{
  "$type": "site.standard.document",
  "bskyPostRef": {
    "cid": "bafyreiawiimfrgqksrzdmcjtxknep2g5km72pcthmwojftlvzg253bo2te",
    "uri": "at://did:plc:4jjxx3max7tcdxwmdkjrnyj4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mj62i5tckee2"
  },
  "coverImage": {
    "$type": "blob",
    "ref": {
      "$link": "bafkreicempoxui7xxhp77fh6trljvvvid6fbxkkn4r6jytuhdz65xa7kca"
    },
    "mimeType": "image/jpeg",
    "size": 122474
  },
  "path": "/pixar-story-structure",
  "publishedAt": "2026-04-10T19:06:00.000Z",
  "site": "https://nofilmschool.com",
  "tags": [
    "Pixar storytelling formula",
    "Screenwriter",
    "Screenwriting tips",
    "Animated movies",
    "Animation",
    "Cartoon",
    "Characters",
    "Disney",
    "Disney pixar",
    "Finding nemo",
    "Inside out",
    "Insider",
    "Monsters inc",
    "Movies",
    "Pixar",
    "Screenwriting",
    "Stores",
    "Story",
    "Storytelling",
    "Toy story",
    "Up",
    "Video",
    "Writers",
    "Writing",
    "Youtube.com",
    "character development",
    "@lawnrocket",
    "beat sheets",
    "outlines",
    "start writing your story",
    "Pixar's story development process",
    "things Pixar does right"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\n\n\nIf you're like me, then you're a huge fan of Pixar's storytelling. It's hard to believe this animation company used to be a struggling group of friends, now, they've built a mega empire of original ideas and their name is synonymous with beautiful character development, thoughtful arcs, and now an incredible storytelling formula.\n\nDirector and Pixar storyboard artist Emma Coats (@lawnrocket) tweeted out 22 tips for storytelling, one of which ends with \"Endings are hard, get yours working up front.\"\n\nThese tips have helped carry e through my projects on both the film and television side. I try to incorporate them in beat sheets, outlines, and just any brainstorming activity as well.\n\nToday we're going to go over Pixar's 22 Storytelling rules, see how it's a formula to success, and leave you in a good place to start writing your story!\n\nLet's go.\n\n* * *\n\n### What is Pixar's Story Structure Formula?\n\n\n\n\nFirst off, no formula can fix you as a writer. That takes time and actually writing. What I'm excited about is that this \"formula\" will actually help you spread your wings and go out there and write the screenplay you think expresses your original idea. Think of these techniques as a guideline for screenwriters of all levels.\n\n### Pixar's Screenwriting Tips\n\n\n\n\n## 1. You admire a character for trying more than for their successes.\n\nAudiences don’t connect with perfection; they connect with the struggle. We root for the underdog who keeps getting back up, not the hero who wins without breaking a sweat. It's the effort, not the trophy, that builds empathy.\n\n## 2. You gotta keep in mind what's interesting to you as an audience, not what's fun to do as a writer.\n\nSometimes the scenes that are the most \"fun\" to write are the ones that indulgent and slow the story to a crawl. You have to be willing to kill your darlings if they don't serve the person sitting in the theater seat.\n\n## 3. Trying for theme is important, but you won't see what the story is actually about til you're at the end of it. Now rewrite.\n\nTheme is rarely something you can force into a first draft. Usually, you discover the \"soul\" of your story only after you've finished the journey. Once you know what it’s really about, you go back and make it look like you knew it all along.\n\n## 4. Once upon a time there was ___. Every day, ___. One day ___. Because of that, ___. Because of that, ___. Until finally ___.\n\nThis is the \"Story Spine.\" It is the most effective way to ensure your plot has a clear cause-and-effect relationship. If your \"Because of thats\" turn into \"And thens,\" your story is losing its momentum.\n\n## 5. Simplify. Focus. Combine characters. Hop over detours.\n\nNew writers often think \"more\" is \"better.\" In reality, complexity often masks a lack of clarity. By combining two minor characters into one strong one, you raise the stakes and keep the narrative lean.\n\n## 6. What is your character good at, comfortable with? Throw the polar opposite at them.\n\nGrowth only happens under pressure. If your character is a neat freak, put them in a swamp. If they are a coward, make them the only person who can save the day. See how they break—and how they put themselves back together.\n\n## 7. Come up with your ending before you figure out your middle.\n\nEndings are the hardest part of any story. If you don't know where you're going, your middle will wander aimlessly. Having a destination in mind gives every scene a sense of purpose.\n\n## 8. Finish your story, let go even if it's not perfect.\n\nA \"perfect\" unfinished script is worth nothing. A finished, flawed script is a lesson learned. In an ideal world, you'd have both, but for the sake of your career and your craft, move on to the next project.\n\n## 9. When you're stuck, make a list of what WOULDN'T happen next.