Know the “Why” of Your Story

by M. White

​​I have a serious crush going on right now and it isn’t with any of the Chrises (Pine, Pratt, Evans or Hemsworth) – although, who am I kidding, I love them too!  No, ever since I was introduced to motivational speaker Simon Sinek, I’ve been seriously smitten.  

​“Why?” you may ask.  Exactly!!  I watched the TED Talk he gave called “Start With Why” and it has changed the way I look at my own business as well as the business of storytelling. His message?

“People don’t buy what you do,
​they buy why you do it”

If you’ve taken my workshop, you know I talk about creating your tv series or movie idea from the inside out, not the outside in.  A series isn’t about a cop who solves crimes, it’s about what drives that cop to do what he does.  In his TED talk, Simon Sinek perfectly explains how important the “why” of your idea is to getting other people interested in it.  More to the point of pitching your idea, he maps out the simple biology of how coming from a place of why for both you and your characters will compel a network or studio executive to buy your idea.  

​Here’s the link to the eighteen-minute video on YouTube.

​If you don’t have time, here’s the shorter five minute version that really hits the crux of the matter, but I encourage you to watch the longer one if you can.  If you don’t, you’ll miss the inspiring story of how the Wright Brothers beat the better funded, more educated, and better marketed competition to conquer manned flight.  The only advantage they had was the “why” of what they were doing.  They weren’t looking for money or glory; they simply wanted to make the world a better place.  

​So beyond knowing the “why” of your series, know the “why” of why you write.  Writing is hard, it’s often filled with disappointments.  If you’re writing because you want the money, glory or recognition, you’re writing for the wrong reasons.  If you’re writing for the passion of it, then be like the Wright Brothers.  Be prepared to crash five times a day until you finally take flight and change the world with your story.