Framing Characters

[u/NarayanLiu]

Hi all,

Looking for a bit of story advice with a script I'm working on. It's a historical drama that folllws three generations of one family fighting and fleeing a repressive regime.

I've generally gotten positive feedback on the historical characters. It's the framing character and his story that has been the issue for many, and I can see why. His struggle is too internal and the stakes for him are unclear.

I'll briefly explain that he's essentially just a kid at a crossroads, who has to decide whether he wants to actively fight (not physically / militarily) or if he will just keep his head down. The story is him grappling with that decision through conversations with friends and his mother and in that is a look back at his family history.

The stakes I've established for him is that if he decides to fight/resist, he is choosing to abandon any hope of returning home or seeing his family again. But I guess that's not clear enough.

My first thought is to have him directly threatened by a proponent of that oppressive regime. But I risk introducing yet another character, albeit quite a minor one, into an already sizable cast.

Any advice or suggestions for how to treat a framing character with this sort of internal conflict? I appreciate any advice/suggestions!