I'm working on homework and for our final project, we have to come up with a theme. I know the story and I know what I want to say, I just don't know how to say it.

Logline: A widower needs to reconnect with his distant daughter before he passes away.

The theme I'm working on is something like, "Cultivate our relationships before time runs out."

In the beginning of the story, a widower is visited by his deceased wife. She tells him that time is running out for them to have a relationship. He won't have a second chance when she comes back.

Good? Bad? Ugly? Input needed.

Semester is over on Dec 18 and I couldn't be happier!

Hey ABSteel,

Why is the daughter distant? Is she geographically distant? Is there something that happened between them? Or did they just lose touch? What is keeping them apart? ie: the obstacle?

A possible theme; life is too short, importance of family, second chances, forgiveness/redemption.

Their reunion  must be important indeed, if he is visited by an apparition of his wife(this probably wouldn't happen everyday). Why is it so important? Another theme, We don't miss it til its gone.

A lot would depend on the relationship of the father and daughter and how they got to this point, I would think.

Just spit-balling here, maybe some of this will help.

Best,
Kev

I worked out some more details as to the whys. Lou, the father, is diagnosed with a fatal illness. I'm aiming towards prostate cancer or some kind of heart thing. Whatever it is, he hasn't got much time to live and surgery is serious.

The obstacle he needs to overcome is his prejudice. His daughter Jill is in either a lesbian relationship or an interracial relationship. A friend suggested both but that's too much. I mean, he could be okay with her being black but not a woman.

Anyway, so I have why the two don't speak and I have the catalyst for him wanting to reach out to her. The bulk of the story is what I'm unsure about.

This is due at 8:30AM and I've got two cans of Rockstar to get me through the night.

What is your restrictions.?.. number of pages? Do you have to keep a budget in mind while writing or is it a free for all?

Just spit-balling, so take it or leave it.

I would think the piece is about them reconnecting again. What if the daughter is Lou's only family, and perhaps there is an incident that happens related to his illness, a black out, he falls, something that lands him in the emergency room (you don't have to write this part, but take it after that). He is in the hospital, because of this, and his daughter being the only next of kin, is called in.  Perhaps instead of the dead wife/mother telling Lou he needs to reunite with his daughter and reconcile their differences before he dies, but that her ghost manipulates certain things that will help bring them together again...  Lou can already feel that he has made a mistake with his daughter knowing that he is is dying, but believes it's too late to reconcile with his daughter. With a little help of a higher power he gets that second chance.  Theme could be, its never too late for a second chance.

Anyhow, like I said just spit-balling.

For the assignment, is this supposed to have a ghost in it somewhere?

Sounds to me that him discovering his mortality is reason enough to overcome either a petty or serious reason not to connect, or reconnect with his daughter.  The ghost thing or apparition or dream is too... I don't know... used and cliche.

I think maybe most of the conflict in this story is going to come from the daughter and if she'll forgive her father being so blind over losing her for something like this.  Will she be so blind as not to forgive him for their distance?

Ideally the theme is connected to the flaw and revealed through overcoming that flaw.

For example, the old man's flaw is he is not open to things he does not understand. Let's say the daughter has a lesbian wife and the father is unwilling to meet with this wife. And that prevents him from connecting with his daughter.

Once he learns to be open to his daughter's world and to who she is, then he can reconnect to her.

flaw: he's not open to things he doesn't understand.
theme: you must accept others for what they are if you are to establish a loving relationship.

character arc: through a variety of experiences he learns to be more open.

NOTE: apparently the writer does not consider our attempts at helping him worthy of reply. Courtesy is an endangered species.

What about the daughter's feelings toward him?

I mean I know the story is centered around the old man and him reconnecting with his daughter but perhaps their relationship became fractured from something smaller.  I wouldn't go as far as saying that she is engaged in this lesbian relationship as a way of getting back at her prejudice father but things have clearly escalated between the two.

As far as them goes, I think the love must go both ways in their union with him actually getting a hold of her again and her forgiving him for whatever drove them away.  Maybe it wasn't the relationship with another woman that pushed them apart but what kept them apart.

You said this assignment was due at 8:30 today so I'm probably too late but thought I'd weigh in.  Best of luck.

From what I've read, I don't see why you need the ghost?
What does the ghost bring to the table that a fatal illness does not?

Is this feature length or a short?
If it's a short and you're looking for a twist...

Assuming the father's in the hospital at this point...
You may want to consider that he confides his dilemma in a nurse.
And that nurse could be his estranged daughter's significant other.
Just a thought. Good luck.

Regards,
E.D.

possible theme: distance - spacial and emotional?