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The Case for Curiosity

Pixar's 22 Rules of Storytelling

These rules were originally tweeted by Emma Coates, Pixar’s Story Artist. I just rediscovered it via.

1. You admire a character for trying more than for their successes.
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.
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.
4. Once upon a time there was ___. Every day, ___. One day ___. Because of that, ___. Because of that, ___. Until finally ___.
5. Simplify. Focus. Combine characters. Hop over detours. You’ll feel like you’re losing valuable stuff but it sets you free.
6. What is your character good at, comfortable with? Throw the polar opposite at them. Challenge them. How do they deal?
7. Come up with your ending before you figure out your middle. Seriously. Endings are hard, get yours working up front.
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.
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.
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.
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.
12. Discount the 1st thing that comes to mind. And the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th – get the obvious out of the way. Surprise yourself.
13. Give your characters opinions. Passive/malleable might seem likable to you as you write, but it’s poison to the audience.
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.
15. If you were your character, in this situation, how would you feel? Honesty lends credibility to unbelievable situations.
16. What are the stakes? Give us reason to root for the character. What happens if they don’t succeed? Stack the odds against.
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.
18. You have to know yourself: the difference between doing your best & fussing. Story is testing, not refining.
19. Coincidences to get characters into trouble are great; coincidences to get them out of it are cheating.
20. Exercise: take the building blocks of a movie you dislike. How d’you rearrange them into what you DO like?
21. You gotta identify with your situation/characters, can’t just write ‘cool’. What would make YOU act that way?
22. What’s the essence of your story? Most economical telling of it? If you know that, you can build out from there.

Dog Pound

How did I never see this?

Because he's coming back

What Gets Shared?

What Types of Superbowl Ads Get Shared the Most? infographic

The Year in Review, Contagious+

With no input from me, yet. My goodness. There is so much goodness.

Most Contagious 2012 from Contagious

2013: The Year Marketers Are Expected To Be Strategic (by @Gartner_inc): http://bit.ly/2013MKTStrat

Social Media Report (by @nielsenwire)
http://bit.ly/NSM2012

Design Trend Predictions for 2013 (by @creativebloq)
http://bit.ly/CBDesign2013

12 Consumer Trends for 2113 (by @trendwatching)
http://bit.ly/TW2013Trends

15 Strategic Planning Questions to Get Ready for 2013 (by @brainzooming)
http://bit.ly/13QUESTS

JWT: 10 Trends for 2013 (via @JWTNewYork)
http://slidesha.re/UvCtmk

Internet Trends by Mary Meeker (of @kpcb)
http://bit.ly/MMWWWTrends

The 16 Most Important Social Media Updates of 2012 (by @hubspot)
http://bit.ly/HSSocial2012

Top 10 Media Trends (by @nielsenwire)
http://bit.ly/Nielsen10

Ford Trendbook 2013 (via @scottmonty)
http://bit.ly/FordT2013

Global Trends for 2013: A Top Ten For Business Leaders (by @TheEconomist)
http://bit.ly/Econ2013

10 Key Trends To Watch In 2013 (by @globaltrendscom)
http://bit.ly/GTrends13

 

Source:Dan Wallace 

Let's GO!

State of the Internet 2013

Apparently the answer is 'mobile'. But the implcation is deep. As I've said elsewhere this is a real 'System of the World' type moment. Changes in technology will create deep changes in behavior; even deeper changes will happen than have already happened.

If people's interfaces with information are tactile, then how we use and manipulate information will change

If technology changes our sense of what we own (or need to own) then people will buy different things.

And so on. It's easy to see information like this from the outside and assume it will affect other people or things that are not core to how we live. 

But this data is indicative of great change. But clients and governments and companies are being incrementalist in their outlook. Uh oh.

 

2012 KPCB Internet Trends Year-End Update from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers

Be Water

remix culture is culture

Social Media 2012: More News Than You Can Shake a Stick At

via @rosiesiman

2H12: The State of Social Media & Social Media Marketing in the Second Half of 2012

View more PowerPoint from Esteban Contreras