Pixar's Rules of Storytelling

Thanks! I'm a big fan of Pixar storytelling and like you, I don't like rules but these guys are pretty damn awesome.

Great list, thanks for posting.

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.
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.

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So, should I finish or not?

Awesome.

I saw this one about a month ago on twitter, but I love seeing it reposted, because we can always use a few more reminders of the basic principles.

swolf said:

Great list, thanks for posting.

So, should I finish or not?

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Finish yes. Then toss in the closet only to peek at.

23. Fire the director and put Merida in a princess outfit by the 30 minute mark so she can qualify for the prime-time merchandising program.  (She was getting too uppity with that bow anyway)
24. Merida should poison her own mother because that is edgy.
25. Let Disney drain your soul like Shang Tsung.
26.
27. Profit!

For me, Brave was a huge disappointment.  Started off great as an epic tale, but the bear plot sent the entire thing careening off the tracks into mediocrity.

I wanted to like Brave so much.  

The first ten minutes were epic.  But you can see the exact moment in the film when the Disney machine took over.

It is impossible for Disney to allow a female protagonist to avoid becoming a Disney Princess.  Therefore the real Merida had to be destroyed.

I loved Brave. But, I am completely open to the idea that I was influenced by seeing it with my four year old granddaughter with long curly hair and seeing how mesmerized she was by it.

swolf said:

Great list, thanks for posting.

So, should I finish or not?

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I think there's probably a big difference between a book that's not quite perfect and one where the story isn't working at all. If it were me, I'd publish the first and trunk the second.

That was a helpful list of rules. I printed it out.

Thanks for posting!