Chandler Baker is the New York Times bestselling author of Whisper Network (a Reese’s Book Club, initially optioned by HBO), The Husbands (a Good Morning America Book Club pick she is currently adapting for Amazon MGM and Plan B with Kristen Wiig) and her latest novel Cutting Teeth , which she’s adapting for TV. Most recently, Baker adapted her short story Oh. What. Fun. with Michael Showalter for Amazon, starring Michelle Pfeiffer, Eva Longoria, Felicity Jones, and Chloe Grace Moretz. Chandler lives in Austin with her husband and two small children, having segued full time to writing after a career as a corporate attorney.
Talk to us a little bit about what your current writing endeavors look like as a novelist and working on the adaptation of The Husbands.
I’ve turned in my drafts of The Husbands script, so at this point in the process, it’s a bit of a waiting game, at least as far as my role is concerned. Fortunately, I have other novels and scripts that need my attention.
Since signing on to adapt my novel, The Husbands, I’ve been fortunate enough to turn screenwriting into more than just a side aspiration. I’ve sold scripts on both the feature and TV side to Lionsgate, Amazon, Netflix, Sony, Apple, and more. Screenwriting now accounts for more than half my work, which isn’t to say I’ve abandoned novels! In fact, I firmly believe that being a novelist has allowed me to be not only my own little idea factory in film and TV, but also to remain genre agnostic. For instance, this summer, my first movie adaptation was filmed in Atlanta—a Christmas comedy based on one of my short stories—and then I went directly into writing a horror movie. I’ve been able to make those moves because these are based off my work as a novelist. I don’t foresee a future where I’d want to give up either medium.
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How are you approaching the adaptation process, and what surprises and challenges have you encountered in translating the novel to screen?
I’ve tried to approach screenwriting with a healthy amount of fear and respect. I went into this new step in my career with the mindset of a student first. I resolved to put in the same amount of work I’d put in to become a successful novelist—I joined writing workshops, I read multiple scripts per week, I listened to over 600 episodes of Scriptnotes and followed along while the hosts critiqued other writers’ work. Sure, novels and screenplays are both versions of storytelling and there are plenty of lessons that overlap, but they require different tools from the writer. So I’ve been working on being very deliberate about adding to that toolbox.
For The Husbands in particular there have been two major challenges in crafting the adaptation. The first has been externalizing the main character, Nora’s, internal monologue. In the novel, Nora’s mind is constantly chewing over the inequities she perceives between her and her husband’s mental load; it’s where so much of the relatable social commentary in the book lives. But I didn’t want to rely on voice over in the script, so I’ve had to find ways to get the message across through scene work.
The other challenge has been figuring out how to pare down the mystery. It’s not easy to take a roughly four-hundred-page book and boil it down to a little over one hundred pages—and pages with a lot more white space to boot! That goes double when that book is a mystery. There still have to be clues and they have to add up to a conclusion that makes sense!
How does collaborating with directors, producers, and actors in screenwriting compare to the solitary nature of novel writing?
Getting to collaborate with other creatives has been, by far, the aspect of screenwriting that suits me best. It’s a team sport; there are so many more people in the trenches with you than when you’re alone at your desk writing a novel. I’ve found that can be a real balm when I’m feeling stuck.
Of course, there is a sense of freedom in writing books because it IS a solitary endeavor—you don’t have to worry about how much something is going to cost to film or whether it’s even possible to recreate in the real world. But for me, nothing beats the magic that comes during that translation from page to real world, when all those people you named—directors, producers, actors, and more—lend their own ideas and creative visions to your brainchild. Going in, I think I was most excited to see the words I wrote on the page performed, but I’ve enjoyed even more seeing moments that take on a life of their own. For instance, there’s a scene in Oh. What. Fun. where I believe I wrote in the action line something like “They dance.” Then to see how that simple line became nearly a weeklong shoot with two incredible actors, choreography, stunts, and gorgeous set designs—it’s maybe my favorite part of the film and it’s probably the part I had the least to do with!
How has it felt having Kristen Wiig involved with the project?
Kristen is such a funny, quirky, and generous performer—Seriously, I always want to see more Kristen Wiig on screen and if my book adaptation can help make that happen, then I think that’s a win for all of us. She’s also a fantastic writer herself and I’ve been amazed by how quickly she can pitch a small moment or beat that fits perfectly.
What advice would you have for authors hoping to see their books appear on the big screen? Is there a way you write to make the story more marketable to Hollywood?
I’m often surprised by which books wind up making really excellent adaptations. It’s not always the noisiest, flashiest idea; it can be the quieter books, too! So I definitely don’t think there is a ‘one size fits all’ secret sauce to making a book marketable for Hollywood.
