What Christmas Movies, Salon Glow-Ups & Home Renos Teach About Transformation

Hi Reader,

Happy Holidays! I hope this note finds you well as you reflect on the year and the progress you’ve made on your writing goals. It’s been a long while since I wrote to you, mostly because I’ve been deep in the revision cave, trying to implement all the tools and strategies I teach.

So I’ve been practicing what I preach. Or trying to anyway.

As I’ve been toiling away on a revision that I hope to restart querying in early 2026, something dawned on me.

It started as I felt myself getting sucked into some mindless Instagram reels. Have you seen those videos of someone going into a salon for a new hairdo, then it shows all the work the stylist does before unveiling the final product? Or maybe you’ve seen those videos of someone painting or drawing, filming their art in some way, while you get to watch the canvas go from blank to resplendent?

The inability to look away from these videos comes down to one thing: the transformation.

It’s the same reason millions of people love HGTV home reno shows or DIYers recreate something beautiful in part of their house.

Watching a transformation unfold is addictive to our brains.

And it is the reason that fiction hooks us.

I’ve read Save the Cat many times, and I understood, on a logical level, that in order to write a good book that resonates with people, a character must undergo a transformation. I approached it like the good little student I am, planning out this transformation as I plotted and planned my books. But the concept really clicked when I felt myself completely sucked into these dumb 1-2 minute videos.

We love the before and after, the exciting process of watching the process of someone undergoing a massive change—most often from worse to better (but sometimes the opposite).

When I haven’t been revising (or apparently getting glued to transformation videos), tis the season for cuddling up and watching holiday movies with my family. And so I’ve been thinking more about this concept of character change and transformation as I examine the arcs of some of these movies.

Let’s talk about my findings:

It’s a Wonderful Life
​If you haven’t seen this gem of a classic, do not delay any longer. The movie follows George Bailey, played by Jimmy Stewart, as he is denied again and again the chance to leave his small town of Bedford Falls, instead choosing duty over his own desires of seeing the world and building things. As the movie spans his lifetime, we see him grow increasingly bitter and discouraged by the course his life has taken. When is uncle makes a disastrous mistake, George considers doing the unthinkable, convinced that he is worth more dead than alive. Enter Clarence, the chummy angel who comes to help George when he’s at his lowest moment. When George proclaims that he wishes he’d never been born, his wish is granted and he is given the opportunity to see just how many lives he has touched (spoiler alert: he’s impacted SO many lives.)

So what’s the transformation that happens here? What makes this story so impossible to tear oneself away from? It’s all about George’s shift in perspective. His transformation from bitter to fulfilled and grateful—maybe even awed by his life. In the opening scene we know from the conversation between God and Joseph—two blinking nebulous orbs in the night sky—that George is something worse than sick—he’s discouraged. So much so that they feel the need to intervene, to help save him, body and soul. Of course the movie takes a long course through George’s entire back story to show us how he got to this place—beat down over and over by Potter, by duty, by the dull drudgery of the Bailey Building and Loan business that he feels chained to, etc. We see his youthful hope dashed, then the building frustration and ultimately bitterness as he remains stuck. That’s the first transformation. The second is his way out—when he sees how everyone in his world ended up if he’d never been born. He realizes, in his second transformation, that he’s really had a wonderful life. His perspective shift, changes him as a person, and is so powerful.

A Christmas Carol
​Most people are familiar with the story of Ebenezer Scrooge and the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come. Most people know how Scrooge begins as this miserly, nasty, bitter, joyless, greedy a-hole. And with the arrival of the three ghosts—the first showing his past times of joy or sadness that knocked him off-course; the second that shows the Cratchit family and his nephew’s holiday joy and he sees how his behavior is being received and is directly affecting others; and finally the third in which he dies and no one gives a damn—comes his transformation. We see his heart softening, and softening, his desire morphing into something bigger, better than this dark heart and singular focus of wealth accumulation. Can’t take it with you, right? And it’s watching how the events of the story change him that makes this a Christmas classic.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas
​Similar to Ebenezer Scrooge’s transformation, readers and viewers love seeing the Grinch, whose heart is “two sizes too small,” realize, after working so hard to steal Christmas from Whoville that “’Maybe Christmas,’ he thought, ‘doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas…perhaps…means a bit more!’” And then of course, seeing that shriveled little heart grow three sizes in one day. How we love seeing this dastardly villain creep around the town stealing presents and garland and lights off trees, noting how despicable he is … until the Who’s still join hands and sing their song to welcome Christmas, despite having nothing. And he is moved to return every single stolen piece of Christmas cheer.

It is the before and after that I want you to think about finding in your book. It doesn’t have to be nasty to nice (as is most common in Christmas classics, apparently), but it does have to be something. Something that your readers can step away from afterwards and say “Oh, so that’s how they started and that’s how they turned out.”

Like that new haircut, new house, new piece of artwork, we need to see what was there before and what happened as a result of the events in the story. As a result of the character doing the work and reflecting on their world and perspective and struggles. What is your character’s transformation? How do they change? Consider some of the following transformations if you’re feeling lost:

Your character moves from [X] to [Y].

1. From unfulfilled to fulfilled
2. From fearful to courageous
3. From naive to disillusioned
4. From isolated to connected
5. From hopeful to bitter
6. From powerless to empowered
7. From obedient to self-determined
8. From single to married
9. From trusting to guarded
10. From self-sacrificing to self-protective
11. From invisible to seen
12. From loyal to betrayed (or betrayer)
13. From seeker to found (or settled)
14. From idealistic to pragmatic
15. From emotionally numb to vulnerable

This is by no means an exhaustive list. But circle one or two that sounds like the transformation your character might undergo. Then all you have to do is map out how they get from the beginning to the end. (Easy as pie, right?)

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Thanks so much for being here with me. I value you and I sincerely hope that I provide value for your writing journey. If you feel inclined, drop me a line and let me know what you’re working on!

Happy Writing and Happier Holidays,

Karyn

P.S. Loving these emails? Buy me a cup of tea to say thanks. Or you can book a free 30-min story strategy chat here if you're interested in getting specific help with your book.

Granite Bay, CA
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