An alcoholic soldier must face his abusive father and confront his own addictions before he loses his memory.

Jelewis8:

A reason I am hanging in with your idea is because I believe there is a need to tell the story of wounded bodies and wounded souls that have come out of American's never ending engagement in the Middle East.? (A "Coming Home" or "Dear Hunter" for this generation).? On that subject, I recommend "Odyssesus in America: Combat Trauma and The Trials of Homecoming" by Jonathan Shay.? It is based upon Dr. Shay's experiences and observations counseling Vietnam Vets. But? I believe it's relevant to the current generation of? veterans because although the? war theater has changed, human nature hasn't.

Best wishes with your story.

Jelewis8:

A reason I am hanging in with your idea is because I believe there is a need to tell the story of wounded bodies and wounded souls that have come out of American's never ending engagement in the Middle East.? (A "Coming Home" or "Dear Hunter" for this generation).? On that subject, I recommend "Odyssesus in America: Combat Trauma and The Trials of Homecoming" by Jonathan Shay.? It is based upon Dr. Shay's experiences and observations counseling Vietnam Vets. But? I believe it's relevant to the current generation of? veterans because although the? war theater has changed, human nature hasn't.

Best wishes with your story.

@dpg thank YOU for your sticking with the process and providing useful feedback! I'm all about getting there; the twists and winds of the road are necessary part of the journey.

>>For the purpose of a plot and logline, the objective goal should always be framed positively, not negatively.

Okay, I hear you--I think the positive side of his dilemma would be "achieve lasting sobriety and emotional healing." There isn't a crawling through the pipe moment, or finding an ark or grail. The closest thing to that is finding his friend's mother (the promise he makes to his friend). That's the objective goal that occupies him the latter half of the script. And his friendship is set up so that this objective makes perfect sense, especially for a man driven to find answers.

>>But a logline is about a protagonist's objective goal, not the subjective problem he needs to overcome to achieve that goal.

I agree with you. The subjective problem is the inverse of the objective goal. The problem is, from where I'm sitting, "Get sober/Achieve peace" is more of a thematic goal--it's not something tangible or concrete like "escape from prison" is. But it IS the goal in this case.

>>What's the corresponding visual moment in your story?

It's the main character leaving behind a gun (the threat of suicide) and a letter (where he learns how his friend really died in Afghanistan) and walking away having finally found his peace after meeting with his friend's mother. Again--it's not a concrete moment of physicality, but rather the culmination of a screenplay's worth of pain and trauma finally being accepted rather than rejected. And he walks away a "free" man.