01/27/2026 - Writing Exercise: 'Sentimental Value'

Here’s a writing exercise inspired by the film ‘Sentimental Value.’ It’s not profound or original, but I think it could help you write honestly from your own living experience.

It’s an incredibly strong year for movies this awards season, and over the weekend I finally watched Joachim Trier’s ‘Sentimental Value,’ a film that absolutely deserves the praise it’s receiving.

I could probably write at length about the many things it made me feel (not all of them satisfying), but my intent is not to write a review. Instead, I want to talk about the process of writing, because the movie so beautifully depicts people who are trying to connect, to understand themselves, and to communicate with one another with varying degrees of success.

The characters and the performances in the film have held a grip on me for several days now, and today I listened to an interview with the director on “The Big Picture” podcast.

In the interview, host Sean Fennessey asks about Trier’s process for the film, and the director explains that he and his writing partner Eskil Vogt started by just talking about what was going on in their lives, about their children, and then just building off the ideas that they discussed.

My mind immediately began to wander at this point, thinking about how I might use this as an exercise or jumping off point for me to write something new. So, as I’m thinking about this film and this discussion with the filmmaker, a process is starting to unfurl in my head …

I’ll phrase this in a way that isn’t personal, so someone reading this can possibly take the idea and run with it.

First, maybe just start writing down all of the things you’re experiencing in my life right now. Catalog it. What stresses you out, what excites you, what frustrates you, etc. This should come pretty easy. Just write down as many as possible.

Then digging a layer deeper, for each of these things ask yourself, “Why?” Why does this stress you out? Why does that excite you? Why are you frustrated?

From there, build a character from those root causes. What kind of person might also feel the same way? A father, a mother, a therapist, a painter. Or maybe start with the root of your stress/excitement/frustration and put someone other than yourself in the center of this position. Someone with more at stake. Someone older or younger. Someone with a different outlook on life.