Not in.

But if I was, the event would be my Dad not meeting my Mom and I would just submit a blank page

Quoted from Gary in Houston So, just a point of clarity -- can the script be about perhaps what happened to cause the change the course of history?  Or does it have to be AFTER the event occurred (or didn't occur)?  Obviously it's two different stories, one of which might be much more interesting than the other.

Quoted from DustinBowcot No. Your story must not be about the change, but a different story set after the change has happened.

Dustin is correct. You're not writing a script about the change. You're writing a script that takes place in the aftermath (at some point) of that change.

Quoted from Mr. Blonde Dustin is correct. You're not writing a script about the change. You're writing a script that takes place in the aftermath (at some point) of that change.

Can I write both? The afterlife and the event intervine anyway. Is it a mistake to include the "how" part?

Yeah. Surely it's fair to make the story of what's changed into a feature of interest in the story you're telling. I mean, it literally is the thing people will be looking out for. Right?

I prefer Mr Blonde's idea as it is more original. Simply writing about the change has been done to death. This is an ordinary story only set in a world that has turned out differently somehow. Like a parallel universe.

The change will be a feature of interest, but not to the characters within the story as to them everything is normal.

This one is going to take some good storytelling chops to pull off.

I've come up with the basics of the story. Gonna spend a few days refining the idea before I have a go at the first draft. I must admit I'm loving thinking up this alternate universe. It's really got my creative juices flowing.

Hmm I just had a thought that may be relevant, while I was brainstorming my idea when snoozing:

Loglines may not be a good idea for this challenge. It will spoil the surprise of finding out the event used in any script. I have trouble writing normal logs anyway but doing one for my idea will kill the reveal. And I'm guessing it would for most of, if not all the entries?

Just a thought anyway. But I'm going no log. I don't read the other entries purely based on the log, so it will be nice to crack open a script with only a title and being immersed - hopefully - into an interesting Brave New World.

Quoted from stevie Hmm I just had a thought that may be relevant, while I was brainstorming my idea when snoozing: Loglines may not be a good idea for this challenge. It will spoil the surprise of finding out the event used in any script. I have trouble writing normal logs anyway but doing one for my idea will kill the reveal. And I'm guessing it would for most of, if not all the entries? Just a thought anyway. But I'm going no log. I don't read the other entries purely based on the log, so it will be nice to crack open a script with only a title and being immersed - hopefully - into an interesting Brave New World.

You shouldn't have to reference the event at all in your logline, because the event never happened. For example, you would never say, "After the breakout of World War II is avoided and fascism spreads across the world, one man goes on a sea voyage and encounters an island full of mysterious refugees." If the story is about a man going on a voyage and discovering a strange island, the logline would focus on that. Then the story should drop clues as to what had (or hasn't) happened in this alternate timeline.

Certainly the loglines I'm playing around with in my head at the moment don't mention what hasn't occurred but it does lay a few Easter eggs so that people can start to guess.

Sean, my question remained unanswered.

Could these two intervine - the change and life after the change?
(should I reword the question so that it's clear what I'm asking about?)

Just a thought, but when submitting the script, maybe we could use the notes section to specify what event we've changed. Then when the names are revealed, the events are also and we can see if we guessed the event correctly.

Quoted from MarkRenshaw Just a thought, but when submitting the script, maybe we could use the notes section to specify what event we've changed. Then when the names are revealed, the events are also and we can see if we guessed the event correctly.

While I'm sure most of us would drop nuggets in the script where things have changed, I can see where some of us might wonder what the event may have been. Putting it in notes its sounds good, but I personally would have those events made known after the reads and reviews..

As it is a world-changing event then this should be obvious from the story alone - if not the specific moment in history that it occurred.

As I'm not using this idea, I'll throw it out there... a large asteroid that missed the earth some time ago, simply didn't and instead hit. A past/present/future earth set in the aftermath, with an ordinary story thrown in. Not a single character ever has to mention the asteroid, but creative clues for the reader to pick up on would be nice.

So, we should be careful of marking down other writers because we're not sure of the precise historical change. So long as the change is clear, then we've done our job.

Quoted from DustinBowcot As I'm not using this idea, I'll throw it out there... a large asteroid that missed the earth some time ago, simply didn't and instead hit. A past/present/future earth set in the aftermath, with an ordinary story thrown in. .

I had the same idea, lol. But it just ended up  being Jurassic park.

I think in all these cases the pieces won't work as stand alone scripts. That's why I'd want to specify the event as well in mine.

Quoted from khamanna I think in all these cases the pieces won't work as stand alone scripts. That's why I'd want to specify the event as well in mine.

I don't think there's anything wrong in referencing the event if it fits into the story and doesn't feel forced in just to tell us all that this is the event.

For example, if  J.F.K survived the assassination attempt and you decided to do a story about some soldiers being pulled out of Vietnam early (which is one of the things Kennedy was considering), then referencing the assassination attempt seems relevant, but simply mentioning that Kennedy is still the President is enough to inform us that things have changed.