!
The book follows a family after a supernatural event has cause half of the world’s population to start stalking and killing everyone else. I don’t want to ruin the book, but it is amazing! It’s extremely thrilling and would adapt so well to the big screen.
Another smart and thrilling dark fantasy that would translate so well to the big screen. The big opens with the main character in the middle of the woods hanging from a noose, before he is chased down by wolves and a mysterious cloud. I mean, how awesome would the opening scene in this book look in a movie? Pretty bad ass if you ask me. Even if just the first book was done, it would be a great movie!
Like the aforementioned The Dark Tower, Wool actually has movie rights already sold. Hugh Howey made big news as an independent author when he sold the right to this post-apoclyptic epic thriller to Alien and Gladiator director Ridley Scott. Now, I am a HUGE Ridley Scott fan. I thought Wool was a very good book, but Ridley Scott could make it an amazing movie!
Hopefully, he decides to exercise the rights…
So that’s my list! You have any awesome books you’d like to see made into a movie? Comment below!

*This page features affiliate links

Thinking Long-Term As a Writer

Epic bro…

It’s basically impossible for me to do anything half-ass.  I was overweight most my life.  And I didn’t decide to make a change about it until I knew with 100% certainty that I was ready to make it my #1 focus in my life and that I would not fail.  Before that, I wasn’t ready and I wasn’t going to start then fail.  When I decided it was time, I put everything I had into it and I lost 115 lbs. in 15 months (95 in the 2012 calendar year).
With that, I made sure that I did things that would sustain my  health long term.  I didn’t do any fad diets.  I developed new habits and a new lifestyle that has stuck with me and I have been able to keep most of the weight off and I am a much healthier person now than I was 3 years ago.
Now that I have decided to write fiction, I am taking a similar approach.  
I understand that the novel that I am working on is not going to make me a lot of money.  It is probably not going to be read by a lot of people.  
The chances of hitting it big on the first swing is almost non-existent.
And I love that.
Because I am thinking long-term.  I would much rather my 5th or 8th or 10th book take off and kick start my writing career.
But why?
  • I believe that, over time, I will become a much better writer
  • I want my brand to have an inventory.  If people read and love Abiding Harvest, the novel I am currently working on, then what?  I have nothing else for them to read after that
  • I will make mistakes along the way.  I understand that I need to be patient and learn from them whether they be in my stories, my marketing, or any other aspect of my writing business
I love writing.  I always have.  And I want other people to love my writing.  The great thing is that I have the rest of my life to work toward that.  
I want to lose the weight and keep it off.  To me, there is no appeal in dieting down to go look awesome at the beach and then go back to my old ways.
Write and keep writing.  Over time, you will gain sustainability with discipline.  

Only the Perspective is Unique

Since I was probably 10 years old I have loved writing.

For years I have wanted to write a book.  I started and stopped a few novels.  Never committing the time because of various excuses:
No one will read this.
How will I find an audience?
How can I even publish this?
This is really hard!

Yup.  I made a lot of excuses.

I finally realized my dream when I self-published my first book last year.  The book is entitled I Once Was Fat But Now I See… and is part memoir and part weight loss guide.  It chronicles strategies I used to lose 115 pounds in about 15 months.  It is still surreal to this day.  I actually finished a book.  Not the book I ever thought that I would write as I spent most my life over weight, but I finished and the book has done really well and helped a lot of people.

So let’s fast-forward to now.

A little over a month ago I decided that I wanted to finally start and finish a novel.  Some other things in my life have shifted that has given me a little more time to finally put some work into doing something I have always loved and always wanted to do.

I began jotting down many different “What if?” scenarios to come up with an idea to write about.  As I started to come up with ideas, I quickly realized that I could easily compare the idea to a similar movie or book.  This was further shown to me when I would mention an idea to my wife or a friend and they would give the ole “Oh yeah, that’s kinda like…..”.

At first, this was frustrating.  I wanted to come up with an original idea that no one has done.

Then a couple of things happened.

For one, I have been listening to a lot of podcasts and reading a lot of writer blogs.  I started to hear and read different writers say “no idea is truly original”.  I took note but knew I could still come up with something new and fresh to write.

Then, I heard an interview with Hugh Howey, the uber popular self-published author of the epic post-apocalyptic saga Wool.  When I heard the premise of the novel and then read the description, I was shocked.  The book was almost exactly like a novel that I had previously started a couple of years ago.  For the record, I am now reading the book and am thoroughly enjoying it.

So what does all this mean and what have I learned?

Every idea has been done.  But you haven’t done every idea.

What I mean is that your perspective it unique.  If you gave two different writers the idea “What if someone could go back and stop the JFK assassination?” and asked them to write a novel, you would get two completely different stories.  By the way, if you are thinking of writing that book, it is the premise of Stephen King’s 11/22/63 which is an incredible read.

So, if you have an idea, write it!  Your perspective will make it unique.  Your characters will make it unique.  We all have a different story within us.  So don’t be intimidated by thinking that you are copying another idea.