The Tension of Intension with Sana Krasikov

Through some literary scene analysis and writing exercises we’ll be examining the most important and least understood element of fiction writing: Intention. If you’ve ever played the game of tennis, you’ll know that that the first thing a coach tells you is: put your racket back! Have it behind you ready to make contact with the ball. You can think of Intention in the same way – something without which no real action can take place. Sounds ridiculously simple, but writers often forget to make the intent clear – either because they don’t bother, or because they don’t know a non-cheesy way to do it, or because they don’t think of intent broadly enough. In class, we’ll discuss how to use Intention and its more subtle aspects—needs, unspoken desires, guiding values – to make a taught through-line, build turning points, and create tension and suspense in our writing