Meaning and Metaphor: The Real Engine of Character

The most important and yet forgotten element in storytelling.

One of the biggest reasons a screenplay or story feels flat, even when it’s full of interesting ideas, is that its characters don’t mean anything beyond the literal.

They have a goal, sure. They have a backstory, fears, even a wound. But what’s missing is the metaphorical layer that transforms a personal desire into something universal - and that’s the bridge that makes audiences care. As an example, I can’t connect with Sandra Bullock’s situation of being stuck in space, floating around completely alone, but I CAN connect with her feelings, her fears, her regrets. I will thankfully never be stuck in some pod floating in the vacuum of space, but I do have and have had fears, regrets, and a feeling of loneliness.

I work with screenwriters on this every day in my 1-on-1 coaching sessions (which you can find here: https://thestoryfarm.org/call-packages) and in my Story Farm Circle Community, where I host live classes, workshops, and free discussions (you can join with a free profile here: https://thestoryfarm.circle.so/c/forum/).

This isn’t just theory. It’s a craft skill every professional writer uses, consciously or not.

The Problem with “Literal” Goals

Here’s the classic pitfall:

A character says: “I want to get my kids back.”

That’s clear. It’s motivating. It’s true. But it’s also limiting.

If the script only treats that literally, she’s just fighting logistics. Paying a lawyer. Planning a kidnapping. Staring at photos and crying.

The reader (or audience) understands the stakes, but they don’t feel the meaning. Because it’s not about the kids. It’s about what they represent.

So What Do They Represent?

Maybe her kids are her sense of control.

Maybe they’re proof she’s worthy of love.

Maybe they’re her last connection to a life she lost.

When you clarify that layer, every scene gains more emotion, and duh, meaning:

• She isn’t just planning. She’s controlling.

• She isn’t just crying. She’s realizing she can’t accept help.

• She isn’t just fighting an opponent. She’s fighting her own flaw.

The metaphorical layer turns plot into theme.

A Quick Look at Taxi Driver

Paul Schrader once described Taxi Driver as “a metaphor that symbolizes a problem.”

Problem: Profound loneliness.

Metaphor: The taxi cab, a metal coffin moving through crowded streets.

Travis Bickle’s war isn’t with the city. It’s with his inability to connect, to belong, to see others as human.

And the cab shows us that problem in action, every scene reinforcing it.

This is why Taxi Driver resonates beyond its plot.

This is a key part of my 1-on-1 coaching:

I help writers go beyond goals and fears to discover the metaphor their entire story will present. With ongoing development and step-by-step support and education, I’ve had hundreds of writers over the last 20 years not only finish 5, 10, 15 scripts with me, but they’ve developed award-winning projects, set up shows, and sold their scripts. It’s with an approach of looking at the universality of your concept through meaning and metaphor that has helped my writers find that success.

It’s one of the most important breakthroughs you can make as a storyteller.

👉 https://thestoryfarm.org/call-packages

Or join the community: https://thestoryfarm.circle.so/c/forum/

Oh! And don’t forget…if you’d like to attend the Wisconsin Story Farm retreat in September, I do still have spots open and available AND I’m offering my Substack subscribers a big discount. You can reply to this email, comment on this post, or go to this link to find out more and submit an inquiry.

Let’s get together in Wisconsin in September!

OK…on to this week’s lesson for my lovely paid subscribers.