ROMANCE, DRAMA

Meg Morley travels far away from her home in the highlands along with her husband to New Zealand. As early settlers in the 1860s, they create a homestead that leaves Meg remote for half the year while her husband is out surveying. James doesn't adapt as well as Meg and their time together becomes strained. Meg finds true love with her neighbor Stephen and lerns she can be happy in her own independence and hard work even after her husband becomes rich from the gold rush.

GOOD

THIRD PERSON

Authors Writing Style: GOOD

Characterization: FAIR

Commerciality: GOOD

Franchise Potential: FAIR

Pace: FAIR

Premise: FAIR

Structure: GOOD

Theme: FAIR

Yes for the most part the story is reflected in the book profile. The development pitch does focus more on the location and current pandemic market rather than identifying why the story specifically is marketable based off its plots, characters and themes. By elaborating more of the story rather than New Zealand, the pitch will better reflect the material as setting is less important that character investment and a solid plot.

Meg at first seems like the traditional housewife with no choice but to follow in her husband's wishes to travel halfway across the world to New Zealand, never to see her family again. However it turns out she is far more resilient than her husband and creates a full and wonderful life for herself out in the remote mountains for New Zealand. The realization that Meg is so adaptable and independent compared to her husband is what pulls the audience in.

There is a build up of James creating tension in fearing Meghan's rebuttal to him wanting to survey and not farm that is too quickly diffused while the downfall of their marriage is quite drawn out. Developing Meg's loneliness more before the breakdown of her marriage and her cheating on James with Stephen will help create more emotional investment. By adding this tension in the interim, the pacing would quicken as it is quite slow without there being many problems in their union outside of distance in between James leaving and the breakup of their marriage given their fortunes/ moods are never really shown suffering from the isolation.

THE STORY RELIES A LITTLE BIT ON SPECIAL EFFECTS

The hook is that Meg is better off alone that married on her remote homestead. The antagonist isn't the environmental threats or strangers such as the outlaws, but the person who created the change in her circumstance in the first place, James. It's a relationship drama at the core of an adventure story.

This could have a large fanbase if the genre is more pronounced. Given the pull is said to be New Zealand in the pitch but most of the tension in the story is about the relationship, it becomes unclear if this is a adventure story or a romantic drama.

This is unlikely to have awards potential given it is the white experience of the colonization of New Zealand. The characters are likeable but do not experience enough situations for their range of emotions or social issues to accrue nominations. Historical dramas also tend to not far well in the popular circuit as adventure-romance hybrids.

MEDIUM BUDGET

THE NIGHTINGALE, POMPEII, A MARRIAGE STORY, GONE WITH THE WIND, THE GUERNSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL SOCIETY

The originality of the story stems from Meg's isolation being an asset to her happiness rather than source of tension. The majority of her tension stems from interactions with her husband rather than her new home.

Meg is beyond resourceful, caring and independent. She has a lot of integrity and is reliable when it comes to survival. James is more adventurous but easily discontent and somewhat superficial. Stephen is also reliable, sentimental and mostly honorable.

Film - Streaming, Film - Indie, Film - Studio, TV Series - Limited Run / Mini-Series

WORK IN PROGRESS

While the story has many positive points, it has room for improvement (see possible paths below). If you can't change the story at this point, my suggestion is using your notes as a guide to highlight the best aspects of it when taking the next steps, either putting a pitch page together, a treatment, or a presentation.

By clarifying if the conflict of isolation is the remoteness of the location or the affect that independence had on women in regards to historical marriages, the inner conflict will be able to be more apparent. Further focusing on the loneliness of her isolation will add to the emotional investment of Meg to then decide if her inner conflict is related to her survival or to her marriage. This will also help make her relationship with Stephen seem more likeable rather than cheating on someone who is trying to make a comfortable living for his family. Also leaving room for lasting tension such as Meg's miscarriage and James' lack of commitment to the farm labor could help adjust the pacing in the middle of the story.