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Storytelling: 22 Rules from Pixar

Penpilot

Staff
Article Team
I agree with all of them. They fall in line pretty much with how I think. And I agree Benjamin, that one about coincidences is pretty good. I actually never thought about it that way.
 

Jess A

Archmage
This is true of most writing. Essays, stories, articles...

What’s the essence of your story? Most economical telling of it? If you know that, you can build out from there.
 

Chilari

Staff
Moderator
This is a great list of tips. I like these in particular:

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

Jabrosky

Banned
What is your character good at, comfortable with? Throw the polar opposite at them. Challenge them. How do they deal?
This is pure gold. Character development is fundamentally about how characters handle certain challenges. If every writer followed this advice, Mary Sues would go extinct.
 

SeverinR

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

I have a problem with this one, I have read too many stories where the ending was disjointed from the story, or had such a drastic twist it was unbelievable.
The beginning, middle and end must flow. Have a general idea where you want to end, but make sure the final piece fits smoothly in place, not just jammed in place to be the ending you wanted.
 

Ireth

Myth Weaver
^ This. Stories change in the telling, and sometimes the ending you came up with first doesn't fit the beginning and middle that you get as you go along.
 

JonSnow

Troubadour
^ Ireth read my mind. Every time I write a new chapter, some of it changes as I go. Sometimes they are minor changes, that seem to fit better in the flow of the action. But other times, they are major changes that redirect the course of the story. I'm sure some authors prefer to script/outline everything before they start writing, but I couldn't possibly work out an ending without writing everything leading up to it FIRST. By the time I got there, it simply wouldn't fit anymore.
 
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