Pixar story rules

tko · Jun 13, 2012

Some good, simple stuff that applies to anyone.

http://www.pixartouchbook.com/blog/2011/5/15/pixar-story-rules-one-version.html

A few of my favorites:

#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.

#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.

#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.

#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.

victoriakmartin · Jun 13, 2012

Those sound really interesting, I'll definitely check out the rest ... and very likely print it off and put it somewhere to refer to later.

Chasing the Horizon · Jun 13, 2012

These are all really good, except this one.

#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.

Nope. I know my theme before I even start outlining. Though, not knowing your theme IS certainly a good way to end up needing a total rewrite, lol.

Bookewyrme · Jun 13, 2012

I like this list. It's hard to decide my favorite. The only one I'm not sure about is:

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

I almost always know my ending, but the middle is the hardest part for me. I know where the characters start, and where I want them to end up. But I have trouble figuring out an interesting, logical, and organic way to move them from point A to point B in the story.

friendlyhobo · Jun 13, 2012

Chasing the Horizon said:
These are all really good, except this one.

#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.

Nope. I know my theme before I even start outlining. Though, not knowing your theme IS certainly a good way to end up needing a total rewrite, lol.

Theme is one of the things I'd rather discover while I write, so this advice rings true to me. If I try to write with the theme in mind I come up with a lot of pretentious crap.

cmtruesd · Jun 13, 2012

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

I really needed to see this today. I've been worrying all day that one of my "coincidences" to stir things up for my MC was wrong. Thanks for posting!

lemonhead · Jun 13, 2012

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

I really needed to see this today. I've been worrying all day that one of my "coincidences" to stir things up for my MC was wrong. Thanks for posting!

that one reassured me as well. My oh-crap moment hinges on a coincidence (albeit as logical and realistic as possible, but still a coincidence).

I bookmarked this link-- each one was a great tip. Thank you for sharing!!

IDGS · Jun 13, 2012

Chasing the Horizon said:
These are all really good, except this one.

#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.

Nope. I know my theme before I even start outlining. Though, not knowing your theme IS certainly a good way to end up needing a total rewrite, lol.

I agree with Pixar with this one - King actually discusses this in On Writing as well. For a lot of us, coming into it with a theme encourages forcing the point in situations where it isn't needed and it comes off as hokey. I prefer to let the themes present themselves when I go back for my first read-thru after completion, and then highlighting the ones I like.

But hey, to each their own! If it works for you, it works!

Chasing the Horizon · Jun 13, 2012

IDGS said:
I agree with Pixar with this one - King actually discusses this in On Writing as well. For a lot of us, coming into it with a theme encourages forcing the point in situations where it isn't needed and it comes off as hokey. I prefer to let the themes present themselves when I go back for my first read-thru after completion, and then highlighting the ones I like.

But hey, to each their own! If it works for you, it works!

I use theme to make the different events in the plot all relate, instead of being a series of random events. But this may just be one of the things I use to compensate for the fact I have NO natural sense of plot. It's probably like outlining. Some of us are lost without it, while others can't work with it.

It's pretty hard to come up with universal writing advice, because all of us have different weaknesses. King's advice to cut 10% in edits works great for me, but isn't going to be so good for someone who chronically underwrites. I think learning which techniques work well for you personally is one of the biggest learning curves in writing.

Jamesaritchie · Jun 14, 2012

Chasing the Horizon said:
These are all really good, except this one.

#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.

Nope. I know my theme before I even start outlining. Though, not knowing your theme IS certainly a good way to end up needing a total rewrite, lol.

More often than not, I don't even know my theme after the story is published. I tend to dislike theme, and when I try to write anything to do with theme, it almost always comes across as preaching, so that advice is definitely true for me.

Though I do like King's approach of write the story, then read it again for theme, and enhance same.

seun · Jun 14, 2012

The last time I aimed for a theme before writing the first draft, that first draft was awful. Since then, I just focus on the story and characters. A theme, for me, comes when it comes.

Ehab.Ahmed · Jun 14, 2012

seun said:
The last time I aimed for a theme before writing the first draft, that first draft was awful. Since then, I just focus on the story and characters. A theme, for me, comes when it comes.

I agree with this. According to this list, you have to know your ending before the middle and you have to have a theme ready or else rewrite. They're basically saying you have to outline before you dive into writing. At least that's what it looks like to me.

