I'm trying to create a naunced fantasy schenario

[SMJB]

There's this imperial power and this conquered people. The imperials invaded for unapologetically mercenary reasons--they wanted to siphon magic off of a local leyline--but have been making concerted efforts to win hearts and minds by building schools, improving lives, and suchlike. The conquered people had an objectively horrible culture--sexist, racist, caste-ridden, and theocratic--but still, while the changes the imperials want to make are often very good ones, they tend to be heavy-handed about it. There are legitimate concerns about imperial rule, but the prominent resistance groups tend to be, well, sexist, racist, caste-obsessed, theocratic terrorists.

The story I'm trying to tell involves a family stuck in the middle of all this, just trying to keep their noses clean.

Thoughts? Advice?

[Gaidin]

I'd wonder that while the family may as a whole want to keep under the radar, if there isn't a member or two that wants to drag them in a particular direction and which direction they want to drag them in, either purposely or by proximity?

[krakonfour]

I'd wonder that while the family may as a whole want to keep under the radar, if there isn't a member or two that wants to drag them in a particular direction and which direction they want to drag them in, either purposely or by proximity?

Simple: Use the Tao method.
You have to show good in the Bad guys, and bad in the Good guys.

Here's an example-
The family you mentioned thinks the Empire is all evil and supports the rebels for doing something they don't have the courage to do. One day, there is a crackdown on the family's neighborhood, all Nazi Broken Glass night-style. The soldiers come crashing down on them and appear very evil, comforting the reader's first impression of them. Then it comes to their turn, and a group of soldiers start knocking on the door.

We're done for!

The soldiers barge in, the commander orders them to gather in a room for inspection or something. Surprisingly, he lets them go and makes his subordinates look the other way. The family's vision of the soldiers is troubled; they might just be normal men with orders.

Now, we have to show the reverse. The rebels aren't goody two-shoes either. Imagine the family has to escape the persecution. They call upon the commander to help them, and he does. When they escape, the neighbors hear that they received help from Empire soldiers. This information is transmitted to the rebels, who come knocking on the door asking questions. They imply that the family is an Empire spy against the rebels, or something suspicious like that. They demand proof of their loyalty to the cause. Maybe they ask the family to commit a deed against the Empire that the family believed only the Empire soldiers would do against their people.

The family eventually realizes that there are good men on both sides, as well as evil men who genuinely want to use orders or the 'cause' as an excuse to pillage, kill and steal... for power! This creates for a nuanced setting.

I hope you understood my example of how you can create a 'grey area' realistic setting.

[Gaidin]

Well, you've still just defined the empire and the rebellion really. I'm more interested in the family as they're still the main characters and eh, we don't really know much about them other than they're a family and they want a normal life. Who are the main characters and is it really the family since so little of the OP is directed towards them?

[Simon_Jester]

Yeah. One of the simplest poisons for an amateur-written story is for the setting to grow out of hand until it makes the characters flat and uninteresting. This not only makes the story dull, it makes it actively harder to write, because you're stuck trying to work out character reactions and not having a clear enough understanding of who the characters are to predict how they'll think and react.

[krakonfour]

Sorry, Gaidin, for assuming the family is the central character since it is the only character mentioned.
As for defining what the empire and rebellion, are, I'm sorry you got the wrong impression. My advice consisted of a scenario where any of the three members (Empire, rebellion, family) can be defined any way you wanted. It's the interactions between them that shows the nuance asked for in the thread's title effectively to the reader. It's not as effective to state that something IS than showing what they are through their actions. At least, that's how I learned show, not tell.

Simon: I've seen writers use the setting as a foil for the character's development. If the setting is described differently than at the beginning of the story, then the author is trying to show not that the world has changed, but that the character sees the world differently, usually in a more mature way, indicating character development.

[Gaidin]

Yeah. One of the simplest poisons for an amateur-written story is for the setting to grow out of hand until it makes the characters flat and uninteresting. This not only makes the story dull, it makes it actively harder to write, because you're stuck trying to work out character reactions and not having a clear enough understanding of who the characters are to predict how they'll think and react.

It's not really even that, I was getting the feeling he was still focusing on defining the setting, which is altogether just fine. Plenty of authors spend years building an intricate setting before setting any characters at all into it, but he wasn't really avoiding that.

[Borgholio]

Well most families stuck in the middle of civil strife / civil war are just trying to stay alive. They don't even really care to take sides. In the American Revolution, actually a majority of colonists didn't care either way.

If you were to write a story about this family, I would focus on their point of view regarding the changing world around them. Since the invasion already happened and now it's an occupation, write a story about how they see their past culture melting away and changing into the Imperial version of the way things should be. Focus on their fears about losing something they're familiar with, along with the revelations of how much better it could be if they are simply willing to accept change.

You could also, if done right, have certain cliche elements such as the rebellious teenager who joins the rebels just because he wants something to hate...the women who have much more to gain by learning the Imperial way of life, the father who is stuck in the old traditions and has to personally struggle with the idea of losing power to a growing female / minority empowerment movement.

[cadbrowser]

The story I'm trying to tell involves a family stuck in the middle of all this, just trying to keep their noses clean.

First of all, let me say that I do enjoy the ideas set forth by Borgholio; some very nice ways to build the characters and how they relate to what is happening all around them.

On to the quote above...

The first thing I would ask myself is "why now"? What specifically is happening with this family at this time that they deserve their own special story? I imagine every family in this fantasy scenario is doing the same thing. So...again, why them, why now?

Does one of the family members discovery (accidentally) some sinister plot by the imperials as to an underlying reason for them wanting to win the local's hearts?

Maybe one of the family members' children wish to "upgrade" their class to bring honnor and better times to the family name? A wizard's appretice perhaps?

I think, unless you mark a notable event for the reason for wanting to tell "their" story then it will be frankly boring recounting everyday experiences of "keeping their noses clean". I think you need a climax...something to grab a reader's attention, but first, you need to identify it.

Hope that helps a little.