Use your story’s structure to your advantage
from Pixar Storytelling: Rules for Effective Storytelling Based on Pixar’s Greatest Films by Dean Movshovitz
How to Apply This
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Create inciting incidents.
Come up with a significant event that initiates the plot and forces the protagonist to react. Set up a dramatic question that will be waiting for an answer throughout the story. -
Create the first plot point.
Come up with a first plot point that will strengthen the protagonist's determination to go on a further quest and to fight against obstacles. -
Create a second plot point.
Design a serious obstacle for the protagonist, which will hit him hard and create a big problem. It's good to put the protagonist in an almost unsolvable situation. -
Create an unexpected climax.
Create a very tense scene, and add a lot of conflicts. Create a resolution to the conflict and lead the protagonist to the final victory. -
Create a satisfying ending.
Create a satisfying, unexpected ending that answers the main question from the story's beginning. Avoid coincidences; the end should be the result of the entire arduous journey of the protagonist. In the end, show how the character and the world the character lives in have changed for the better. -
Go beyond the classic structure.
Create a multi-layered story with an epic main plot, full of actions and turns, life or death situations, and many obstacles. Develop a complex relationship between completely opposite characters who have no reason to love each other. Come up with a double climax story.
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