That said, my writing style is naturally pretty commercial. So, when deciding which book to write, I do challenge myself to come up with a high concept premise, a single line that, when you read it, makes you think “Ohhhh, I know what that is!” (I described The Husbands as a gender-swapped Stepford Wives about the division of domestic labor in modern marriage. I pitched Oh. What. Fun. as story about a mom who gets Home Alone’d after planning a special holiday outing for her family.)
I also find it useful to think about what water cooler conversations my story will spark. Whether it reminds people of their own experiences, or there’s a ‘what would you do’ question at the center, or the story is socially relevant today, people invest in stories that they forge a connection with—Hollywood execs are no different. And finally, I also think it’s worth thinking about generating characters that talented actors will want to play.
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What are the major differences you’ve found between novel writing and screenwriting?
As a novelist, I’m not someone who outlines. I have my premise and I just kind of start…writing. That’s much harder to get away with when writing for the screen. Structure rules the day. There are far fewer words to work with in a script, so you have to go in with more of a plan.
Plus, there are all those collaborators, so turning in a treatment or outline is usually part of the process before you move to script.
The Husbands offers a modern twist on The Stepford Wives. What inspired you to explore themes of domestic equity and gender norms in this novel?
I was seven months pregnant with my second child and starting to freak out about the recalibration of domestic chores that comes with a new baby. Meanwhile, I was struggling to land on an idea for my next novel and struggling even more to figure out when and how I was actually going to write the thing with my due date (the baby, not the book) fast approaching. Around that time, I had a long conversation with two of my best friends about the book, Fair Play by Eve Rodsky and our efforts to implement its advice in our own homes. We talked (and talked and talked) about it and I thought, Oh, yes! This!
Your novels feature complex female protagonists. How do you approach creating authentic and relatable characters?
There is a vital (to me) step in my creative process and that’s when I go to my female friends—from book club, from high school, my college text chain, law school classmates, former work colleagues—and ask them to tell me stories about their current experiences as a woman today. In order to write The Husbands, I asked women, “In your fantasy world, what do you wish your spouse would do for you without being asked?” When I wrote Whisper Network, I asked my friends if they had experienced sexual harassment in the workplace, how they had handled it, and how they wished they’d handled it. I receive so much fodder. It really shapes the female protagonists in my novels and hopefully helps readers relate and feel seen.
Whisper Network tackles corporate culture and women’s experiences in the workplace. What prompted you to tackle this issue? What advice would you have for writers wanting to incorporate a social issue into their work?
I reaped the benefit of my first whisper network when I was a summer associate at a law firm. At a work event, a much older partner was giving me an uncomfortable amount of attention. The other associates were leaving, but this partner and his friends kept encouraging me to stay with them at the bar. “How old are you?” they asked. “Do you like older men?” I was in a tricky situation—a summer associate is sort of like a well-paid intern vying for a full-time position, and networking is key. But in that moment, I felt more like a target, someone they hoped—assumed, really—would be a “good sport.” I felt myself doing that smiling and fake laughing thing that we all turn to in these moments. I wanted to leave, but I also wanted a job.
Really, though, I remember less about those men, and more about the woman who extracted me from the situation with a lot more grace and social skill than I possessed at the time. I later learned I wasn’t the first young woman to have a run-in with that guy, but because of the kindness of a few savvy women, I—and my career—survived unscathed.
Up until the point I started writing Whisper Network, I had only written books for teens. Whisper Network was my first attempt to write about characters closer to my own life stage, dealing with issues I was dealing with myself in that moment. It was really empowering creatively.
For writers looking to inject social commentary into their books, I would say: pick a topic you can’t shut up about. What are you ranting to your friends about over lunch? What are your hot takes you’re not sure anyone else shares? Put all those idiosyncrasies on the page. Let loose! Then, the other piece is picking a premise that offers natural openings for you to go off on your chosen social issue. For instance, I wrote about toddler vampires in Cutting Teeth because I wanted to talk about how the demands of modern parenting are sucking the life out of us. The premise serves the issue and vice versa.
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What are you working on next? Where are you at in the development process for The Husbands?
I’m currently deep in the throes of writing the script for Big Bad, another adaptation, this time for Lionsgate with Chris Landon set to direct. I’ve also been hired to pen the script for a reboot of a legacy studio title that I’m really excited about finishing! On the TV side, I have a show in development that is keeping me busy and I’ll be writing the pilot for Cutting Teeth, which just sold to a network, but has yet to be announced.
But honestly, what’s weighing on my mind is that I didn’t write a book last year! So, I hope to remedy that. I’m excited to dive back into a novel and see where it takes me.
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