Screenwriters, have you ever watched a movie and seen yourself in it? The little things we do to bust through writer’s block or get ourselves in the mood or try to explain our writer’s life to family and friends. The holiday film The Man Who Invented Christmas (2017) is a delightful romp through the mind and the inner workings of Charles Dickens as he writes his classic novel A Christmas Carol. 

With a brilliantly written screenplay by Susan Coyne (Mozart in the Jungle, Slings and Arrows), the movie offers encouragement, empathy, and a bit of a laugh for writers as we watch Dickens wrestle out his Christmas story. A prolific writer, of Dicken’s twenty published works none have ever gone out of print and his characters have engaged audiences for nearing two hundred years. Besides being fun to watch, The Man Who Invented Christmas takes us inside Dickens’ writing process and can help us level up our own storytelling skills.

The Secret to Dickens’ Success

Dickens was an observer. Everything in life was potential fodder for his books! A name such as Fagin or Copperfield often found its way into his tales. A character or a person’s mannerisms could evolve into the next hero in his books. An overheard conversation or a heated debate often chanced to become the dialogue that springs from his characters. The societal plight surrounding him could become the story engine that writes the next classic.

It raises the question, “How observant are you?” Are you checking your emails while standing in line at Starbucks? Swiping through your Instagram feed as you wait at the DMV? Earphones on as you travel through the airport? 

If so, you’re missing out on incredible opportunities to enhance your writing, add substance to your characters, and make your dialogue shine. Every interaction, every chance encounter, every bit of people watching can become the stuff that a great film or TV series is made of — if you’re watching for them.

Let’s dive into some of the most memorable scenes from Coyne’s script to glean from Dickens’ writing process:

Naming Your Characters

Dickens kept a running list of names that he might employ for his next character. The scene in the Garrick Club with Forster, his friend and “de facto literary manager,” outlines his process in a marvellous way.

INT. GARRICK CLUB – AFTERNOON

Dickens slinks into another chair.

DICKENS: Why do we come here? The service is terrible. The food is inedible. And the fees keep going up —

An elderly WAITER appears and bows low, losing his balance. He fixes his gaze somewhere above their heads.

WAITER
Gentlemen?

FORSTER
You’re not Robertson.

WAITER
The name is Marley, sir.

DICKENS
Marley?

Dickens gets out a pencil and a notebook. The waiter’s eyes flicker with apprehension.

WAITER
Yes, sir.

FORSTER
Don’t worry. He collects names.

Developing Your Characters

Dickens often commented in his personal writings about the mannerisms and personalities of the people he encountered. You never knew who might be transfigured into the next hero or villain in his stories! In the movie, we watch as a meeting with Dickens’ solicitor Haddock became fuel for his character named Marley:

INT. HADDOCK’S OFFICE – DAY

Forster and Dickens, in his new clothes, perch on uncomfortable chairs in the office of his solicitor. Dickens’s eyes dart around the room: at the PAPERS stained with coffee, GLASSES WITH MOLD halfway up the side. A SAFE, wound round and about with heavy chains. 

The door flies open and THOMAS HADDOCK, appears, in a faded coat over a threadbare waistcoat.

Fast forward in the movie to the scene where Marley appears:

INT. STUDY – LATER THAT NIGHT

Dickens picks up the doorknocker from the front door, now sat on his desk, and raps on it a few times, angrily. Scrooge immediately reappears, a look of alarm on his face. 

SCROOGE
Don’t do that. 

DICKENS
Why? 

Suddenly, the air is filled with a terrible clanking sound, as of chains being dragged up the stairs and the hallway. Scrooge looks terrified.

SCROOGE
Too late.

DICKENS
Who is it? 

Scrooge is too terrified to speak. Dickens picks up his book of names, rapidly flipping through the list. 

DICKENS (CONT’D)
Uh… Bunsby. Clennam. Heep… Hexam. 

SCROOGE
Stop. 

DICKENS
Magwitch?… Marley… 

The lights in the room dim one by one. Suddenly, the door flies open and the ghost of JACOB MARLEY (bearing a strong resemblance to his solicitor, Haddock), covered in chains, padlocks, cash-boxes and steel purses, appears. Scrooge attempts a smile. 

SCROOGE
Jacob? Is that you?

Creating Memorable Dialogue

Dickens was a master at creating meaningful and memorable dialogue. Casual conversations were often noted, with the unwitting conversant’s words appearing in his next novel or article. Take, for example, the scene where he presented his Christmas book idea to his publishers, well before Christmas became the celebrated holiday it is now:

INT. CHAPMAN AND HALL – MORNING

CHAPMAN
Er. One Question — Why Christmas? 

Dickens’s mouth twitches dangerously. 

DICKENS
Why not? 

Hall leaps into the fray. 

HALL
Well, Christmas: Not what it Used to Be, what?

He chortles at his own joke. 

