It seems fitting to start this series here because I blame Lost for my not being able to watch TV anymore.

You can ask David…I used to actually watch TV shows. I was never great at getting super invested, but I used to see them as more than background noise. I’ve been trying to get back on the horse with Gotham, but those days are long gone, something I partially blame on grad school. I was working full-time and finishing an MBA, so I didn’t have a ton of “space” for anything. I did though, make an exception for Lost.

I loved the mystery, the characters. I had a huge crush on Daniel Dae Kim and was just a little too invested in finding connections between stranded John Locke with old-timier John Locke. Between that and it being a great distraction to bond with coworkers over? I could’ve been a super-viewer.

But then I found out they had no plan.

Remember when it came out that the writers were essentially making it up as they went? Yeah. I do, and after finding that out, I was done. That’s where they lost me. I could hold on through all kinds of convolutions and clunky flashbacks, but knowing that they were putting on a whole TV show without putting in the time to figure out an end game? It was too much for me. I threw myself into my studies, never to trust a serial TV show again.

Story Lesson

I remember the glory days when Megan enjoyed TV.  And then came Lost.

Oh, Lost…

First, let me say that while I was fine with almost everything on that show, I do not expect anyone else to be so forgiving.  There is a lot of discussion about whether or not the writers had a plan, but the truth is that they failed to follow a fundamental principle of storytelling. The purpose of any story is to get a character, or group of characters, from Point A to Point B, with a few ups, downs, and twists in between.

The mark of any good, marketable story is that the character changes significantly between these two points.

Your character’s approach to a problem should be different at the beginning and end of the story, which means you should know exactly the kind of person your character will be on that final page. This is your plan. When you have a plan, you can add in signposts and foreshadowing that make for great second readings/viewings. When you don’t have a plan, you’re left depending on half-baked mystery and filler plotlines to distract your audience while you try to figure out what you’re doing. It worked for Lost for a short time because the mystery spawned internet fan theories and water cooler discussions. Lost came along at the perfect time. Eventually, audiences began to catch on, and later shows that tried the same tricks were met with cold reactions. Remember The Event?

The solution? Build your stories from the end (or even from the game-changing mid-point). Know where you want your characters to be when the curtains close, and your audience will be wowed with all the little hints you’ll be able to sprinkle into your story.

Business Lesson

There’s a 2-parter here.

First and most importantly, when you’re developing content, know where you want your buyers to end up. That’s why focusing on calls to action is so powerful…they keep you focused on the path you want your reader to take as a customer.

The same applies to individual pieces of content too. Have a point and make it. Know where you want your story to end up. Don’t be like Lost.