The 22 PIXAR STORYTELLING RULES: Lessons for Screenwriters

Pixar films are some of the most well-crafted stories in cinema history. And so it’s no wonder that there appear to be Pixar storytelling rules that writers and directors of these movies typically follow.

In 2011, a Pixar story artist, Emma Coats, wrote and tweeted a list of “Story Rules” she learned while working for Pixar. Note: She has now stated she wishes she had called them “guidelines” instead.

The so-called guidelines were essentially a number of tips for writers and filmmakers to follow when developing their own films. These rules are incredibly useful for screenwriters, not only for animation screenplays but for any genre.

So we’ve taken a look at these 22 rules and broken down what you can learn from them as a screenwriter. Here are what Pixar’s storytelling rules can teach you for your own writing process:

The 22 Pixar Storytelling Rules: 1 -22