Alternate Past in Hollywood as a Writer (Rewritten)

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Born without emotions, learning to live with others by emulating the emotions off others, Mark comes across something that actually allows himself to be immersed into the various characters, and for once feel emotions. And that is through the various media, but mainly movies and television shows.

As such, he pursues a career in writing scripts, and is enthralled by experiencing emotions even when writing them, only to realise much later in his life that good scripts did not mean a good movie, or even the fact that a movie would be made.

Still, he is able to bring himself back on his feet and becomes a moderately successful scriptwriter of a few successful Netflix shows and movies. However, his newly built career, and life, come crashing down as an armed burglary rapidly devolves into the murder of his parents, and his younger but more brilliant sister falling into a coma.

For the first time, Mark experiences emotions in his own body, from actions in the real world. Overwhelmed by the unexpected pain he felt in his chest, Mark ends his own life, only to find himself in the body of Mark Whitehall, a man with the same name, family name, and facial features as himself, but with a lean and athletic body, who was born in the late 1950s.

Currently in the later 1970s in his years 20s, can Mark prevent the mistakes he had made before, and fulfil his promise to his parents of becoming the most successful scriptwriter? What will he have to do to complete this goal? Will he actually succeed, or will he be confronted by the harsh reality of his emotionless state?

...

Author's Notes:

This is a re-write of the original fic I had written, but realised how utterly flawed it was. This is my attempt at making something out of it, and hoping it actually turns out to be good. I have written 6 chapters, and will be uploading them shortly. Please comment and put reviews so I understand what might be wrong and can make the necessary changes.

I have also greatly limited the romance aspect of this story, as I have come to realise a rushed romance will only lead to people not wanting the characters to be together, and instead, taking it slow seems more appropriate. Still, I intend on having 1 romantic interest, and no harem.

Information

Status: Hiatus
Year: 2024
Author: ShadowMagus

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.9/ 5.0
Followers: 43
Views: 21,907

Chapters(23 total)

Reviews

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Community Reviews(3)

Apollo149Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I have feel like I have reviewed a lot of stories here on RR (over 70 now). There is a lot of normal styles I see, but this was a nice change. I am happy to have read this.
I actually got to the end of chapter four and went to click next and it wasn't there. I felt a little bummed, that is how much I was liking the MC.
Anyway, the Grammer is good. The story is different. I was happy to give it a read and I hope it keeps going!
J. G. SadsquatchRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Alright, so here’s my honest take as a fellow writer here on RR: these chapters are a solid start. The setup is super interesting—Mark waking up in this alternate 1970s timeline and trying to navigate his new life as a screenwriter feels fresh, and there’s a lot of potential here. I love how calculated Mark is, and the way he approaches everything like a game of chess really makes him stand out. His relationship with Eddie is probably my favorite part so far—Eddie brings so much life and energy that it makes Mark’s detached personality work without dragging the story down.
The 1970s setting is a great backdrop, but it’s not fully coming through yet. Adding more specific details—like music, cultural references, or even little things like slang—could make the world feel more alive. Also, the whole “stealing famous works” angle with The Sixth Sense is a fun hook, but I’d love to see Mark grapple with what it means to claim these ideas as his own. It’s a great way to add some tension or depth to his character.
Overall, I think you’ve got something really cool here. The characters are interesting, the premise is unique. Keep it up—I’m excited to see where this goes!
I think the only thing that may be hard for this story to gain traction is that the majority of Royal Road readers won’t give this a proper chance because it’s not your run of the mill fantasy slop. I think you have some really cool stuff here and could even see a publisher pick this up. It bridges reborn novels and cool lit fic novels about an emotionless guy learn to embrace his emotions.
DaddykazzooRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
Okay, so this story has a super engaging style that makes it feel like you’re actually following someone who’s time traveled into a second shot at life. The writing flows in this really conversational and almost casual way, which makes it easy to sink into the world. There are all these cool moments where Mark is just musing about life, society, and human behavior that really add to his character as someone who's thoughtful but socially awkward. Plus, it’s a fun blend of drama and nostalgia with all the 70s references and movie industry dreams. Now, the story itself is pretty unique. It’s not your everyday time travel tale; it’s more introspective, exploring what it means to get a second chance when you’re not even sure how to feel properly. The way Mark tries to balance his genius level writing skills with his total lack of human warmth is kind of hilarious and sad all at once. The grammar is solid, with only a few hiccups that don’t really mess with the readability, and the pacing is pretty good. Characters are where this story shines, especially Mark. He’s so quirky and different, and even though he’s emotionally numb, you weirdly want to root for him to feel something real. The side characters, like Eddie, add that extra pop of life and humor, making the world feel more fleshed out. The dialogue feels pretty natural and look forward to seeing where this goes with the new choices that can be made!
Feedback: Try focusing on moments where Mark’s emotional growth could shine more subtly. Right now, he’s super logical and planned, which is great, but a few cracks in that armor could make him feel even more human. Also, be careful with pacing; some of Mark’s internal musings could be trimmed to keep the energy up like when his friend knocks on the door and he you describe what he sounds like then go into Marks background and his internal monologue which was great but left me expecting something else after someone knocked on his door slowing the pace down. To combat th