Characters from the Bowels of My Mind
When an author encounters the characters he writes in the real world, creating a number of awkward and humorous moments, he must help them assimilate or return to the stories they belong in.
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I like the premise a lot. I would lose the part about what kind of emotion the story creates to the audience (awkward and humorous) and leave the rest. Let the audience experience these emotions themselves.
Why? What does it matter if the characters he creates come into the real world? This logline has no stakes.
No antagonist either or at least an antagonist in terms of a problem that represents a clear and present danger to the author.
A crime writer finds himself embroiled in the underworld when the lead character from his best selling book, a Mob Boss, comes to life to track him down to have him rewrite the ending in his favour.
I’m not saying you adopt this but it’s just an idea to show how you could pitch it – you could make him an author of any genre – maybe he’s a romance novelist and his lead character becomes obsessed with him etc
I like wilsondownunder’s ironic scenarios. I think an ironic situation is the dramatic ore to be mined from the premise.
Nicholas, you don’t think have fictional characters who have no emotional development beyond what the writer has given them in a story has conflict or stakes? Think about it.
Thank you all for the comments. Yes, there are multiple ways that this scenarios could play out, dramatic, romantic, etc. I selected comedy. Nicholas, you don’t think having fictional characters with no emotional development beyond what the author has written for them sets up conflict and stakes? Think about it.
Is the writer losing his mind? How could this be happening? What will these characters do in the “real world” when all they know is the limited scope of their fictional world?
Dpg, the fictional characters are the antagonist. As the other commentators have pointed out very well, a crime boss wants a better ending, a character from a romance novel is obsessed with love. How about an alien from a science fiction novel attacking? A dwarf or elf from a fantasy novel looking for a quest? There are so many possibilities and that is the point.
Thank you all for the comments. There are certainly many ways this film could be made. As pointed out, dramatic, romantic, or comedic, which is the direction I was headed.
Nicholas, do you honestly not see the potential conflict and stakes in this scenario? Suddenly, fictional characters, with little to not emotional development, appear in the real world. IS the writer going crazy? How will these characters cope and co-exist with real people.
DPG, the fictional characters are the antagonist. As you can see in the other comments there could be a crime boss who wants a better ending to his story–like not get caught; a woman obsessed with love, stalks the writer; how about a dwarf or elf who want a quest?
There is so much potential.
loglinesrus:
I agree that the premise is rich with possibilities. I understand that the fictional characters are the antagonists. But having the antagonists “assimilate and return” is THEIR character arc — not the author’s character arc. And a logline is supposed to be about the protagonist’s character arc — not the antagonist’s.
When I say irony I mean that the flaws in the characters he created are a reflection of character flaws of his own. Why else have they come alive if not to compel him to face up to his own weaknesses as an author? Or is it mere coincidence — it could happen to any author for no reason at all?
So, in having to “write” their wrongs (objective goal), is he not also righting his own (subjective need)?
What is his character arc? What’s at stake for HIM? What does he stand to lose, what karmic penalty will he have to pay if HE fails to get them back into the fictional world where they belong?
fwiw
I love the idea of storybook characters in the real world. Like in the book Inkheart. My only suggestion would be don’t say awkward and humorous…show it.