Pixar’s 22 Rules of Storytelling

The principles powering the most successful creative company of the last half century

In 2011, Pixar employee Emma Coats tweeted (way before threads were a thing) Pixar’s “22 Rules for Storytelling.”

They’re a masterclass in story, psychology, and human connection.

Today, I’ll break down what makes the first seven so effective.

Pixar’s Rules for Storytelling:

1. You admire a character for trying more than for their successes.

It’s a funny thing — we want the main character to succeed. But we want it to be hard. The ups and (mainly) the downs, the struggle and strife, the doubt and worry, are what give stories life.

No great story has ever been told about a character who did everything right.

2. You have to 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.

Steven Pressfield, in his book Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t, sums it up like this:

“When you understand that nobody wants to read your shit, you develop empathy. You acquire the skill that is indispensable to all artists and entrepreneurs — the ability to switch back and forth in your imagination from your own point of view as writer / painter / seller to the point of view of your reader / gallery-goer / customer.”

As a storyteller, it’s your job to nail that sweet spot.

3. 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.

The easiest way to never start a story is to get stuck on “theme.” The truth is, very few people know the deeper meaning of their story until that story has been told.

Embracing the idea of a “sh*tty first draft” is the greatest unlock as a storyteller. After the first telling, then you go through to add that second level of intricacy and meaning.

Remember: it’s rare any creative work is the same in its final state as in its first draft.

4. The story spine: Once upon a time there was __. Every day, __. One day __. Because of that, __. Because of that, __. Until finally __.

Structure, structure, structure. But let me break down what each of these actually mean:

1. Establish setting — the “normal world”
2. Show character in normal world
3. Boom, something happens to throw the normal world into chaos
4. Another thing happens to make it harder for your characters
5. Yet another thing makes it harder for your characters
6. Your characters overcome and are better for it

One thing I want to hit on: the double “because of that.”

Pixar including the double “because of that” shows the importance of raising the stakes throughout your story. Stakes are the reason your audience can’t look away.

5. Simplify. Focus. Combine characters. Hop over detours. You’ll feel like you’re losing valuable stuff but it sets you free.

In the outline JK Rowling used for the 5th Harry Potter, an 800+ page book, she included one main plot and five subplots.

That’s it. 800+ pages. One plot, five subplots.

There’s no need for your story to have more than that. Assuming it’s shorter, aiming for just one or two subplots is even better.

When time and space is limited, storytellers are forced to be more creative and ambitious through character and plot without relying on other gimmicks.

Simplicity also makes it easier for your audience to track and remember your story.

6. What is your character good at, comfortable with? Throw the opposite at them. Challenge them. Make them respond.

Stories are about the transformation the Hero goes through from beginning to end. But how do you make a Hero transform?

You don’t tell her how amazing she is. Instead, you challenge her to overcome her weaknesses.

7. Come up with your ending before you figure out your middle. Endings are hard, get yours working up front.

Without knowing your ending, it’s easy to wander off track. The right ending serves as a target — a guiding light — to keep your story on the most concise and effective path.

The right ending is like a magnet pulling your story forward.

In 2019, I was in my last year of college getting an industrial engineering degree. But I spent most of my time writing a book (or tailgating). I studied everything I could find on storytelling, character creation, world building, narrative arc, etc.

But the most important thing I did, after months of having just one chapter to go, was finish the damn book.

That’s why, to me, Pixar’s 8th rule of storytelling is the most important advice I’ve received on just about anything.

8. Finish your story, even if it’s not perfect. In an ideal world you have both, but move on and do better next time.

I’m a firm believer there’s one way to get good at anything:

1. Get started
2. Get consistent
3. Get good

Storytelling is no different. The first draft of my book was horrible. My first tweet got no likes. But my writing is drastically better now because both of those things got finished.

9. 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.

I’ve found one method that almost guarantees staying stuck — not writing anything, giving into the block.

There’s one thing I’d add to Pixar’s rule: change your location.

• Go on a walk
• Make some food
• Take a shower

You can make the list of what wouldn’t happen next in your head, too. No better way to get the juices flowing than some movement and thinking.

10. 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.

Reverse engineering is a common tactic in tech, manufacturing, and other “hard” industries. But not as much in the creative world.

Your favorite speech is from MLK? Go listen to it and pull apart what he does — his cadence, his hook, his closing, his word choice. Your favorite book is by Margaret Atwood? Go read and pay attention to how she incorporates theme, point of view, and character development.

Can’t stop buying coffee from Starbucks? Study their copywriting, packaging, and store (& app) layout.

11. Putting it on paper lets you start fixing it. If it stays in your head, just an idea, you’ll never share it with anyone.

Anne Lamott’s essay Shitty First Drafts captures this idea perfectly:

“The idea of shitty first drafts. All good writers write them. This is how they end up with good second drafts and terrific third drafts.

People tend to look at successful writers who are getting their books published and maybe even doing well financially and think that they sit down at their desks every morning feeling like a million dollars, feeling great about who they are and how much talent they have and what a great story they have to tell; that they take in a few deep breaths, push back their sleeves, roll their necks a few times to get all the cricks out, and dive in, typing fully formed passages as fast as a court reporter.

