Intention has to do with knowing what you want. One of the most prominent notes I and many others give is, “We don’t know what the central character wants.” If the goal is unclear, something is missing with the intention in the development process. When you write intentionally, we should clearly understand your story's parts, such as what your character wants and why your character wants to achieve the goal. Intention and mindfulness make a difference in how you approach your goals. Intention has to do with being conscious about what you want. A component of intention is letting go of something so that the want becomes attainable. When writing, the character lets go of a flawed behavior, an interpretation of the past, or a negative narrative while pursuing a dream. When you write with intention, you are clear about what the character wants, why they want it, what they are healing from, and how the pursuit informs the transformation. We feel intention when the story works at a level that makes us feel what it is about.
We have all shared the experience of having high expectations for a series or film and are left disappointed and unfulfilled when the story ends. Why is this? We all want stories to work. We crave being sad when the story is over or being fulfilled by an ending that we didn’t see coming or that fulfills everything we hoped it would. I have studied stories as a story consultant, a former studio executive, and a network writing instructor for over thirty years. When a story misses the mark, it is often due to a lack of intention in the development process. Some of the things that show up in the story that reflect a lack of intention include – an unclear goal, a protagonist we don’t empathize with or root for, a weak dilemma, a lack of motivation, no emotional connection to a relationship dynamic, the stakes aren’t high enough, there is no clear transformational arc, and the list goes on.
Recognizing the value of intention in the development process could make all the difference in the world with the finished story. What if more writers clearly understood where to focus their intentions? Seeing the cost of what happens when the intention is missing led me to develop my new course, “Writing with Intention – Mining Emotional Truth in TV, Film & Novels.”
I have spent the last six months developing this course. I have selected six shows and will choose two films with the highest level of writing where we feel the intention. We will review tools, insights, formulas, and breakdowns to help you better understand where to go with your stories in TV, film & novels.
The course mimics the curriculum I developed while teaching Writers on the Verge at NBC.
I have a FREE WEBINAR, Writing with Intention – 3 Insights for TV, Film & Novels. The free webinar is on January 14, 2025, at noon Pacific Time.
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