Pixar's rules of storytelling

[Brian G Turner]

Found this piece and thought it was nice:

On Twitter, Pixar storyboard artist Emma Coats has compiled nuggets of narrative wisdom she's received working for the animation studio over the years.

#1: You admire a character for trying more than for their successes.


#2: You gotta keep in mind what's interesting to you as an audience, not what's fun to do as a writer. They can be v. different.


#3: Trying for theme is important, but you won't see what the story is actually about til you're at the end of it. Now rewrite.


#4: Once upon a time there was ___. Every day, ___. One day ___. Because of that, ___. Because of that, ___. Until finally ___.


#5: Simplify. Focus. Combine characters. Hop over detours. You'll feel like you're losing valuable stuff but it sets you free.


#6: What is your character good at, comfortable with? Throw the polar opposite at them. Challenge them. How do they deal?


#7: Come up with your ending before you figure out your middle. Seriously. Endings are hard, get yours working up front.


#8: Finish your story, let go even if it's not perfect. In an ideal world you have both, but move on. Do better next time.


#9: When you're stuck, make a list of what WOULDN'T happen next. Lots of times the material to get you unstuck will show up.


#10: Pull apart the stories you like. What you like in them is a part of you; you've got to recognize it before you can use it.


#11: Putting it on paper lets you start fixing it. If it stays in your head, a perfect idea, you'll never share it with anyone.


#12: Discount the 1st thing that comes to mind. And the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th – get the obvious out of the way. Surprise yourself.


#13: Give your characters opinions. Passive/malleable might seem likable to you as you write, but it's poison to the audience.


#14: Why must you tell THIS story? What's the belief burning within you that your story feeds off of? That's the heart of it.


#15: If you were your character, in this situation, how would you feel? Honesty lends credibility to unbelievable situations.


#16: What are the stakes? Give us reason to root for the character. What happens if they don't succeed? Stack the odds against.


#17: No work is ever wasted. If it's not working, let go and move on - it'll come back around to be useful later.


#18: You have to know yourself: the difference between doing your best & fussing. Story is testing, not refining.


#19: Coincidences to get characters into trouble are great; coincidences to get them out of it are cheating.


#20: Exercise: take the building blocks of a movie you dislike. How d'you rearrange them into what you DO like?


#21: You gotta identify with your situation/characters, can't just write ‘cool'. What would make YOU act that way?


#22: What's the essence of your story? Most economical telling of it? If you know that, you can build out from there.
​

Or, for the graphical form, try here:
http://mgleeson.edublogs.org/2012/07/14/quality-story-writing-through-the-power-of-pixar/

 

[Vertigo]

I really like those. Simple rules that should be easy to follow! Particularly liked number four. Maybe that's the key to a good 75 word story!

 

[Steve S]

Excellent rules, thanks for sharing! I think any author of any level of experience would find these as useful prompts in the long process of writing and editing a story.

 

[thaddeus6th]

That list was really interesting and useful.

 

[paranoid marvin]

I would ALWAYS say start with your ending; then do the beginning. The rest should write itself.

 

[thaddeus6th]

Hmm.

If that's regarding writing I've always gone start to finish. It just seems more natural for me, and I'm bad (though improving) at continuity. I do plot the entire thing before starting to write, though.

 

[billhafan]

Thanks - an interesting list, with some good pointers ... though I think I read somewhere (or maybe I imagined it !) that Agatha Christie would write a story to its conclusion, and then deliberately alter the culprit's name and motives to ensure that no one would guess whodunnit ... anyone else heard of this, or am I just rubbish at working it out ?

 

[stratosaeros]

Honestly I like rule number 8 the best...

But a very impressive and inspiring list, not that I enjoy following rules directly. But some are definitely to live by, or rather write by.

 

[The Holy Drunk]

That's actually some quite simple (i.e. good) tips - #9 was a good way of thinking outside the box. And I apologise for using that phrase.

 

[Karn Maeshalanadae]

There's reasons why Pixar is successful and it looks like this sort of list is one of them. Good writing isn't only about the technicalities; as important as it is to show grammar and punctuation, it doesn't automatically make a story good. Following, or at least keeping in mind, guidelines like these are a good start in improvement.

 

[Glen]

Thanks for sharing. 11 & 8 are my favourites. They are about getting something done and moving on, less about how to tell the story.

 

[Colbey Frost]

Some really interesting stuff there. I like number 12. There have many times where I think the first thing that comes into my mind is good, but how would my story develop if I took the time to dig deeper.

 

[Steven Sorrels]

Wow, excellent list.