Do you remember the first cartoon movie that made you cry? I do. It was Toy Story 3, when the toys were close to being incinerated. The fact that Pixar, the writers and all the people who created this amazing story could yank that level of emotion out of me over a cartoon? It stuck with me.
Recently, I had the chance to see Matthew Luhn, one of the original story creators at Pixar give a talk on storytelling. Then doing some additional searching online about Pixar and storytelling, I found this list of 22 things, which stemmed from a tweet series by then Pixar storyboard artist Emma Coats—she shared the rules according to Pixar. These came from guidelines shared by senior team members at Pixar. If you haven’t seen them, I thought I’d share them here because they offer incredible opportunities for writers and marketers alike.
We’re storytellers, both of us. (Or in my case, all of me.) Everything we do should be built around the story we’re telling and the person we’re telling it for. So take these guidelines and think about how they can help you tell a better narrative, a better customer success story, a better marketing campaign, a better blog post… a better tweet even.
Here is the list:
Pixar’s 22 Rules of Storytelling
#1: You admire a character for trying more than for their success.
#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.
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