Incorporating and freely adapted from Emma Coates’ ‘Pixar 22’ list
#1 Finish. Finish. Finish. This tip often lurks towards the bottom of other lists, but it’s perhaps the most vital. Get to the end of your story, get it down. It won’t be perfect. Just finish. Give yourself a pat on the back. Take a breath, put the kettle on, step away for a while… then go back and make it better.
#2 We will admire a character for trying… more than for their successes. A little earnest struggle goes a long way.
#3 Keep in mind what’s interesting to an audience, not what’s fun to do as a writer. A script needs to entertain and engage a reader, but clever word-play on the page often fails to register on the screen.
#4 It’s vital to build your story around an underlying principle or theme, even though that might not reveal itself to you until you’re nearly at the end. What is your story about? Find it, feel it, focus it.
#5 Keep your story motivated and moving: Once upon a time there was ___. Every day they ___. One day ___. Then because of that, ___. Then because of that, ___. Until finally ___. ‘When… Then… Until…’
#6 Simplify. Focus. Combine characters. Hop over detours. Get to the point. You might feel like you’re losing valuable stuff but it can set you free. A reader or an audience doesn’t care how long you've laboured over a character, a line of dialogue, a scene. Be prepared to let some things go.
#7 What is your character good at, comfortable with? Are they great at anything? Do they have a special skill? Good for them… Now try shoving them entirely out of their comfort zone. Challenge them. How do they cope?
#8 Figure out your ending before you figure out your middle. Endings are hard, but that great big chunk in the middle will be even harder if you don’t know where you’re heading.
#9 Pull apart the stories you like and admire. Learn from the best. Write from your heart. Find your voice. Read scripts. Watch movies. Watch TV.
#10 Give your script a fighting chance. Make it look professional. No amount of perfect formatting and layout can compensate for weak content... but strong writing risks being overlooked if the script just doesn't look right. Don't get funky for the sake of it.
#11 Spell check. Always. Show the reader that you care enough to make the effort. Proof-read your script before you send it out.
#12 Appreciate that sometimes you can learn more from a bad script than you can from a mediocre one. But don’t dump on someone else’s script just to make yourself feel better - writing is hard for everyone - develop your critical faculty.
#13 Again: Finish, Finish, Finish. Putting it on paper lets you start fixing it. You can fix a broken page, you can’t fix a blank page.
#14 Be prepared to discount the first thing that comes to mind - try and get the obvious out of the way. Surprise yourself. But don’t let it get in the way of finishing. Get it down. Finish first. Fix later.
#15 Give your characters opinions and objectives. Make them active rather than reactive. Put them in the driving seat of their own story. Don’t let them be passengers.
#16 If you were in your character’s situation, how would you feel? What would you do? What would happen in the real world? Honesty and emotional truth lend credibility to unbelievable situations.
#17 Keep the stakes high. Not every character needs to save the world from a flaming asteroid… but the outcome of the story, and the risks along the way, need to matter. Give us a reason to root for the character. What happens if they don’t succeed? What’s the worst that could happen?
#18 It’s okay to let yourself off the hook sometimes. Do your best… but don’t overthink it. A problem in the story might not be such a dead end if you move on and circle back to it later. Keep writing. Keep moving. Finish. Finish. Finish.
#19 Coincidences to get characters into trouble are great; coincidences to get them out of it are cheating.
#20 A character can’t be cool just because you say so on the page. What makes them special… or different?
#21 ‘Show, Don’t Tell’. Never forget you’re writing for the screen. If a director can’t shoot it, the camera can't see it, or an actor can’t act it, it’s often best to not put it on the page.
#22 But… don’t show us things that aren’t actually useful or informative with regard to plot or character. Do we need to know what kind of coffee this character usually orders? Is it relevant or revealing? Maybe it is, but take the time to ask yourself that question. Every moment, every glance, every line, every interaction is down to you. Make every creative choice earn its place.
