Summary of the first 3 sections of Pixar's crash course on Storytelling available on Khan Academy
Full course can be found here.
- A story connects with people on an emotional level.
- “What if?" statement is the invite for the imagination for a story you want to explore.
- A "what if" statement often introduces a WORLD and a CHARACTER.
- WORLD: an environment or a set of several rules in which your story will take place; can be literal or figurative.
- CHARACTER: subject or individual we follow on the journey of the story.
- Which one you will build first is upon your will.
- When you are struggling with your character, it helps if you imagine how he would behave in difficult situations (e.g., he is trapped in an elevator).
- Entertaining characters are often deeply flawed, and their flaws may be the key on why the audience cares about them.
- Fully-developed character: a character that we know so well that we can imagine him in almost any situation.
- A character has external features (clothes, hair, shapes etc) and internal features (are they jealous? brave? scared? etc).
- What your character wants - informs your story, the spark that take your character on a journey; they will drive the character TO ACT.
- What your character needs - things the character needs to do or learn in order to succeed in life; they will change character's action.
- The distinction between what a character wants and what he needs is extremely when you're building him.
- Frequently, his WANTS and NEEDS are really different, sometimes they're even conflictual.
- Also frequently, your character will quit what he wants to pursue what he needs, and it's extremely relevant for the plot.
- Obstacles are another key element for characters, and they can be anything (physical or abstract). It's what stands in the way of the characters and prevent them to get what they want or need. Actually, they will make your character think about his wants/needs.
- Character arc: the choices a character makes in response to obstacles and how he changes as a result.
- A character often starts in a basic "form" → faces the obstacle(s) he needs → ends up becoming better because of this.
- Often, audience doesn't want the character to overcome the obstacle easily, but to fight for it and deserve the success.
- Stakes: potential risks, impacts, and rewards involved with each choice the character makes.
- One can make the stakes seem not so extreme in the beginning, but growing with the story.
- The stake can seem small to the audience, but must mean the world to the character.
- Divided into 3 categories: Internal Stakes, External Stakes and Philosophical Stakes.
- The larger the stake, the more compelled your audience will be to root for your character to succeed.
- Story beats: most important moments in your story.
- Beats are the kinds of things you'd mention if you described your story in 30 seconds.
- Beats build the structure ("nodes" of the structure).
- Theme: answer to the question "What are you trying to say in your story?"
- The theme is connected to the moral which is the lesson that the main character learns at the end of a story.
- The theme is basically the reason why the character lets go of what he wants to pursue what he needs.
- Stories are usually divided in 3 acts:
- ACT 1: [a] Once upon a time… (introduce the characters) [b] Every day… (introduce the world and how it works) and [c] Until one day... (inciting incident - event that leads to key obstacle that the characters face)
- Act 1 can also introduce the antagonist, that will be the force that gets in the way of your character's wants and needs.
- What's essential in the first act is that you meet the main character in her or his world and you understand their place in the world and you understand their problem in the world.
- ACT 2: [d] Because of that… (protagonist often encounter a series of progressive complications. These obstacles force him to make difficult decisions as one thing leads to another in a chain of events we call the journey) [e] Because of that… (your second act may have several complications, not just one)
- The choices and actions your main character makes as he attempts to overcome these escalating obstacles is the substance of the second act.
- Act 2 may also have the ”low point”, where seems all hope is lost. Everything's gone wrong and your character may have failed in all attempts to get what he wants, or he may have achieved everything he wants, but still be frustrated or miserable because there's something else he actually needs.
- Act 2 often begins shortly after the inciting incident and is followed by as series of obstacles our characters must overcome in pursuit of their goals. By the mid point of act two, around the middle of the story, there's often a choice from which they can never turn back. We sometimes call this ”the point of no return”. Act two may also contain the low point. This is generally where act two ends.
- But often they realize that what they want is not actually what they needed and what they needed is much more important.
- Finding out what they need, that usually is the theme of the movie.
- Once you know what your theme is, what you're trying to say, you can then create a series of dramatic events, dramatic tests for your protagonist for the viewer's realization that "I need to change and I need to be influenced by the theme of this movie".
- ACT 3: [f] Until finally… (the character sacrifices his "wants" for his "needs" and comes up with a resolution) [g] The moral of the story is… (summarize the moral of the story)
- The third act is where we pull everything together. The characters have overcome their obstacles. Their arcs are now complete. The theme has been clearly expressed, and we've brought the story to a logical and emotional, sometimes unexpected conclusion.
- Note: In Act 2 your character learns what is important, while in Act 3 he fights for that important thing.
- You admire a character for trying more than for their successes.
- 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.
- Trying for theme is important, but you won’t see what the story is actually about until you’re at the end of it. Now rewrite.
- Once upon a time there was ___. Every day, ___. One day ___. Because of that, ___. Because of that, ___. Until finally ___.
- Simplify. Focus. Combine characters. Hop over detours. You’ll feel like you’re losing valuable stuff but it sets you free.
- What is your character good at, comfortable with? Throw the polar opposite at them. Challenge them. How do they deal?
- Come up with your ending before you figure out your middle. Seriously. Endings are hard, get yours working up front.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Discount the 1st thing that comes to mind. And the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th – get the obvious out of the way. Surprise yourself.
- Give your characters opinions. Passive/malleable might seem likable to you as you write, but it’s poison to the audience.
- 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.
- If you were your character, in this situation, how would you feel? Honesty lends credibility to unbelievable situations.
- What are the stakes? Give us reason to root for the character. What happens if they don’t succeed? Stack the odds against.
- No work is ever wasted. If it’s not working, let go and move on – it’ll come back around to be useful later.
- You have to know yourself: the difference between doing your best & fussing. Story is testing, not refining.
- Coincidences to get characters into trouble are great; coincidences to get them out of it are cheating.
- Exercise: take the building blocks of a movie you dislike. How d’you rearrange them into what you DO like?
- You gotta identify with your situation/characters, can’t just write ‘cool’. What would make YOU act that way?
- What’s the essence of your story? Most economical telling of it? If you know that, you can build out from there.