The Short Notice (Movie Script In Progress) Hello, I'm here for a question I would like to have answered before I continue to progress in my new story (I think it's fantasy because it has to do with "magic," not vampires or dragons or werewolves. My story, "The Short Notice," is about a weary college student, who fails to maintain a job, takes a journey to a mysterious shortcut to his college and high school in a dream sequence. I was wondering if the appearance of the college (the shortcut college) can be extremely different than the real one in terms of the sizes of the college and high school? In other words, will it question a person's belief if the size of the shortcut college is bigger than the size of the regular college? I'm not really asking for validation, but I'm trying to figure out if it would break the rules of the readers' suspension of disbelief. I forgot to mention that this is a dream sequence, and only the main character can see the mysterious college (even though the mysterious college is the same design and same as the normal college, except the shortcut college is bigger), and the shortcut college and high school is only over his fence in his backyard. Here is the catch though, when his mom takes him to the normal route to college, she can see it, but the main character can't, since the college is located in his fence for him, and to his mother, it is in the regular location for her and she can't see the "relocated" version of the school behind the fence. I hope I don't confuse anyone. Edit: When he wakes up, everything is normal. The purpose of the dream is to assist him with the challenges he is going through in reality, and since no one gives him opportunities to succeed, he must figure out what the magic shortcut is about in the dream. Then at the end of the movie he begins to realize what it is all about. He must maintain and stay in class in reality in order to keep dreaming about the magic shortcut.
You've confused me. Lemme get this straight. Your main character is Just That Special that he can see a special college that doesn't exist to anyone else. It is just behind his house through his fence, and looks the same as his normal college, but it's bigger. First, characters that are Just That Special are annoying (see Eragon). I hope that your character isn't actually like that. Why is the shortcut college right behind his house? Why does it have to be right there? Why is his mum still taking him to college? Why can't he see the normal college? That makes no sense. If it was a mind trip thing where he was a little bit crazy, that'd make sense, but what you've just explained makes no sense. What you're saying is that he can't see something that's there because he saw something else in an entirely different place. Now, you don't have to answer any of these questions here. Answer them to yourself. I do recommend you find a simplified way to describe all this to yourself, though, if that's the sort of way you're thinking about it. Especially, "takes a journey to a mysterious shortcut to his college and high school". If you mean, "he jumps his fence to take a shortcut", say that. If the ordinary college was across a field behind his yard or something, jumping his fence would make sense. Really, your character sounds like he's got major issues. Good luck with that one.
I am a little confused in that the MC is the only one who can see the "shortcut" college, but then the mother can see it, but it's in a different place? And if he's the only one who can see it why is it bigger? I assume it has less students? Doesn't really matter though. Here's the thing, the reader will believe anything that you make believable. Act like you're in court, the burden of proof is all on you. Show them that it can't be anything but real for your character and it will be real for them. We all know that dragons aren't real, werewolves aren't real (and if they were, would they really carry clothes around their necks because they would suddenly find themselves naked?) and vampires not only aren't real (unless they are bats, bedbugs, or fleas) they certainly (I sincerely hope) don't sparkle. But we believe it because the characters believe it and it makes sense in the story and that wasn't even the greatest story ever or anything, lol. You know what I mean?
That's because the special shortcut takes place in a recurring dream that he keeps having, which is trying to tell him something. Because it takes him an hour or so to walk to the normal college, as exposed to him only taking him a few seconds to jump the fence. When his mother occasionally take him to school, he has to walk there. The only transportation he has on his own is his foot, so sometimes his mother takes him to college, so that it would not take so long for him to get there (an hour). Because the story takes place in a dream, then when he wakes up, he can see it. So when he is awaken, he tries to see the meaning behind the dream he has. The shortcut is only special for him, since his family members, in reality, does not care to communicate with him, and his managers, who hires him to work, fires him and feel that he is not needed. Therefore, no one would not care to see what the magic shortcut is about, since no one seems to care about him. If it was a mind trip thing where he was a little bit crazy, that'd make sense, but what you've just explained makes no sense. That's because he is in a dream about taking the magic shortcut, and when he wakes up, he can see the normal college, and the magic shortcut does not appear in reality. So are you saying that the story would not make any sense, despite the fact that he is in a dream sequence about the shortcut? I forgot to mention that he is in a dream sequence. The shortcut is in a different place, which is in his backyard. The mother can't see the magic shortcut. She can only see the normal college. [QUOT] And if he's the only one who can see it why is it bigger?[/QUOTE] The reason why it's bigger is because he has many opportunities to go through, and the bigger size represents him looking for the right class (opportunity) to succeed in life. In reality, if he drops out of college, then his dream serves no purpose. Since the college is bigger in the shortuct (dream), then he has all the majors to choose from, and in the normal school, his majors are limited. Nah, it really has nothing to do with the number of students, but it can though. Yep, I know what you mean. I just didn't know that the readers would care about the movie I'm writing because it involves shortcuts and as to why the mother can't see it.
