PIXAR’s 22 Rules of Storytelling

Written by Brendan O’Meara

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It’s no secret. Pixar, the heavyweight that brings us such awesome flicks as “Up”, “Ratatouille”, and “Wall-E”, has had its 22 Rules of Storytelling available online for a few years now. Some people blog about them, some people make imgurs, some people made a poster. I found this with Dug right in the middle.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cGUHjtw0MI0/T9_v64FLpgI/AAAAAAAAC0w/qx5FZ2TMTY8/s1600/Pixar22.jpg
I found this little poster from this website, giving credit where credit is due: http://raydillonrandom.blogspot.com/2012/06/pixars-22-rules-of-storytelling.html

I printed out this little poster and taped it above my work space. It’s more applicable to fiction, certainly, because like Rule No. 19: Coincidences that get characters into trouble are great. Coincidences that get them out of it is cheating.

But they are ALL elements of story that are embedded in the consumer, whether they know it or not. People seek these rules on an intrinsic level. As a writer of nonfiction, you can tune your antennae to situations that follow these rules and then report the hell out of them. Sports, my backdrop of choice, often has the elements of conflict woven into it.

You can’t argue with Pixar. Is there a bad Pixar movie? Is there an unwatchable one? They are funny, sad (I think most of them have made me cry on some level. Thanks “Up”. Thanks “Toy Story 3”.), triumphant and just plain fun.

I’m always looking for other media to help my storytelling and movies inspire me. May they inspire you.