And the very last one. Finally! What’s the essence of your story? Most economical telling of it? If you know that, you can build out from there. This should have been the first rule, huh? Why was I wasting our time with all the others… Today ends our journey through Emma Coats’ Pixar’s 22 Storytelling Rules. … More Rule #22
The Red Pen of Doom just posted about the Invincible Hero Problem and he included this video: Please watch it. Too funny and it clearly shows why Superman – Man of Steel failed for this viewer. Now, the next rule… Rule #21 For those of you new to my blog, I am going through Emma Coats’ Pixar’s … More Follow up on Rule #20 and Rule #21
Have you all seen Superman – Man of Steel? My brother thinks it is the bomb, but other than the wickedly splendid Faora Hu-Ul (played by Antje Traue), I think they got it all wrong. Why? I didn’t care whether Kal-El/Clark Kent/Superman survived or not. As a matter of fact, I don’t think I cared whether earth survived. … More Rule #20
Life is full of co-wink-a-dinks. But your fiction shouldn’t be. I’d like to wax poetic about all the times I’ve seen this done and that I’ve even done in my writing (yes, I’m lazy), but NaNoWriMo is calling. Heed the Pixar-gods: Coincidences to get characters into trouble are great; coincidences to get them out of … More Rule #19
As nice as it is, I got tired of posting that huge graphic from PBJPublishing.com. So, I split it up into its individual pieces. One of these days, I’ll go back and fix the images from earlier posts. And if you ever do want to see the entire image in all its glory, check out … More Rule #18
I’ve been depressed this week. Recently, several rejection-slips landed in my inbox, each for different stories of mine. All of ’em deserved to be rejected. Once I read the editors’ feedback, it was very clear they all lacked a good story. I’ve moped around ever since. My big goal this month was to finish a … More Rule #17
What are the stakes? Give us reason to root for the character. What happens if they don’t succeed? Stack the odds against. I’ve read a lot lately. The submissions for the Lucky or Unlucky anthology as well as just workshop stuff. And you know what? This ‘rule’ is spot on. Who cares if the grammar … More Rule #16
If you were your character, in this situation, how would you feel? Honesty lends credibility to unbelievable situations. I’ve been watching Grimm, the NBC TV show. Since I don’t have a TV or cable reception, I’m watching Season 1 and 2 via Amazon Prime. So, yes, I’m a little late to the scene, but hey, … More Rule #15
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. The 14th writing rule in Pixar’s 22 Storytelling Rules is more of a statement of fact and not a writing tip or rule (remember, I’m using the term ‘rule’ rather loosely here as I’m … More Rule #14
Happy Wednesday! Today we get to take another quick look at Pixar’s 22 Storytelling Rules. We are making our way through them, and we’ve bypassed the half-way mark. If you’ve missed one, you can check out the list at the end of this post. Without further ado, here’s the 13th rule: Give your characters opinions. Passive/malleable … More Rule #13
N. E. White 