SLAP HAPPY LARRY

Compared to many people I am no great fan of Pixar, partly because of their continued use of The Female Maturity Principle of Storytelling, partly because I think their films a bit more hit and miss than many critics will admit. But I will say this about Pixar:  in comparison to Dreamworks they’re awesome.

IMDb has ranked the Dreamworks films from best to worst. Can you guess what comes at the top of the list? And at the bottom?

And here are the Pixar films from best to worst.

Pixar’s 22 Storytelling Tips

You’ve probably seen Pixar’s 22 Tips on Storytelling because it’s done the rounds, but in case you have not here they are. I’m doing something a little different with it — I’ve divided the tips into ‘tips for the writing process itself’ and ‘storycraft tips’.

STORYCRAFT TIPS

1. You admire a character for trying more than for their successes.
2. Once upon a time there was ___. Every day, ___. One day ___. Because of that, ___. Because of that, ___. Until finally ___. [This is just a little simplistic. See How To Structure Any Story for more on this.]
3. Simplify. Focus. Combine characters. Hop over detours. You’ll feel like you’re losing valuable stuff but it sets you free.
4. What is your character good at, comfortable with? Throw the polar opposite at them. Challenge them. How do they deal? [This is them basically telling writers to give main characters moral shortcomings, psychological shortcomings, ghosts and desire, then putting them through the wringer during the big struggle phase.]
5. Give your characters opinions. Passive/malleable might seem likable to you as you write, but it’s poison to the audience. [See this post on why your characters do not need to be likeable, even in stories for kids.]
6. What are the stakes? Give us reason to root for the character. What happens if they don’t succeed? Stack the odds against. [This is echoing advice from everywhere — put your character through so much crap that they come to the precipice of death.]
7. Coincidences to get characters into trouble are great; coincidences to get them out of it are cheating. [‘Avoid deus ex machina’ is related to this tip.  In children’s stories, don’t get adults to fix kids’ problems, either. It’s not unheard of, but hard to make that work.]
8. What’s the essence of your story? Most economical telling of it? If you know that, you can build out from there.

INSPIRATION AND THE WRITING PROCESS ITSELF

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Related to theme, 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.
4. Come up with your ending before you figure out your middle. Seriously. Endings are hard, get yours working up front.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. Exercise: take the building blocks of a movie you dislike. How d’you rearrange them into what you DO like? [Yep, that’s what this blog is for.]
9. 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.
10. Discount the 1st thing that comes to mind. And the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th – get the obvious out of the way. Surprise yourself.
11. If you were your character, in this situation, how would you feel? Honesty lends credibility to unbelievable situations.
12. No work is ever wasted. If it’s not working, let go and move on – it’ll come back around to be useful later.
13. You have to know yourself: the difference between doing your best & fussing. Story is testing, not refining.
14. You gotta identify with your situation/characters, can’t just write ‘cool’. What would make YOU act that way?

Here are four of these tips in more detail.