CHAPMAN
I mean to say, Does Anyone Still Celebrate It? Other than our Clerk? Who Never misses an Opportunity to Take a Day off with Pay! 

HALL
Indeed! Ha, ha. More or less an Excuse for Picking a Man’s Pocket every Twenty-fifth of December! 

Little did Hall know that his words would be put in the mouth of Scrooge when he “bah humbugs” the Christmas holiday: “More or less an excuse for picking a man’s pocket every twenty-fifth of December.”

Creating Your Story World — Settings and Props

Interesting objects and intriguing settings—these all found their way into Dickens’ novels. The doorknocker that summoned Marley in the scene above was said to have been inspired by a strangely grotesque doorknocker in London’s West End that captured his interest. The graveyard setting in A Christmas Carol was said to have been inspired by a churchyard on St. Peter’s Alley. 

Here’s the graveyard scene where Dickens first encountered the Lone Mourner who inspired his Scrooge character:

EXT. CHURCH GRAVEYARD – NIGHT

Turning a corner, Dickens finds himself in the graveyard of a church and collapses under a tree, exhausted. He closes his eyes. 

VOICE #1 (O.S.)
I lift up mine eyes unto the hills From whence cometh my help My help cometh even from the Lord Who hath made heaven and earth– 

A gravelly voice cuts him off. 

VOICE #2 (O.S.)
— All right. I’m not paying you by the hour. Skip to the end. 

Dickens opens his eyes. In the glow of a lantern, a grave-side burial is taking place, attended only by a red-nosed CLERIC in a threadbare black coat, and a LONE MOURNER in a black silk hat, and two stalwart GRAVE-DIGGERS. 

CLERIC (rapidly)
Rest eternal grant to him, O Lord: And let light perpetual shine upon him. Amen. 

LONE MOURNER
Amen. 

The Lone Mourner presses a coin into the clergyman’s hand and strides away, clearly anxious to be gone. Dickens shrinks against the wall as the Lone Mourner passes him, shooting him a look of pure malice. 

LONE MOURNER
Humbug. 

Letting Life Experiences Inform Your Writing

Write from what you know. That might sound cliché, but Dickens was infamous for drawing upon his life experiences to fuel his writing. When his father was sent to a debtor’s prison, a twelve-year-old Dickens worked ten-hour days in a blacking factory. Of that time, he writes, “My whole nature was penetrated with the grief and humiliation of such considerations that even now… I often forget in my dreams that I have a dear wife and children.”

Those vivid childhood memories sparked Dickens’ imagination as he weaved them into his novels. Don’t shy away from using your backstory to fuel your next screenplay. You bring a unique POV to your stories unlike anyone else:

EXT. WARREN’S BLACKING FACTORY – NIGHT

Young Charles holds his father’s hand tightly, through the bars of a bailiff’s van, trying to keep from crying. The rest of the family are huddled together behind his father in the van. 

MR. DICKENS
Don’t cry, Charlie. We’ll be back for you before you know it. 

YOUNG CHARLES
But why can’t I stay with you? 

MR. DICKENS
You’re a big boy now, Charlie. You need to help out. You’ll see. It will be an adventure. You’ll hardly think of us at all.

Behind him, the bailiff climbs on board the van. 

BAILIFF
Time to go. 

Young Charles starts to cry. 

MR. DICKENS
Now, sir, enough of that. Stand up tall. Blood of iron, heart of ice. 

The van starts to move off. Young Charles lets go of his father’s hands. 

MR. DICKENS
Remember: you are the son of John Dickens. A Gentleman. You be sure and tell them that! 

The van disappears around the corner. The boy turns and looks with dread at the old, tumbledown building, beneath the sign WARRENS BLACKING: “The Pride of Mankind”. A door opens spilling some light. 

YOUNG CHARLES (trying to gather strength)
Blood of iron, heart of ice.

I’d love to tell you about the many other enchanting moments in the film, such as the magical moment when Scrooge appears or the scene when Dickens bemoans to Forster that his characters “won’t do what I want,” but I’ll end with a final note to encourage you in your writing journey.

Persevering in Your Writing Career

At the time of writing A Christmas Carol, Dickens had endured several “flops” and was nearing bankruptcy. With his once-renowned popularity at an all-time low, he was ready to give up on his writing career. At tremendous personal risk—and in six short weeks— he wrote and published the beloved classic and essentially relaunched his career. 

If you’re stalled in your screenwriting career, maybe it’s time to take a risk and write the story you’re passionate about. Take a note from Dickens and become an observer. Lift your head from your phone and unplug from technology to observe the world—the people, the settings, the world around you. Let LIFE inform your writing.

And if you need a little Christmas cheer and inspiration, read Susan Coyne’s masterfully written script or watch The Man Who Invented Christmas.

Find out more at LauraWoodworth.com and mention Creative Screenwriting magazine for a discount on your next script consult.