\n\nOften, we get stuck because we're looking for the \"right\" answer. By listing the \"wrong\" ones—the clichés, the boring choices, the impossible turns—the path to the interesting choice often reveals itself by process of elimination.\n\n## 10. Pull apart the stories you like. What you like in them is a part of you.\n\nYour \"taste\" is your greatest asset. By deconstructing your favorite films, you aren't just learning craft; you’re identifying the specific themes and tropes that define your unique voice as a creator.\n\n## 11. Putting it on paper lets you start fixing it.\n\nAn idea in your head is a phantom; it can be perfect because it isn't real. Once it's on paper, it's a disaster—but it's a disaster you can actually edit. You can't fix a blank page.\n\n## 12. Discount the 1st thing that comes to mind. And the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th.\n\nThe first few ideas that pop into your head are usually the ones you’ve seen a thousand times before. Dig deeper. Push past the obvious to find the specific, weird, and surprising details that make a story memorable.\n\n## 13. Give your characters opinions.\n\nA character who just \"goes with the flow\" is a boring protagonist. Even if they are wrong, they should have a perspective. Characters with strong opinions create friction, and friction creates drama.\n\n## 14. Why must you tell THIS story?\n\nWhat is the \"burning belief\" inside you? If you don't care about the story on a deep, personal level, the audience won't either. The \"why\" is the engine that keeps you writing when the \"how\" gets difficult.\n\n## 15. If you were your character, in this situation, how would you feel?\n\nHonesty is the antidote to melodrama. If your character is in a sci-fi world or a high-fantasy quest, their emotional reactions must remain grounded in human truth for the audience to stay invested.\n\n## 16. What are the stakes? Give us reason to root for the character.\n\nIf the character doesn't stand to lose something vital, the audience won't care if they win. Stack the odds so high that success seems impossible; it makes the eventual victory (or tragic defeat) much more impactful.\n\n## 17. No work is ever wasted.\n\nIf you spend weeks on a scene and then cut it, that time wasn't lost. You were learning the world and the characters. Those \"failed\" pages are the fertilizer for the pages that actually work.\n\n## 18. You have to know yourself: the difference between doing your best & fussing.\n\nThere is a point where \"perfecting\" becomes \"procrastinating.\" Storytelling is about testing ideas and seeing if they hold weight, not endlessly polishing a single sentence until you're too afraid to move to the next.\n\n## 19. Coincidences to get characters into trouble are great; coincidences to get them out of it are cheating.\n\nBad luck feels like fate; good luck feels like a lazy writer. If your hero is saved by a random bolt of lightning, the audience will feel cheated. If they are struck by one, they'll lean in to see what happens next.\n\n## 20. Exercise: take the building blocks of a movie you dislike. Rearrange them.\n\nThis is a masterclass in structure. If you can identify where another story failed and figure out the \"fix,\" you are developing the critical eye necessary to fix your own work.\n\n## 21. You gotta identify with your situation/characters, can't just write ‘cool'.\n\n\"Cool\" is a surface-level aesthetic that wears off after ten minutes. Authenticity is what keeps people watching. Ask yourself what would make _you_ act that way in that specific situation.\n\n## 22. What's the essence of your story? Most economical telling of it?\n\nIf you can't describe your story in a sentence or two, you don't know what it is yet. Start with the core seed and build outward. If the foundation is solid, the rest will follow.\n\n### What Else Does Pixar Do Well?\n\n\n\n\nBehind the scenes, Pixar is known for fostering a collaborative and creative work environment where ideas are freely shared and developed, contributing to the richness of their storytelling.\n\nThis working together ensures tey get the best stories onto the screen.\n\nAnd it's also one of the things that inspires this website.\n\nStorytelling often involves tackling complex problems, such as plot holes, character development issues, or logistical challenges.\n\nCollaboration brings together individuals with different backgrounds, experiences, and skills. This diversity enriches the storytelling process, allowing for a broader range of ideas, perspectives, and creative solutions.\n\nHopefully, this outlook has helped you in your personal writing.\n\n## What's next? Pixar's story development process!\n\nWith one of the best critical and commercial records in movie-making history, there are a lot of things Pixar does right. One of their greatest strengths is their ability to consistently craft great stories.\n\nSo what’s the Pixar story development process like, and what can we as independent filmmakers learn from it?\n\nClick the link to learn more!",
  "title": "What is Pixar's Story Structure Formula?"
}