But this is just the fantasy of the uninitiated.”

12. Discount the first thing that comes to mind. And the second, third, fourth… get the obvious ones out of the way. Then surprise yourself.

Ed Sheeran likens his songwriting process to that of a dirty faucet. Turn it on, it flows dirty. Leave it on long enough, clean water starts to flow.

This is the same concept Pixar applies to stories.

13. Give your characters opinions. Passive/malleable might seem likable as you write, but it’s poison to an audience.

Nobody wants to spend five minutes with someone average. That’s like going on a date and saying someone was “nice.” Probably true, probably won’t be a second date.

Make your audience know your characters are worth their time. Give them opinions, strengths, and weaknesses. Even if the audience doesn’t like your character, they’ll be intrigued by her.

Which is more important.

14. 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.

In startups there’s a phrase “founder-market fit.” It’s a fancy way of saying ‘why are you the one to build this company?’

Pixar is asking a similar question here. What about this story is uniquely you? And can you embed that into the story to make it special?

15. If you were your character, in this situation, how would you feel? Honestly lends credibility to unbelievable situations.

You founders reading this, try replacing “character” with “customer” or “user.” Pretty powerful mental switch.

Emotional truth is a concept I’ve thought a lot about lately.

Tim O’Brien says:

“As with all fiction, the answer is simple: if you believe it, it’s real; if you don’t, it isn’t.”

The word ‘fiction’ can be replaced by ‘stories.’

Prompt: Moana telling a campfire story, digital art

The year is 2005. Disney Animation has produced dud after dud. It looks like a dying division — then it scoops up Pixar for $7.4 billion.

Then they made Ed Catmull (founder of Pixar) head of the Disney animation studio and seemingly overnight the culture shifted. Three quotes from Ed that sum it up:

• “You are not your idea, and if you identify too closely with your ideas, you will take offense when they are challenged.”
• “If you give a good idea to a mediocre team, they will screw it up. If you give a mediocre idea to a brilliant team, they will either fix it or throw it away and come up with something better.”
• “When it comes to creative inspiration, job titles and hierarchy are meaningless.”

16. What are the stakes? Give us a reason to root for the character. What happens if they don’t succeed? Stack the odds against them.

A pointed threat is the most effective way to raise stakes. If you go with some version of “the world is ending,” the audience knows that’s pretty darn unlikely.

In The Dark Knight, the final scene only threatens two boats full of people. It feels legit — The Joker could carry out that threat and there still be a sequel.

Imagine the threat was, “destroy all of Gotham.” Everyone watching the movie knows that’s not happening.

In business, highlight the very specific painpoints your potential customers are feeling. They know their business can run without you (it has been!), but if you’re a painkiller, they’re more likely to get interested.

17. No work is wasted. If it’s not working, let go and move on — it’ll come back around to be useful later.

I ran across an idea (don’t remember where) I adopted recently — save your best scraps.

After I write my first draft, I cut down the total character count by 30–50%. But some of what I cut is actually good!

Those are the scraps to save. Then, after a few weeks, your scrap pile becomes a mound of untapped ideas.

18. You have to know yourself: the difference between doing your best and fussing. Story is testing, not refining.

The tiny details don’t matter until the overall narrative is nailed down. Pixar wants you to focus on iterating to improve the story, not making little tweaks that don’t move the needle.

19. Coincidences to get characters into trouble are great. Coincidences to get them out of it are cheating.

Make everything as hard as possible for your characters.

That may mean some unfair situations. But it does not mean lucky situations.

20. Exercise: take the building blocks of a movie you dislike. How do you rearrange them into what you do like?

You can do this with any story medium — book, song, comedy, pitch deck, landing page, doesn’t matter.

You can either pull apart, reverse engineer the stories you loved. Or, as Pixar suggests, take the ones you disliked and figure out how to make them better.

A few specifics to focus on:

• Characters — did you care about them? Why or why not?
• Arc — what changed from beginning to end?
• Emotion — what did you feel (or not)?

21. You gotta identify with your situation and characters. You can’t just write ‘cool.’ What would make you act that way?

A trick I like: if you’re struggling, write in the first person. Literally put yourself into the story (if you aren’t already).

Brandon Sanderson, who is way more accomplished than I am, recommends something similar. He writes a five-page monologue from the perspective of each of his main characters.

The purpose? To get inside their heads as much as he can.

22. What’s the essence of your story? The most economical telling of it? If you know that, you can build out from there.

A common theme across great stories: focus.

The plot of Inception (below) fits on one page and the 5th & longest Harry Potter has just four subplots.

Figure out the main point of your story and focus all of your energy (and words) into that.

Summary: There are no hard rules in storytelling — even Emma Coats, the Pixar employee who published these rules, said she should have named them guidelines.

As always, the most important part is to actually tell the story. Then look back at these tactics to give your story that extra juice it needs to be special.

– Nathan

I hope you enjoyed that.

If you want to become a better storyteller, try my free newsletter with 58,538 others.

1 storytelling tip each Saturday morning: https://www.worldbuilders.ai/subscribe