Story talismans
When I wrote the original script for K-9, I had on my desk, always within eyesight, a photograph. It was a snapshot of a police dog named Sonny — the German Shepherd had been killed in the line of duty and was the inspiration for the movie. While I pounded out the original screenplay “Snowbirds”, I had taped up on the wall next to my desk, a photograph which was central to the story’s plot — a crystalline spring atop a New Mexico mesa. For another script I plan to write, based on a real-life story, I have a 160 year-old piece of wood from a chair hand-crafted by the story’s Protagonist — it’s on my desk right now, where it will stay until that script is finished.
Those objects are what I call story talismans.
The definition of talisman is, “An object believed to confer on its bearer supernatural powers or protection.” The word’s roots are Greek: telesma, which means “consecration ceremony,” and the more primitive root telos, which means “result.”
When a writer consecrates an object to derive results in the writing process, that is a story talisman
Throughout human history, people have used talismans to conjure magical power and create good luck, or to ward off evil and bad luck. For instance, in ancient African cultures, carrying the foot of a swift creature was believed to help someone flee with the speed of that animal; this is where the tradition of the “lucky rabbits foot” derived from. The “luck of the Irish” is symbolized in the four-leaf clover. During the Middle Ages, Norse soldiers used a magical alphabet to create runes for their personal safekeeping. While the cross symbolizes Jesus’ death to Christians, over the years, people have worn the crucifix to protect them, even, as legend has it, against vampires.
Obviously, people can attach great meaning to objects, and as a result, objects are capable of giving people a sense of empowerment.
Now, I am not going to sit here and tell you that such objects can literally empower you. However, selecting a story talisman may be helpful during the writing process:
* The object becomes a point of focus: When you find your mind wandering, the story talisman can bring you back on point.
* The object serves as a reminder: When you find it hard to put butt on chair, the story talisman can pull you back to the core of what inspired you in the first place.
* The object connects you to the story world: When you are stuck in the realm of concepts and questions, the story talisman can transport you from your head to the world where your characters live.
A story talisman is something you can see, you can touch. It exists, it’s there, a constant reminder that your story is there as well, waiting for you to unearth it.
The key to a story talisman is that you choose it well. The object should:
* Link you directly to the story.
* Exist comfortably in your writing place.
* Evoke some emotional response in you.
For example, the script I plan on writing about the craftsman who built chairs, that story talisman, a foot-long shaft of wood, I can look at it and see where my Protagonist hand-carved it, I can pick it up and feel the grooves and ridges his fingers worked into it. It is a tangible, visceral, and powerful symbol of the story. And when I hold it, I am pulled into that story world.
Story talismans. They can help the writing process. And who knows — maybe they can be good luck as well.
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