It started with a tweet. Well, twenty-two of them actually. Back in 2011, Pixar story artist Emma Coats shared what she’d learned about storytelling while working at the studio that gave us Toy Story, Finding Nemo, and Up. Her insights quickly became known as “Pixar’s 22 Rules of Storytelling,” though she’d be the first to tell you they’re more like guidelines than rules.
But hidden in these observations is something remarkable: a recipe for stories that connect, move, and stay with audiences long after the credits roll. Let me take you behind the scenes.
The Heart of Every Story
Every storyteller faces the same challenge: how do you make people care? Pixar’s answer starts with a surprising insight – it’s not success that makes us love a character, it’s their determination to keep trying. For example, we don’t admire Woody because he’s Andy’s favorite toy. We admire him because he never gives up, even when everything goes wrong.
This gets to the core of what makes stories work. It’s not about creating perfect characters who do everything right. It’s about creating real characters who feel deeply, try hard, and sometimes fail spectacularly.
Building Your Story’s Foundation
Here’s a truth most writers don’t want to hear: what’s fun to write isn’t always what’s engaging to read. That epic five-page description of your hero’s breakfast might have been a blast to craft, but your reader is quietly sliding into a cereal-induced coma.
Instead, successful stories start with structure. Pixar uses what they call the “story spine”:
- Once upon a time…
- Every day…
- Until one day…
- Because of that…
- And because of that…
- Until finally…
Simple? Yes. Powerful? Absolutely. This basic pattern underlies everything from Finding Nemo to Inside Out. But here’s the trick – you don’t start by perfecting every detail. You start by getting the spine in place, then build out from there.
The Art of Creative Destruction
One of the hardest lessons for any writer to learn is the art of letting go. You might have written the most beautiful scene in the history of literature, but if it doesn’t serve the story, it has to go. As Emma observed, “Simplify. Focus. Combine characters. Hop over detours. You’ll feel like you’re losing valuable stuff but it sets you free.”
This isn’t just about cutting – it’s about clarity. Every character should have a purpose. Every scene should move the story forward. Every detail should earn its place.
The Challenge That Changes Everything
Want to know the secret to creating compelling character arcs? Take what your character is comfortable with, then throw them into exactly the opposite situation. A rat who wants to be a chef. A monster who’s afraid of children. A grumpy old man who ends up on an adventure with a wilderness explorer.
But here’s the crucial part – these challenges can’t be random. They need to force the character to confront their deepest fears or overcome their greatest weaknesses. The external conflict drives the internal transformation.
Endings First, Middles Later
“But shouldn’t I start at the beginning?” I hear you ask. Actually, no. One of Pixar’s most counter-intuitive insights is that you need to know your ending before you figure out your middle. Think about it – if you don’t know where you’re going, how can you know which path to take?
This doesn’t mean your ending won’t change as you write. But having a target gives your story direction and purpose. It’s like having a North Star to guide you through the messy middle sections.
The Power of Imperfect Action
Here’s perhaps the most important lesson of all: finish your story, even if it’s not perfect. No first draft is ever perfect. What matters is getting your story out of your head and onto the page where you can start improving it.
Remember, Toy Story‘s first draft had Woody as a tyrannical villain. Up originally featured a castle floating in the sky. The key isn’t getting it right the first time – it’s being willing to keep working until you find the heart of your story.
Your Story Matters
At their core, these guidelines aren’t really about rules at all. They’re about understanding why stories matter and how to tell them in ways that connect with real people. Whether you’re writing a screenplay, a novel, or a bedtime story, the principles remain the same:
- Make us care about your characters
- Challenge them in meaningful ways
- Keep the story focused and clear
- Know where you’re going
- And most importantly, don’t give up until you get there
The magic of Pixar isn’t in following rules – it’s in understanding how stories work at a human level. These guidelines aren’t constraints; they’re tools to help you tell the stories only you can tell.
So what’s your story? The world is waiting to hear it.
Want to dive deeper into any of these storytelling principles? Email me which aspects you’d like to explore further. And remember – every great storyteller started exactly where you are now: with a story to tell and the courage to tell it.
Pixar’s 22 Rules of Storytelling – Quick Reference
- You admire a character for trying more than for their successes.
- 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 very different.
- Trying for theme is important, but you won’t see what the story is actually about until you’re at the end of it. Now rewrite.
- Once upon a time there was ___. Every day, ___. One day ___. Because of that, ___. Because of that, ___. Until finally ___.
- Simplify. Focus. Combine characters. Hop over detours. You’ll feel like you’re losing valuable stuff but it sets you free.
- What is your character good at, comfortable with? Throw the polar opposite at them. Challenge them. How do they deal?
- Come up with your ending before you figure out your middle. Seriously. Endings are hard, get yours working up front.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Discount the first thing that comes to mind. And the second, third, fourth, fifth – get the obvious out of the way. Surprise yourself.
- Give your characters opinions. Passive/malleable might seem likable to you as you write, but it’s poison to the audience.
- 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.
- If you were your character, in this situation, how would you feel? Honesty lends credibility to unbelievable situations.
- What are the stakes? Give us reason to root for the character. What happens if they don’t succeed? Stack the odds against.
- No work is ever wasted. If it’s not working, let go and move on – it’ll come back around to be useful later.
- You have to know yourself: the difference between doing your best & fussing. Story is testing, not refining.
- Coincidences to get characters into trouble are great; coincidences to get them out of it are cheating.
- Exercise: take the building blocks of a movie you dislike. How’d you rearrange them into what you DO like?
- You gotta identify with your situation/characters, can’t just write ‘cool’. What would make YOU act that way?
- What’s the essence of your story? Most economical telling of it? If you know that, you can build out from there.
Originally shared by Emma Coats, former Pixar story artist, based on what she learned from her colleagues at Pixar.