Anyway, some of the points were really good. Thanks for posting this

Jinbei · Jun 15, 2012

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

there's a senior writer around my colleagues, we agree that this point could be wrong. because the character should not behave like ourselves.

she suggest that we should know our own character's traits and mindset,
and the character should behave like their own.

The_Ink_Goddess · Jun 15, 2012

Bookewyrme said:
I like this list. It's hard to decide my favorite. The only one I'm not sure about is:

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

I almost always know my ending, but the middle is the hardest part for me. I know where the characters start, and where I want them to end up. But I have trouble figuring out an interesting, logical, and organic way to move them from point A to point B in the story.

I totally agree. I tend to be good at a central conflict, which has a logical beginning and ending. The bit I'm not good at is the ending, because I'm a serious underwriter and sometimes it just feels like padding that wastes the audience's time.

The_Ink_Goddess · Jun 15, 2012

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

there's a senior writer around my colleagues, we agree that this point could be wrong. because the character should not behave like ourselves.

she suggest that we should know our own character's traits and mindset,
and the character should behave like their own.

I disagree for the most part. Sure, I strongly dislike self-inserts, but I see a huge difference between "THIS CHARACTER IS ME" and "this character behaves in a realistic way for a human being (or whatever), which I, as a human being, understand." I think this rule suggests that, if you're struggling with a reaction, the easiest way to do it is to think about how you would react.

Charlie Horse · Jun 15, 2012

Ehab.Ahmed said:
I agree with this. According to this list, you have to know your ending before the middle and you have to have a theme ready or else rewrite. They're basically saying you have to outline before you dive into writing. At least that's what it looks like to me.

Anyway, some of the points were really good. Thanks for posting this

Having an idea in your head on what your ending will look like, and knowing your theme in no way equates to writing an outline. I'm not sure how you arrived at that conclusion especially since it's been well documented that not everyone needs an outline to successfully write a good novel.

To respond to this list, these are all good suggestions as long as you keep in mind that there are significant differences between what works in novels as opposed to what works in movies. I know people complain all the time about move adaptations of novels because of the things that are changed or left out in the process. Sometimes these changes seem frivolous but a good screenwriter will make these changes because of the difference in the medium.

But yeah, good list.

victoriakmartin · Jun 15, 2012

The_Ink_Goddess said:
I disagree for the most part. Sure, I strongly dislike self-inserts, but I see a huge difference between "THIS CHARACTER IS ME" and "this character behaves in a realistic way for a human being (or whatever), which I, as a human being, understand." I think this rule suggests that, if you're struggling with a reaction, the easiest way to do it is to think about how you would react.

I agree with this. The rule in question does say if you were your character, so it's really trying to get into their life and experience and find a human way out of it.

Granted there may be times when going inhuman is the right way but for the most part I think the Pixar rule can at least be used as a good guideline.

Ehab.Ahmed · Jun 15, 2012

Charlie Horse said:
Having an idea in your head on what your ending will look like, and knowing your theme in no way equates to writing an outline. I'm not sure how you arrived at that conclusion especially since it's been well documented that not everyone needs an outline to successfully write a good novel.

Oh, I should have said that knowing the start and the ending equals outlining to me. I know that outlining is not necessary for a good novel, that's why I showed dislike for the notion of needing one in that list. Again, personally, if I know how my story starts and how it ends, I'm pretty much better off with outlining. Everyone's different

Sorry for the confusion.

itskrissy · Jul 16, 2012

Pixar Rules of Story Telling

I thought this to be pretty interesting. Perhaps it will help you as it helped me.

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.

smoothseas · Jul 16, 2012

Thanks for the link. I gave it a quick read through, then bookmarked for further perousal.

I found #19 particularly noteworthy.

MsJudy · Jul 16, 2012

cool. A lot of these are familiar, but always good to keep in mind.

#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.

I'll have to give this one a try.

Maramoser · Jul 16, 2012

Pretty sure I have this bookmarked already somewhere because that's how much I love Pixar, but I read it again!

Struggling with #12 right now. I know it will be best for the story--I just can't be creative enough with certain scenes!

victoriakmartin · Jul 16, 2012

There was a post about this already: http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=247307

itskrissy · Jul 16, 2012

Thanks bud! I didn't see that, so that's great haha.

Pixar story rules

just thanks fore everything

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