The Pixar Touch - history of Pixar - Blog - Pixar story rules (one version) Pixar story artist Emma Coats has tweeted a series of “story basics” over the past month and a half — guidelines that she learned from her more senior colleagues on how to create appealing stories: #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 v. 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. #4: Once upon a time there was ___. #5: Simplify. #6: What is your character good at, comfortable with? #7: Come up with your ending before you figure out your middle. #8: Finish your story, let go even if it’s not perfect. #9: When you’re stuck, make a list of what WOULDN’T happen next. #10: Pull apart the stories you like. #11: Putting it on paper lets you start fixing it. #12: Discount the 1st thing that comes to mind. #13: Give your characters opinions. #16: What are the stakes?
The Scottish Storytelling Centre // Storytellers About the Festival The Scottish International Storytelling Festival (SISF) is a 10 day celebration of live storytelling, oral traditions and cultural diversity, bringing together a large number of Scottish and international storytellers and musicians. The Festival takes place in and around Edinburgh. The programme is structured in a pattern of different events including evening storytelling events for adults, family and children events, partner venues events, workshops, talks & lectures, exhibitions, networking and professional development events and the national event Tell-a-Story Day. The Scottish International Storytelling Festival is inspired by the Scottish ceilidh tradition and its sense of togetherness, a community gathering full of tales, anecdotes, music, songs and ballads. Storytelling is not a form of theatre. Although each event has a structure, there will always be an informal and improvised element to the performance, which is the beauty of live storytelling events.
Secrets of Successful Storytelling | Cruxcatalyst: The Heart of Change If you’re wondering what ‘telling stories’ has to do with creating change, then the simple answer is – everything! Jonah Sachs, Founder and CEO of Free Range Studios and author of Story Wars, has developed a summary of storytelling strategies in his Change This manifesto, ‘How To Tell A Story’. Sachs is adamant that those intent on being effective change agents need to become adept at the art and science (and there is a science!) of storytelling: Maybe it’s because we’re all so overloaded with information.Maybe it’s because we’re all so starved for meaning.Or maybe it’s because, thanks to social media, everyone’s become a broadcaster these days.Whatever the reason, we’re all getting the same memo at the same time: if you want to be heard, you’d better learn to tell better stories. He points out that we live in a world that has lost connection to its traditional myths, and that we are looking for new ones – new meaning. Sachs makes this appeal to those engaged in change work:
Encoding Your Message With Story | Cruxcatalyst: The Heart of Change The most common and enduring means of cultural transmission in human societies is the story. Think about it – did you read The Stern Review Report (700 pages) on climate change, one of the seminal policy documents yet released on the issue of climate change? Or have you seen (or at least know about) Al Gore’s Academy Award winning documentary ‘An Inconvenient Truth’? This applies to any story – one example I found recently that illustrates this point was to ask the question: ‘who remembers how much JK Rowling was paid for the Harry Potter series?’. Try asking another question: ‘who knows the story about where and why JK Rowling wrote her books?’ Most sustainability communications rely heavily on data and ‘selling’ an understanding of a situation, to which a reasoned ‘rational’ response must surely be expected. To know a society’s stories is to know where it intends to go. Sourced from Compostmodern is the story a that I’m telling a myth? The Power of Myth
Pixar’s 22 rules for a good story (how do they fit your organization?) « Millard Fillmore's Bathtub From The Pixar Touch, a set of rules for writing a good story to translate to the screen. Good rules to keep in mind for composition of stories in English, no? Good rules of writing to keep in mind for any essay writing. Pixar story artist Emma Coats has tweeted a series of “story basics” over the past month and a half — guidelines that she learned from her more senior colleagues on how to create appealing stories:#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 v. 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 ___. Consider the project you’ve got to lead, with one person from each department in your company.
Robert McKee on the power of story As children we were naturally good at telling stories about events or topics that mattered and learning from others via their stories, but as we became older we were taught that serious people relied only on presenting information and "the facts." Accurate information, sound logic, and the facts are necessary, of course, but truly effective leaders in any field — including technical ones — know how to tell "the story" of their particular research endeavor, technological quest, or marketing plan, etc. There are a few people talking about the importance of storytelling these days (see this post from last year: Ira Glass: Tips on storytelling), and if you look to non-traditional sources there is much to be learned. Below, I summarize McKee's points by touching on just a few of the questions discussed in the interview. Does being good at storytelling make you a good leader? "Not necessarily," says McKee. Why should a CEO or manager pay attention to a screen writer? What is a story?
The Inside Story Equally important, they turn the audience/listeners into viral advocates of the proposition, whether in life or in business, by paying the story—not just the information—forward. Gregg Segal Stories, unlike straight-up information, can change our lives because they directly involve us, bringing us into the inner world of the protagonist. Much of what I know about narrative and its power I learned over the course of working in the entertainment industry. Although the project had enlisted a great filmmaker—Oscar winner Costa Gavras (for the thriller Z)—I didn't find it compelling. Out of courtesy, I met with the father, who knew I was not a fan. Gregg Segal His telling engaged me in a unique personal way, emotionally transporting me into the search for his child, and it made me wonder whether I really knew my daughters, their values and beliefs, their hopes and dreams. His narrative migrated from my heart to my head to my wallet. I thought I knew the trouble that Bethany Hamilton faced.
The Seven Ages of Innovation In Act II Scene vii of Shakespeare’s As You Like It, the character Jaques de Boys speaks the memorable words “All the world’s a stage.” Jaques, in his monologue, then delves into Shakespeare’s depiction of the “seven ages of man,” from infant through adulthood and back again, the circle of life writ large: …and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts, His acts being seven ages. Upon hearing a commentator refer recently to the seven ages of man, my mind immediately wandered to innovation and I wondered if there were parallels between Shakespeare’s perspective on the ages of man and the trials and tribulations that we often face as innovation practitioners. At first, the infant, Mewling and puking in the nurse’s arms. The first age, infancy, reminds me of the void into which many innovations first come into being. And then the lover, Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad Made to his mistress’ eyebrow.
5 Tips To Make Your Blog Posts More Social This is a guest post by Andrew K Kirk from Face The Buzz. Social Media and Blogging have always played nicely together. Bloggers need platforms to distribute posts and Social Media thrives on material for users to consume – it’s a great match. 1. Twitter’s Embedded Tweet feature allows you to incorporate any tweet into your blog. Marketing Principles Learned from Volkswagen – @socialmouths ow.ly/ccBii— Francisco Rosales(@socialmouths) July 12, 2012 Of course you can see the tweet text, but you can do so much more. 2 . You just wrote a killer blog post and your readers are now much wiser. Shareaholic With over 1.6 million downloads, this social sharing tool is used on a lot of sites. Digg Digg Face The Buzz Blog used Shareaholic – that was until I found Digg Digg. 3. This is my favorite of the tips discussed because it really grabs your readers’ attention and drives them to take action. I really like this technique because it is beneficial for your reader and you. Choose your text. 4. 5.