I started writing when I was in high school and started an alternative school newspaper, then didn’t write again much until I was in my early thirties.
It started out with short stories, then nonfiction journalistic articles, which then progressed to novels and story collections.
Counseling Greatly Informed My Writing
I’m retired from counseling (officially), and all of our children are out of the house, so I have a lot more time to write.
When I was younger, I don’t know when I slept, as I’d be working the evening shift, watching our children during the days, and taking classes and writing at night.
Counseling (mostly in hospice, as a bereavement and trauma counselor) has greatly informed my writing. I’ve met hundreds of people and families as they face some of the biggest changes in their lives and no two people, or families, are the same.
How I Got the Idea to Make My Book Into a Movie
I was at a book signing where I was speaking about my novel, Buddha’s Wife, when a gentlemen came up after that talk.
He said he’d done what Buddha had done (leave his wife and newborn child) when he was about twenty (back in the sixties) and gone to India to “find himself”.
He said he was touched by the way my story portrayed how Siddhartha’s leaving his wife (Yasodhara), family and child affected them and how he hadn’t thought of that when he was young.
Then he said he thought that it would make a good movie.
We Decided to Write the Screenplay Ourselves
I thought about that for a few months, then got in touch with him and asked if he knew anyone who could write a screenplay, based on the book.
We tried numerous people, but they either wanted to much money to do it, or didn’t have the time.
After awhile we (Navyo and I) decided to write the screenplay ourselves.
At first, it was set in the time of the real Buddha (500 BC) like my novel, but after awhile we decided people would identify with it more if it was set in a contemporary, present day environment, with a few changes.
After many rewrites, and input and suggestions from others, we felt we had a good story.
Then, the task of trying to find financing and/or a producer for the film began.
Our Movie Based on My Book Has Won Several Awards
After a year, Navyo decided he’d had enough.
I kept working on it, and a year ago found someone else who was interested (Shandra) and we began the last rewrite of the story.
The Last Conception has since won several awards at film festivals, including best screenplay, and obtained distribution commitments. We (Shandra and her production company) are still looking for someone to finance the film.
[As for marketing the film], finding the contact information for editors, publishers, and individuals, who might have a connecting with or interest in, the subject or story you’ve written, and contacting them each individually (for reviews, features, or personal enjoyment), seems to have worked the best.
That, and developing as extensive a social network presence as possible.
Differences Between Novel Writing and Screenwriting
The format is physically different, and it takes awhile to get used to the formatting for screenplays, as opposed to novels, but there are now a lot of samples online, so a number of examples abound.
Screenplays need to be very succinct and to the point, and dialogue is critical, as you must say and show so much more, in a shorter time, then is true with writing a novel.
The old adage of “show, don’t tell” is ten times more important with a script, then it is with a book.
Producing a Film from One Of Your Books
The Last Conception is the second film that’s been produced from stories I’ve written, but the first from one of my books.
I previously had a story produced and featured on Netflix a number of years ago, called Stellina Blue. It was completely fictional and written just for the screen.
The Last Conception, as a book, involved a lot more background, emotions, changes and insights from the characters, because there is more space to do so.
The most difficult aspect of changing the novel into a screenplay was deciding what to cut out and what to keep in. The producers of the film (Gabriela Ledesma and Callie Schuttera at Poison Pictures) helped tremendously with that, by adding, changing and cutting scenes and dialogue that made the story fit more for a film.
Getting a Movie Made is a Lengthy Process
Getting a movie made from one’s story is an ongoing and often, lengthy process.
It took about a year to write the screenplay. Another year of pitching it to different producers. Than, another six months finding the money for the film, and an additional six months before the film was out shooting scenes.
After that, there was another 4-6 months of editing, etc., and finding a distributor, before it was finally released.
It’s now been on multiple streaming services in the US and Canada for just over a year, and released recently in the UK.
Advice for a Young Writer: Write What You Want to Write
Write what you want to write and how you want to write about it. Be open to suggestions. Find a good editor.
And, most importantly keep learning and be persistent. Like most things, the more you write, the better it gets.
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Gabriel Constans worked with hospice, hospitals and mental health centers, as a grief and trauma counselor, for many years; has been writing since he was sixteen; and been writing screenplays for the last twenty years.
He has written for numerous newspapers, magazines, web sites, radio and literary journals in North America, Europe, Oceania, Africa, the Middle East and Asia, and has edited and collaborated on numerous manuscripts and writing projects. His book reviews at The New York Journal of Books are thoughtful, entertaining and informative.
Mr. Constans Doctorate in Death Education is from The Union Institute and University. His Masters in Pastoral Counseling was from Beacon College and his Bachelor of Science in Human Relations and Organizational Behavior is from the University of San Francisco. He is the co-parent to five children and four grandchildren in The States and an extended family at The ROP Center for Street Children in Rwanda, along with the Ihangane Project for women and rural health care in Rwanda. He lives in California and loves getting together with friends to play their ukuleles and sing.
For more information on Gabriel and his work, please see his website or connect with him on Twitter and LinkedIn.
The Last Conception is a rom-com movie about an Indian family who learns they are part of an ancient bloodline and the only hope at continuing this bloodline is their gay daughter Savarna.
Movie Trailer:
Also available at these Amazon links:
UK: https://tinyurl.com/e746yf4y
US: https://tinyurl.com/m8j5c8c8
Canada: https://tinyurl.com/umx78cfx
The Last Conception: A successful embryologist (Savarna) must make difficult and life-changing choices. Should she continue devoting her soul to work and party with her girlfriend Magdalena or settle down with Charlemagne (Charly) and have children?
If she decides to have children, how and when will they start the process and what will it take to convince her conservative East Indian mother to stop trying to marry her off to a “good man”?
If that isn’t enough pressure, throw in the bomb her parents plant when they tell her she MUST have a baby because she is the last in line of a great spiritual teacher who reportedly never had children.
Available at Amazon.
Buddha’s Wife: Thousands of books, texts and stories have followed Siddhartha’s teachings and his path to becoming The Buddha, but little has been written about his wife Yasodhara, their child Rahula or their relatives, until now.
Yasodhara was the first woman in Siddhartha’s life, but not the last to follow in his footsteps. Why did he call his son “a hindrance” and believe women were a trap of desire and attachment “not fit to follow or understand my teachings”? How did Yasodhara and the nuns fight for equal treatment and rights? How could The Buddha have such compassion for others, yet be so scared of intimacy, emotion and love?
What happened to sixteen-year-old Yasodhara and her two-day old son, Rahula, after her husband (Siddhartha) left her sleeping in the middle of the night to seek enlightenment?
Available at Amazon.