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An alcoholic blues player sells his soul to the devil for fame and money.
Faustian Pact stories can be great but they can be really by-the-numbers, too, because it's such an old story. I love them but they need to be handled correctly. My concern concept-wise is that this - sell your soul for fortune and fame - has been very much done before in too many incarnations to coRead more
Faustian Pact stories can be great but they can be really by-the-numbers, too, because it’s such an old story. I love them but they need to be handled correctly. My concern concept-wise is that this – sell your soul for fortune and fame – has been very much done before in too many incarnations to count. So what sets this apart from the others? If there is an original hook, the logline doesn’t reflect it and it needs to. Does it have to be for fame and money? Can there be something deeper? Fresher? More unexpected? Also, where is the story going? Does his Faustian bargain degenerate because it turns out that what he thought he wanted wasn’t really what he wanted and this realisation catalyses some sort of inner revelation which enables outer redemption? If so, again, this is very old ground. Or does his baragin lead him down more interesting paths, with more unexpected realisations? Where’s the hook? Just saying that he sells his soul for fame and money isn’t enough – we need a glimpse into the consequences, and those consequences must be gripping.
See lessA low life in a Mob family decides he should be the god father. He gets sent on a mission with his best friend and mentor to go kill a opposing god fauther's daughter but after his best friend dies he spares her life. They meet up at a resturaunt and fall in love and plan to take over the family themselves.
First, too many spelling and grammatical errors. These can't be allowed to sneak into a logline; it's too short and they stand out far too much. "Low life" should be "lowlife". "Godfather" is one word and I'd capitalise it to ensure people distinguish it from the parent figure. "kill a opposing" shoRead more
First, too many spelling and grammatical errors. These can’t be allowed to sneak into a logline; it’s too short and they stand out far too much. “Low life” should be “lowlife”. “Godfather” is one word and I’d capitalise it to ensure people distinguish it from the parent figure. “kill a opposing” should be “kill an opposing”. “Resturaunt” should be “restaurant”.
The logline itself is too long, and there’s a lot you could do straightaway to trim it down. The first sentence can go – it tells us nothing the following lines don’t and it’s really just an encapsulation of a done-to-death crime cliche so it’s actively working against you. Your hook here is the Romeo and Juliet angle of him falling in love with the opposing Godfather’s (I’d capitalise Godfather) daughter, so make that a star player. There’s no need at all to tell us they meet up in a restaurant. Doesn’t matter. Also there’s no way you need to word it “he gets sent on a mission”. Too long and doesn’t communicate enough information. It’d be easier for this one if you named your main character, too, rather than burning space with “a lowlife in a mob family”.
Combine all of the above and you could go with something like, “After a hit goes wrong and his best friend is killed, Mob foot-soldier Joey (or whoever) falls for his target – an opposing Godfather’s daughter – and together they plot to take control of the family.”
It might be an idea to clarify (because my above example doesn’t make it clear) if the hit went wrong because he fell for the other boss’s daughter or not, because your line kind of suggests this but doesn’t make it obvious. Also, which family are they taking control of – his? Hers?
One last thing: consider if the Romeo and Juliet angle is enough to prop this up, because it’s an old story and so is the tale of the criminal foot-soldier climbing the bloody rungs of power. As a concept I think this needs a fresher take on the story/genre to succeed, and you’ll need to write the two leads magnificently to make such scumbag characters appealing to an audience. It’ll be a tough slog.
See lessA young couple find themselves stranded in the Great Karoo desert only to find refuge in the forgotten Victorian village that is haunted by more than just ghosts.
It's a pleasure. Good luck with it.
It’s a pleasure. Good luck with it.
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