For single father, I need your advice.?

Question

If you're a single father who has a daughter, I could really use your help.

I'm a writer and am currently writing a film and drama called One Broken Family. It's about a divorced father. The character of Nathan is trying to reconnect with his seventeen-year-old daughter, Lauren. Because she's popular in high school, goes out every night, and has a boyfriend. And Nathan thinks he barely knows her anymore. So he tries to stay in touch with her, but later ends up acting her age (but in a cool, non-embarrassing way.)

So what I asking for is how I can write in the chemistry between Nathan and Lauren. I'm not a father or husband or anything like that, but I hope to have daughters simetime. So how do I write in compatibility with Nathan and Lauren.

I wrote a scene where they go to dinner and there's a few "long silences" because I couldn't figure out what to say myself.

So any single fathers with daughters would be a great help.

Also note: Lauren's mother walked out when she was three and barely remembers her. And she and Nathan are all each other has. Lauren has no other brothers or sisters and no pets. And Nathan hs two best friends.

Answer 1

Im so sorry........

Thats really sad

You could get her to make some friends and if you can get a pet cause it takes away anxiety and stress (most of the time) but make sure it lives a long life so its not so sad now and so she'll be able to let go of it easier cause there older

And spend alot of time with her and support her

also don't let her go out every night just weekends and keep an eye on nathan and make sure he is a good guy and doesnt use her

Good luck ;)

Answer 2

Well my father raised me for a part of my life when my mother walk out on us but I was a bit younger than your character. What I recommend is activity they can do together, my dad and I would go swimming that always kept a close bond between us. Or just small talk and letting her know that Nathan is a friend and a father.

Hope it helps :)  

Answer 3

Wow!

I read your question and had to re-read it a couple times to put myself into the right context. I think that you set the direction with your title, "One Broken Family."

Your sub plot, "Also note: Lauren's mother walked out when she was three and barely remembers her. And she and Nathan are all each other has. Lauren has no other brothers or sisters and no pets. And Nathan hs two best friends." is familiar.

The typical direction this situation usually goes is that the father overcompensates with the daughter by trying to buy her love and the daughter usually takes advantage of everything she can, knowing that her father will likely let her get away with almost anything and do anything he can to bail her out of any trouble she gets into.

I think that the 'long silences' are a good start at the beginning of the relationship. Lauren should probably be bringing quite a bit of emotional baggage with her... Issues relating to the reasons of the breakup of the family, was she to blame? did the mother make the father out to be the bad guy? Did Nathan attempt to make contact with Lauren, but did her mother keep this from happening and never inform Lauren that he did try to have a relationship with her?

I like the idea that there is a dinner and a few scenes where Lauren distrusts Nathen, so there is a lot of uncomfortable silence between them. Nathen should be trying to ask Lauren questions to learn about her life.

Since, I imagine, Nathen already knows that Lauren is popular and goes out a lot, he would likely like to insert some 'fatherly advice' in the conversations... Lauren would then take his caring prodding about her lifestyles as meddling in her life and "WHERE WERE YOU ALL THESE YEARS WHEN I NEEDED YOU! YOU THINK YOU CAN SHOW UP AND START TELLING ME WHAT TO DO NOW?" etc.

This would probably happen they have had a two or three visits together with mainly Nathen breaking the silence between them. This scene would probably result in a good point for Lauren to air her resentment to Nathen for not being around while she was growing up. Never being there. Never sending the child support money. Not wanting to share custody with her mother.

Nathen would be dying to tell her that he tried for years to be a part of her life. That he had every receipt for child support that he sent, even sending more than the court mandated whenever more money was needed. His petitions to the court for joint custody and visitation rights. He would even be dying to tell her that the reason that he and her mother weren't together is that SHE cheated on him and that she left him for a man with more money and power. Maybe the man she left him for was his business partner or ex-close friend.

In order to protect Lauren's emotions, Nathen doesn't tell Lauren that her mother had lied to her all these years. He let's her yell at him and take out years of agression against him. He uses this as a wedge to get back into her life by apologizing to her for all of the terrible things that her mother has lied about him. He asks for a fresh start. She tells him that it's too late for a fresh start. He acknologes that he has to earn her trust and a position in her life. He asks her what it will take to be a part of her life. She tells him, she doesn't know if anything will enable her to let him in. The scene could end with her going home at this point.

