A few days ago I came across a wonderful article on Pixar’s 22 Rules of Storytelling. The rules often ask the story teller to challenge what they are creating and that they should always be pushing their imagination to make a better story.
Although I love a good story whether it’s through a novel, an animation or a movie I’ve never really thought about writing a story. However, I found these rules can equally be applied to my work either as a creative or as an entrepreneur. Here are 8 out of the 22 rules which I personally can relate to the most – the italic text are my interpretation what these rules can mean to a creative/entrepreneur
1. You admire a character for trying more than for their successes.
– Keep on trying, it’s not about making it big in one attempt, but still not giving up after failing a hundred times
2. 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.
– Have the end user in mind, design an user experience that is best for the end user
7. Come up with your ending before you figure out your middle. Seriously. Endings are hard, get yours working up front.
– Decide on your goal and work out how to get there and aim big, not realistic.
8. 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.
– Launch your product early, you should be ashamed of your first product
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.
– Need I say more?
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.
– Know what makes your product or design great, break it down and understand it
11. 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.
– Don’t fool yourself that your idea is great, do something with it.
17. No work is ever wasted. If it’s not working, let go and move on – it’ll come back around to be useful later.
– It’s all about learning! “I haven’t failed, I’ve found 10,000 ways that don’t work” Thomas Edison
Read the full list at Aerograme Studio