Categories: Historical
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That you have "too much" material is always a good thing, an indicator of a story's dramatic potential.
BUT:
>>>the story would have 4 lead female characters in different situations as migrant women in Australia in the 1960?s.
IOW: you have in mind an ensemble story. I suggest combining and condensing into one protagonist, or dual protagonists at the most.? Having four separate co-equal characters and story threads in a feature film? can lead to truncated story lines (for want of time to adequately develop each story) diffused focus, and diluted emotional impact.
That you have "too much" material is always a good thing, an indicator of a story's dramatic potential.
BUT:
>>>the story would have 4 lead female characters in different situations as migrant women in Australia in the 1960?s.
IOW: you have in mind an ensemble story. I suggest combining and condensing into one protagonist, or dual protagonists at the most.? Having four separate co-equal characters and story threads in a feature film? can lead to truncated story lines (for want of time to adequately develop each story) diffused focus, and diluted emotional impact.
Is the idea being developed or is this already written?
Even with four characters, one is still technically the protag or has the most significant arc so keep it from her pov. Maybe you can state the others in general or it simply doesn't belong in the logline if they're a subplot.
Make sure the others are needed because it's usually best for one protag to represent the experiences of many.? Like 12 Years A Slave, the movie wouldn't have been as good? had even one other character experienced a different form of the same predicament. (We see a few in Act I, not Act II.)
This sounds more character-driven than plot-driven and having to make money is enough to hold it all together. Clarify that she has to work and that it's not about the husband sending money.
To avoid the wrong impression, avoid "force."? Consider something like, "...parents send her away...."
No argument there. The point is that it's possible to have too much going on in a story and it's worthwhile for the writer to consider the theme or else how all these work together and get enough time: forced marriage, supporting her parents, racism, and fish-out-of-water.
I find the forced marriage? entirely credible.? Because in traditional cultures that is still a SOP,? ?Marriages are business and social deals between? families.? Whether the bride and groom love each other is incidental, accidental.? Financial considerations are implied or explicit.
She could be a child bride who marries someone old enough to be her grandfather.? That still happens (a lot!) in some countries.? In this story, the groom could be a widow who wants to marry a young chick,? good lucking, still a virgin (mandatory) and potentially fecund. And he can afford to pay good money in return to her parents.
I find the forced marriage? entirely credible.? Because in traditional cultures that is still a SOP,? ?Marriages are business and social deals between? families.? Whether the bride and groom love each other is incidental, accidental.? Financial considerations are implied or explicit.
She could be a child bride who marries someone old enough to be her grandfather.? That still happens (a lot!) in some countries.? In this story, the groom could be a widow who wants to marry a young chick,? good lucking, still a virgin (mandatory) and potentially fecund. And he can afford to pay good money in return to her parents.
