I wanted to share this article with everyone. To me, it’s a gold mine that you can review over and over. I hope it inspires you.
Back in 2011, then Pixar storyboard artist Emma Coats (now freelancing) tweeted 22 rules of storytelling, according to Pixar. Coats learned the ‘guidelines’ from senior colleagues on how to create appealing stories,tweeting the nuggets of wisdom over a 6 week period.
Last week, artist and User Experience Director at Visceral Games (a subsidiary of Electronic Arts), Dino Ignacio, created a series of image macros of the 22 rules and posted them to Imgur and Reddit.
Below you will find the list of image macros along with a text summary of Pixar’s 22 rules of storytelling at the end of the post. Enjoy!
[Sources: Emma Coats, Dino Ignacio, The Pixar Touch]
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Pixar’s 22 Rules of Storytelling
#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.
Original article at: http://twistedsifter.com/2013/09/pixars-22-rules-of-storytelling-as-image-macros/
Until Next Time…
Good post. But 22? Ouch. Fancy trying to keep all those in mind while writing!
I liked the note about the ending. It took me some time to realize that. Now I have a set point in mind by the time I’m halfway into the book.
Reblogged this on Sleepy Book Dragon and commented:
Fantastic rules to help you write.
This is a wonderful article! I didn’t have time to do more than skim last time I stopped by, but came back for more depth. It’s really fantastic. ❤
I’m glad it helped. Thank you for stopping by 🙂
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Thank you for the reblog. 🙂
Reblogged this on Julie Lawford and commented:
Some properly great storytelling guidelines here…
Still Doing a wonderful job Jen, with inspirational thoughts! You rock!
Liz!! Great to see you! Glad you enjoyed it. 🙂 Hope you’re doing well.
Love this! Posting on my FB page for others to enjoy as well.
Thanks for stopping by 🙂
Thanks Jen.. saving to read again.
That is an excellent list. Thanks for sharing.
Reblogged this on Getting Lit Fit and commented:
Really interested in trying out #20, since I suffered through a particularly awful movie last night. I’ll have to keep all of these rules in mind.
Thank you for reblogging and glad you found them helpful 🙂
Reblogged this on ldbush21.
Thanks for the reblog! Glad you enjoyed the information.
Great post, Jen! Pressed it to reblog later!! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Patrick! I’m so glad you found it helpful.
Reblogged this on Jeanne Owens, author and commented:
Some very good tips for storytelling here.
Thanks for the reblog! I loved the tips. I considered cutting them out and “wallpapering” my office with them 🙂
You’re welcome 🙂 Wallpapering them might not be a bad idea.
Such fantastic tips! Thanks for that ^_^
You’re welcome and thanks for stopping by!
Reblogged this on Dog's Breakfast and commented:
OOh. Shiny. I’ll have to drive back through this a few times.
That’s awesome! I’m so glad it helped you.
Consider it to be helping me, or will help me. Haven’t digested it, yet, but I can see that there are some excellent ideas that resonate with everything I’ve read before on storytelling.
Reblogged this on Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog and commented:
VERY interesting rules :d
This is phenomenal!! I love it and that’s why I reblogged it! 🙂
Reblogged this on Writer's Treasure Chest and commented:
I think this is just such an excellent blog post it needs attention. I’d recommend every new writer to go through these rules. I love them!
Thanks Jen, copied the rules to refer back to again and again.
Reblogged this on Author P.S. Bartlett.
Thank you for the reblog! 🙂
Great post, Jen! Thanks for sharing.
Reblogged too Jen. Great article!
Thanks Linda! So good to “see” you 🙂
Reblogged this on Linda Lochridge and commented:
Great help on writing from Jen Owenby!
Great blog and I have reblogged it. Thanks for sharing it.
Thank you Shirley! Happy you enjoyed it.
Reblogged this on Shirley McLain and commented:
These are some very helpful rules to the writer/storyteller that I wanted to share. Have a blessed day. Shirley