Meet Adriana Gomez-Weston | Writer and Editor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Adriana Gomez-Weston and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Adriana, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
When I thought about starting my own business, I thought of what I could do to contribute to others’ success. The Write Intentions began almost by accident. Over the years, people reached out to me for help with their resumes, pitches, and other written work—and my edits and guidance netted results. Hearing about how my clients got new jobs and got into publications really inspired me, so I decided to take my work to the next level. The Write Intentions is about using writing skills to also take others to the next level. It’s also about helping people—especially young women—to discover their voice.

I’m an introverted, soft-spoken person, so I’ve always used writing as a means to communicate the thoughts I couldn’t articulate vocally. Even in AI-driven times, I feel that writing skills are an important skill to have. Learning how to use your voice through writing can be what helps to net you a job, win a court case, get you into college (and earn you scholarships), and so much more.

I still believe it’s important to educate people about the power of written communication.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My writing career has taken a lot of twists and turns. I didn’t even know that I could be any sort of writer at first, but I always enjoyed it. For years, I wrote on the side. It wasn’t until college that I decided to take my writing more seriously. As a hobby, I started my own movie criticism site, The Cinema Soloist, in 2015. I merely wanted to share my opinion on the media I was seeing, but my little site took me pretty far.

I am originally from North Carolina, but once I started realizing the possibilities, I decided to relocate to Southern California. I lived in San Diego before moving to LA (and spent a lot of time back and forth between the two before I made the move). As the years progressed, I started to write for other publications in addition to my own and even traveled to film festivals such as Sundance and Toronto. Later on, I was inducted into several critic guilds such as the Hollywood Critics Association (now the Hollywood Creative Alliance), the African American Film Critics Association, and GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics.

While I was a critic, I worked various jobs. I used to work for McDonald’s, then lived in a creative community work exchange for three years. I also worked for Occidental College, covering for someone on maternity leave. Additionally, I did freelance writing and editing for publications. Over the years, I’ve worked with numerous festivals in LA, including Les Femmes Underground Festival (Now Femtasia).

In some capacity, I can say I’ve always worked, and I have a “hodge-podge” of experiences. I would say that I am a proactive person. When COVID took over, I decided to come up with another way to earn besides money since my work for film festivals was stunted and I didn’t feel safe working at restaurants anymore. I’ve always been honest about where I come from and what I had to do to make ends meet. While it seems “sexy” to have worked heavily in entertainment, I made sure people always knew how I truly live and what I do to “make it.”

At the same time, I started writing resumes for young professionals as a means to make money on the side. At first, I mostly focused on entertainment professionals because that was what I was familiar with. However, that grew over time as some of my clients gained success. So far, my clients have been hired at Nickelodeon Animation, Riot Games, Madison Square Garden Entertainment Sphere Studios, and more.

While working on resumes and working with clients, I realized I wanted to lend more of my expertise to guiding young professionals in their careers. Right now, the mission of Write Intentions is being retooled based on my experiences as a woman who has battled confidence issues, emotional abuse, and various obstacles throughout my career. I want others to take from the experiences they have and promote themselves, and also reassure them that their experiences are valid, no matter where they come from.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If I were to show my friends, I would take them to Griffith Observatory, even though it’s a massive tourist area. I love the movie “La La Land,” and I feel from its vantage point, the Observatory shows the beauty of LA.

Some of my other favorite spots are The LA County Arboretum, the Sunset Marquis, and The Rainbow Bar & Grill. I’m a big rock music fan, so I love anything to do with the ’80s hair metal scene.

Additionally, I lived in the San Gabriel Valley, which has a lot of hidden gems. Some of my favorite places are the Cove Cocktail Bar in West Covina, Shiki Seafood Buffet and Phoeniz Kitchen in Temple City, and The Hat which has locations in Temple City and Alhambra.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to shout out my group of friends and family who have encouraged me throughout my career. It’s a huge blessing to have a strong support system of people who lift you up regardless of highs and lows. My parents, Mary and Antoinio, and also my siblings Antonio, Dametria, and Lyssa have been immensely crucial in my journey, even when we’re far apart. Additionally, my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and extended family have really stepped up in the past couple of years as I’ve moved away from home and made a name for myself on the West Coast.

During my time in LA, I’ve made numerous great friends who act as my hype women (and men), if I don’t believe so myself. I’ve made friends in various industries, and they all bring something to the table. I am proud to say that I have friendships from all walks of life, and it has made my life more meaningful, and my art more colorful. I am also thankful for the female friendships I’ve cultivated with strong, ambitious women. They’ve all inspired me to not settle for less and to be a better version of myself, and how to be brave in using my voice—whether it be vocally or in the written sense.

It’s also important to note that I’ve had numerous editors over the years, as well as writer colleagues that have challenged me and inspired me in my craft. I’ve written for independent publications, legacy publications, and everything in between. I can say I’ve learned from some of the best as some of my former editors have written for major newspapers and magazines, have published books, and have gone on to be filmmakers. I’m grateful they saw potential in me.

While working with other editors and writing colleagues, the most impactful words I’ve heard were, “Your voice is needed.”

I think it’s so important to tell someone that they matter—and that their perspective matters too. Those are the words that kept me going.

Website: write-intentions.com

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adrianagomezweston/