It s not unknown for male characters to suddenly become female, or for a Yorkshire hairdresser to turn into an American if getting a US actor helps bring money to the film. And so the game begins. Writing a novel, you have complete freedom. You can experiment with your writing style but in scripts you have to follow structural rules, industry format and conventions. A novel can be as long or short as the story demands, whereas a script can only be as long as the running time of the required film.
Most features are about two hours long, whereas TV fits into the required slots.
There are immediate limitations. Not that these are always bad things. With a novel you can create huge worlds on the page, go to outer space or run riot within the French Revolution. Writing about a child s birthday party is no different to writing about an earthquake. It all costs the same on paper.