She goes to bed and cries herself to sleep. Here was the father that she always wanted and he didn't seem like such a monster to her. No, not the terrible monster that her mother had constantly told her about through her youth.

Over the next week or so, Nathen calls Lauren on her cell phone and she lets it go to voice mail. She deletes the messages without even listening. She starts thinking about him more and more and digs through the attic (i assume they are up north!) and finds some old photo albums. Her parents look so happy together. Now, some baby pictures of her and her father... In the store, at the zoo, in the yard, at coney island (do people still go there?.) Every picture makes him look like a loving father. The very thing she had been missing. She takes out one special photo that brings a tear to her eye. She hides it in her diary (or somewhere special.) That night she dreams of what life could have been like. She takes one of his phone calls and they agree to go for a Johnny Rockets for a milkshake and talk (over all the noise.) She confesses to him after a bunch of small talk that she resented never having him in her life when 'she needed him.' He still never tells her the truth.

They have a casual relationship for another week or so until she is out on one of her many dates and trouble ensues. They get picked up on a minor drug charge. She had turned to drugs years ago because of all of her emotional baggage. She calls Nathen to bail her out. He agrees not to tell her mother. Laren goes back to the attic and finds an old shoe box. She opens it a

Answer 4

Well, I wouldn't ever tell you what to write; just some observations from successful parents, single and married that may help you get ideas for your story line.

I think that the concept of Nathan acting more the age of his estranged daughter in order to understand her and develop a bond is understandable and happens frequently.  Even in parental relationships that have not been broken, many parents do attempt (successfully or not) to act on the same level as their children to "get" them.  On the surface this often seems to work, however, really successful parents are aware of their roles AS parents: older, (hopefully) wiser, and more endowed with vital life experience.

In what I have seen, even though most kids – and especially teenagers – will react enthusiastically to this show of attention from their parent(s), deep down they crave the stability and dependability that a strong parent gives.  They feel in actuality more estranged from a parent that acts more as a peer, equal, or buddy.

That being the case, I would say that perhaps a theme for Nathan would be that initially he tries to approach his daughter as a peer and a "cool" friend, but finds that because he is trying to be something that he really is not, he runs into "awkward silences" with his daughter.  Perhaps when he realizes that it is okay to act older, step up and be a responsible father that his stand-off-ish daughter responds well to this and starts to trust him more.

The best sources I can quote are my own experience.  My parents always were parents first.  Growing up, I had respect for them, but loved them, knowing what their roles were as well as mine.  However, I have an aunt who is a single mother to one daughter.  She tries in everything to be her daughter's "BFF" and best bud.  I can see in their relationship that the daughter secretly resents her mother for selling out her parenting role for a confusing friend role.  Kids know deep down that they need stability, even though they may convince themselves that they need friendship.

When you think about it, being a stable parent to a child is the best expression of love.  Being a friend does not show adequate love for the child: it really is selfish on the part of the parent.  I say it is selfish because the parent has been through that phase of life and could really provide needed guidance and support; but by being the "cool friend" they duck out of the hard work and leave it to others to really raise their kids.

That is the journey of discovery that I believe that Nathan and Lauren could take together.  As they settle into their roles, I believe there will be a believable bond that develops between them.

Answer 5

conflict is always good to read...

Nathan and Lauren are out to dinner, nathan is acting laurens age and lauren is starting to see nathan as more of a friend, than her dad. she asked to go to a rave thinking that he'll be all cool and he says no. They argue about it and nathan reinforces that hes the dad and shes the kid and no means no. lauren is angry because she feels that nathan lulled her into a false sense of security almost, and nathan feels bad for letting himself act like lauren to try and e her friend rather than being a man and playing the harder, but more rewarding role of 'Dad'. they don't speak for the next few days, and in that time they do some soul searching and when they come back together, they both agree on some ground rules like no parties on school nights bla bla bla.  lauren is still popular and nathan is still fun but now they are functioning better as a family..

hope this has helped.