“Surfacing talismans”

Scott Myers

04 Dec 2013 • 2 min read

Recalling the definition of a story talisman — “A physical object that takes on symbolic or emotional significance” — the first order of business in trying to surface them is simply be aware of the items that emerge in your brainstorming and story crafting process.

Let’s say you are writing a character-driven drama in the rural South of the United States.

If in your development process, as you imagine a character’s house, you happen to see a horseshoe on the wall, make note of that.

If a character has a severe limp and uses a cane to walk, make note of that.

If you imagine a tall magnolia tree with initials carved into it, make note of that.

Many talismans will emerge as you get to know your story universe and the characters who live there.

Another way to go about the process is to spend time with each character, drilling down into their core essence. Then after you get to know them well, ask each of them:

What things that you own are important to you?

Items a person considers important most often have some sort of emotional meaning to them.

Perhaps an object will pop into your head.

Or maybe in thinking about a character, you will conjure up an item you figure would be significant to them.

A final way to surface talismans is to step back and ponder the story universe you have created. What are the important dynamics at work in this place? What about its culture, topography, or history strike you as distinctive.

Then ask: What physical objects might exist that reflect those distinctive qualities of this place?

As with all things related to theme, the key is to be mindful of them.

You’d be amazed at what you find if you have eyes to see.

So a tip on:

Surfacing talismans.

I encourage you to head to comments to discuss today’s questions. And for a related discussion on The Black Board, check out these topics:

The Quest” has entered Week 21! And so did Go On Your Own Quest, an opportunity for anyone to follow the structure of “The Quest” to dig into screenwriting theory [Core — 8 weeks], figure out your story [Prep — 6 weeks], and write a first draft [Pages — 10 weeks]. It’s a 24-week immersion in the screenwriting process and you can do it here — for free!

Today and every Monday through Friday for 10 weeks, I’ll use this slot to post something inspirational as GOYOQ participants pound out their first drafts.

Why not use the structure of this 24-week workshop to Go On Your Own Quest? That was an idea that gathered energy among many members of the GITS community which I described here.

For more information on Go On Your Own Quest, go here.

Plus you can join The Black Board, the Official Online Writing Community of the Black List and Go Into The Story, another free resource to help keep you inspired and on target at you Go On Your Own Quest from FADE IN to FADE OUT on the first draft of your original screenplay.

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