Bubbles

'10 Days in December' Character Bubbles

We all live in our own bubble, but we move in and out of other people's bubbles. It's important to remember that when building characters and writing a story that has an ensemble cast. So it's not just focused on the main plot, but has sub-plots and well rounded supporting characters.

Here's a little technique I just invented. A visual character relationship breakdown. Just for me to be able to stand back and quickly look at how characters interact. We have Will and Lucy, the main characters, in the centre, they interact with all the supporting characters, both individually and as a group. Some characters don't interact with other characters, others only interact with everyone... and so on.

For me, each overlap represent a scene, and a different dynamic in the relationships. You will also notice that outside the interaction is a space where there is no interaction, representing a whole other life that these characters are having beyond this story. While the film happens within the Red circle, it's a reminder that these characters have their own stories and they bring them with them when they enter our story, making them fully rounded characters.

There are also satellite characters, those who do not effect the plot, but create a more vivid and real world around our characters.

It's easy to get caught up in what the main protagonists are doing, and have that be the only thing that's going on. But it's important to remember the world they're in and the relationships they have, it all effects who they are and how they behave. And in this story in particular, my friends were very important to me and to Maryann, they represented me, my life and the world I lived in, and made it very attractive to Maryann. For her she saw a warm, friendly, welcoming place that she wanted to be a part of.