One of the podcasts on my rotation is The Screenwriting Life, hosted by Meg LeFauve and Lorien McKenna and produced by Jeff Graham.
In Episode 117, screenwriter Eirene Tran Donohue talks about how to write Christmas and holiday-themed movies. While I’m not looking to pivot into that space, something Donohue said struck a chord.
She mentioned that when writing a script, she likes to find the essence of her characters in the outline stage by picking a theme and comparing each character to that theme.
Sugar Cookie Or Jelly Donut?
For example, in her movie A Sugar and Spice Holiday, she compared characters to different desserts. “She’s a sugar cookie. Crumbles easily, but sweet. He’s a jelly donut. Plain on the outside, a surprise on the inside.”
She gives further examples of trees and dogs. ” If this character was a tree they’d be a willow. Blows in the wind, easy to hide behind. This person would be an oak. Strong, firmly-rooted.”
It’s a great way to get to the essence of a character, and can suggest both physical and behavioural characteristics.
I’ve incorporated this into my current script and it is already proving useful. I’ve gone with the thematic idea of dogs, as they feature somewhat in my story.
Thinking about what type of dog represents each character gives ideas for both physical characteristics and behaviour. But I initially only did it for the main characters.
I started writing one action scene in the second half of my script where the hero goes up against a BOUNCER who is only in it the movie for one scene. When I started writing the scene, he was a generic bouncer character. It was only after taking a break that the image of him as a BULLDOG flashed into my brain. Thinking about the bouncer as a bulldog informs his physicality, his personality–and even his fighting style.
I’m going to go back and rewrite the scene with the image of him as a bulldog in mind and see how it improves it. I may not explicitly call him out as a bulldog or use language that directly references that, but I now have a much better picture of him in my head, which can only improve my writing.
[Thematic Objects] and Your Voice
Donohue finishes her insightful section on this topic (which happens about the 50 minute mark, if you want to check it out but don’t want to listen to the full episode) by mentioning how character descriptions provide a wonderful but woefully underused opportunity for writers to demonstrate their voice.
Instead of a typical three adjective character description (“sweet, cute, funny”), Donohue suggests crafting two or three sentences that sum up the essence of the character and pops. This will show your voice and creativity and engage the reader more.
Maybe the thing that captures the essence of the character is that thematic comparison you thought of in your outline. So why not let it inform the character description, too?