Intention and obstacles form the engine of your story. A character wants something (intention), and something stands in their way (obstacle). This fundamental push-and-pull creates the conflict that drives narrative forward and keeps audiences engaged.
Character Intention
Intention is what motivates your character. It’s their goal, desire, or need. Without clear intention, a character drifts aimlessly through your story. With strong intention, they become a force moving toward something specific.
In “Finding Nemo,” Marlin’s intention couldn’t be clearer: find his son. Every decision he makes, every risk he takes, stems from this driving purpose. The audience understands and invests in this goal because it’s primal and relatable.
Katniss in “The Hunger Games” has a dual intention: survive and protect her family. This clear motivation shapes every choice she makes, from volunteering for her sister to her strategy in the arena.
The best intentions are:
- Specific (not vague or general)
- Personal (they matter deeply to the character)
- Clear to the audience (we understand what they’re after)
Obstacles
Obstacles are what make intentions interesting. If a character wants something and gets it easily, there’s no story. Obstacles create resistance, and resistance creates conflict.
The nature of your obstacles shapes your story. External obstacles are forces, people, or circumstances in the world. Internal obstacles are fears, flaws, or limitations within the character.
Harry Potter must protect the Philosopher’s Stone, but the obstacles in his path, magical creatures, riddles, challenges, test not just his magical ability but his courage and intelligence.
Furiosa wants to reach the Green Place, but Immortan Joe and his war boys stand in her way. The obstacle isn’t just physical; it represents everything she’s fighting against.
The best obstacles:
- Challenge the character meaningfully
- Force growth or change
- Raise the stakes as the story progresses
Showing Intention and Obstacles
Visually: Body language reveals intention. A clenched jaw, a determined stride, eyes fixed on a goal, these physical cues show us what a character wants. Obstacles can be shown through symbolic imagery: a locked door, a vast distance, a ticking clock.
Through dialogue: Characters can state their goals directly or hint at them through subtext. But what they don’t say can be as revealing as what they do say.
Through action: What a character does shows what they want. Their choices, especially difficult ones, reveal the strength of their intention and what they’re willing to sacrifice.
Intention and Obstacles in Practice
“Inside Out” makes Joy’s intention to keep Riley happy literal and visual. When Sadness interferes, that obstacle creates the central conflict. The entire landscape of Riley’s mind becomes a playground for showing internal psychological struggles in external, visual terms.
“The Last of Us” (2023) gives Joel a clear intention: get Ellie across the country. The obstacles are both external (infected, hostile survivors, treacherous terrain) and internal (his inability to connect after losing his daughter). The show’s power comes from how these obstacles force Joel to change.
“Dune” (2021) presents Paul’s intention to protect his family and people against the obstacle of galactic political forces far beyond his control. His journey requires him to become something he fears (a messianic figure) to overcome obstacles that would crush ordinary resistance.
“Squid Game” (2021) gives every character the same simple intention: survive and win the prize money. But each obstacle tests different aspects of their character: their willingness to sacrifice others, their capacity for trust, their moral boundaries under pressure.
The Deeper Layer
The most interesting obstacles force characters to confront something within themselves. External challenges are compelling, but internal ones create character growth.
When obstacles push characters to their limits, we see who they really are. We watch them struggle, adapt, possibly fail, and try again. That journey from intention through obstacle to resolution (or meaningful failure) is the shape of compelling storytelling.
The Core Principle
Clear intention gives your character purpose. Strong obstacles test that purpose. The interplay between what a character wants and what prevents them from getting it creates the dramatic tension that keeps audiences leaning forward.
Make your characters want something badly. Then make it hard for them to get it. Show us both through action, image, and choice rather than just words. When intention and obstacles are working together, you create a character on a journey that matters, facing challenges that reveal truth.
That’s the foundation of story: someone wants something and faces difficulties getting it. Everything else builds from there.