SCAVENGERS: In a small town, young Jed Grantham must protect his family from more than just looters who would take what little remains in the aftermath of a nuclear war. Armed only with his father’s gun, and with his family’s beloved hound dog Gretel at his side, he will face an extraterrestrial invasion of epic proportions as terrifying creatures scavenge mankind’s ruins for whatever they can find, including Earth’s survivors.
JTDallasPenpusher
In the aftermath of a nuclear war, a young man must defend his town from an alien invasion before they can destroy everything that remains of his life.
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“a young man” = protagonist
“defend his town from an alien invasion” = goal
“before they can destroy everything that remains of his life” = story stakes
Like the simplicity of this logline.
Expand on main character. Identify a psychological trait, by labeling the young man either:
courageous or timid,
adventurous or cautious,
what about Impassioned or Restrained?
Notice how this gives character, to the main character, suggestive of a potential character arc, and the possibility of our hero growing, out of this imminent conflict.
I agree. Now for the adjective: The young man is resistant to using his father’s gun to defend his family. He’s a pacifist, but “a pacifist young man” seems flat. He does have to be forced into fighting, maybe “peace-loving?”
Thanks for reviewing.
Justin (JTDallas)
While we may not use the word “PEACEABLE”, in ordinary language these days, a thesaurus list of related Traits are:
Appeasing, calm, conciliatory, easygoing, even-tempered, gentle, good-humored, good-natured, good-tempered, imperturbable, mild, moderate, mollifying, noncombative, nonviolent, pacific, placating, placid, quiet, thickskinned, unaggressive, unbelligerent, uncontentious, undisturbed, unwarlike, well-disposed.
… “He does have to be forced into fighting, …” leads to Inciting Incident.
“aftermath of a nuclear war,” sets the stage, or context of the story. But does not directly propel our main character on the journey. Someone/something (usually a villain/antagonist) must provoke our good-natured friend into the drama. You choose, of course. Think motivational, harm to a loved one usually gets things going ….