Storytelling advice from Pixar

[Svrtnsse]

This turned out to have been around a while, but it was new to me. There's a few good pointers in there, and even if you know them from before, it's nice with a refresher/reminder now and then.

Pixar’s 22 Golden Rules of Storytelling «TwistedSifter

 

[Caged Maiden]

I've never seen this before, but the advice is sort of right on the money of what great writers say. I often considered how "easy" it would be to tell a story with film...you know, for those scenes in which people can be seen but not heard (like Sixth Sense), or those stories that keep secrets from the reader by creative shooting (I guess the same movie works for that one, too). Basically, I think the point I'm trying to make is that writing, whether a novel or for a movie, is not an easy task. I've quit watching series because of the writing, and I've put down books or book series on like, book four, because the writing just doesn't interest and engage me anymore. I think the basic principles of "entertaining" in this post keep it simple and real.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[CupofJoe]

They are good but most of all I like these two...

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

Because of it's purity...

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

Because it's a bugbear of mine. "Oh look... this thing I found COMPLETELY by accident, just happens to be the perfect tool..." or "Didn't I ever tell you I was a Safe-cracker/Ninja/Hacker/Recon Marine while I was at college?"

 

[goldhawk]

Some videos from Pixar writers:

- Andrew Stanton of Pixar (WARNING: strong language) – The Clues to a Great Story (20 min)

- Michael Arndt of Pixar – BEGINNINGS: Setting a Story in Motion (8¼ min)

 

[skrite]

#14 bothers me about my WIP. I honestly don't know.