treatment.

An Insightful Week

/ frankiebanks27@gmail.com / 2 Comments


First I had an amazing Monday nights sleep when I woke up something had shifted; I knew I could do it, do anything I wanted to do. The confusion had gone.

Then Tuesday I sat in the cafe and wrote my Sexpo workshop just a first draft of course but I was ready, I am ready.

Wednesday was a day of family, my children performed in the most amazing play. Adapted from Samuel Beckett’s, Where’s Goddo? It was very prophetic, finally I had stopped waiting for acceptance, permission or confidence to arrive, all I need is me.

Thursday was an interesting meeting with a wonderful scriptwriter who had read my treatment. As with all first drafts there were things she liked and things she wanted to change. But the meeting proved to me that the main strand to my story was strong and it will be out there one day. That’s all I needed to know. 

Friday was an awakening, I had slept on the whole weeks happenings and loved waking up full of enlightenment. This is the start of full confidence in my story and my life.

The Treatment

/ frankiebanks27@gmail.com


I have finished the first draft of my treatment, which has involved merging my two written novels together to form the very beginnings of a screenplay.

It has been a really interesting process and kind of like cutting all of the best bits together. Obviously all of your threads still need to nicely merge together to build the picture so although I have cut 150,000 words down to 12,000 the story still needs to build. I have had to let go of a few sub-characters but perhaps they will re-emerge in another draft.

It has been such an education, all of my characters talk in first person so I have had to re-write all of the scenes in third.  It is obvious I need to work on third person writing which doesn’t come naturally and makes me wonder how good I am at stepping outside of the situation.

The process has given me a greater perspective on situations in the manuscript that I have drawn from my own experience which has made the story stronger.

I would highly recommend writing a treatment of your novel to anyone struggling as the editing process really makes you realise what is vital to you the writer but more importantly what is crucial to the story.

Once I have had some feedback I will be sure to post an excerpt!

My first novel is available below

Sharks & Lovers available at Amazon
Kobo  And  iTunes

Drafts of Gold

/ frankiebanks27@gmail.com


I have just re-edited and re-published my e-book, it was a decision made in response to feedback.  Although I am happy with the new edition with many minor changes to grammar and punctuation I still believe that one day my first ever draft will be published so that the bare bones are visible. I won’t substantially edit that because it would lose its honesty. For now however I will conform.

Having just started writing the ‘treatment’ for adaption into screenplay, I am combining book one and two. This process has so far minimised the story from around 150,000 words down to 30,000. These are the main scenes that carry the story and characters forward, almost the best bits which is very gratifying. Obviously I am now looking at both novels completely differently, it’s a confusing, interesting and enlightening process, suffice to say I am learning and growing.

The treatment is in effect just another draft, of hundreds. I thought once my book was published the endless drafts would stop but I was wrong. Every process needs a draft so the adapting, editing and reworking will continue.  Those first drafts are worth their weight in gold, I now realise.  Like most things in life you need time away from something to really appreciate it.

Next on the list is the S.E.L.F book project which explores how writing can be used as therapy this is my Sexpo project and is very much in draft form, another draft!

My book Sharks and Lovers is available to download here