How Emma Coats Created Pixar 22 Rules for Phenomenal Storytelling
In 2011, twenty-two short messages sent across the internet changed how millions of writers build narratives. Those brief posts were written by Emma Coats, who worked as a storyboard artist at Pixar. She wrote down the creative patterns, problem-solving methods, and narrative habits she observed among her colleagues. People quickly started calling this collection "Pixar's 22 Rules of Storytelling."
I have spent years studying how narratives work across books, films, and speeches. When I look closely at the twenty-two principles Coats collected, I see practical advice for anyone who has ever faced an empty page. These principles are not formal studio doctrine or rigid corporate rules. Instead, they are working notes from someone who sat in story rooms and solved narrative problems every day. In this article, I examine where these principles came from, analyze each item, and explain how to apply them to your creative work.
Key Takeaways
Origin and Attribution: Emma Coats compiled the list from her personal observations and lessons learned from peers while working at Pixar. She shared them online in 2011.
Effort Over Success: Audiences connect with characters because of their struggle and determination, not because they win without breaking a sweat.
Structure and Cause: Stories thrive on strict cause-and-effect chains rather than disconnected events connected only by coincidence.
Early Endings: Deciding on your ending before you finish the middle sections gives you a target and prevents rambling drafts.
Ruthless Editing: Putting ideas down on paper allows you to see their flaws clearly so you can simplify, combine, or discard them.
The Origin of the Famous 22 Principles
To understand these principles, we need to correct a common misconception. Many online articles describe these items as strict rules written by the executive team at Pixar. That is not what happened.
In May 2011, the companion website for the book The Pixar Touch began noting these tips after Coats shared them on Twitter. Later, on July 12, 2012, Pixar Post published the complete set of twenty-two items, noting that Coats was speaking at an industry event and pursuing live-action directing. Two years later, on July 15, 2014, PR Daily published the complete list under her byline.
Coats never claimed that she personally invented every single concept. Instead, she captured shared wisdom from the story department. Story artists at animation studios do not simply draw pictures. They write dialogue, test pacing, invent jokes, and stage character conflicts. Because animation takes years and millions of dollars to produce, story artists must test ideas quickly on paper before any digital model is built.
When you read these guidelines, view them as field notes from someone who had to solve narrative roadblocks quickly under tight production deadlines.
Character Foundations and Audience Empathy
The opening principles focus on how an audience connects with a fictional character. Without a strong connection, even the most expensive visual effects fall flat.
Rule 1: Admire the Effort
The first rule states that an audience admires a character more for trying than for their success. When I watch classic animated films, I notice that the characters who win our hearts make mistakes. They stumble, get back up, and try again.
Think about Marlin in Finding Nemo. He is terrified of the open ocean, yet he swims across the sea to find his son. His courage does not come from being fearless; it comes from his willingness to act despite his fear. If your character achieves their goals easily without facing resistance, the story loses tension. Readers want to see grit, persistence, and honest effort.
Rule 2: Keep the Audience in Mind
Coats reminds writers to keep in mind what is interesting to an audience, rather than what is merely fun to do as a writer. The two things can be very different.
When I sit down to write, I might enjoy building elaborate historical backstories, family trees, or intricate magic systems. But if those details slow down the narrative drive or bore the reader, they need to go. You must balance your personal creative pleasures with the emotional experience of the person reading your work.
Rule 3: Search for the Theme
Trying for a theme is important, but Coats points out that you often will not know what the story is actually about until you reach the end. Once you finish your initial draft, you can look back, identify the true theme, and rewrite the piece so everything aligns with that central idea.
Writers often freeze because they believe they must have a grand philosophical statement before typing page one. Coats advises the opposite: write forward, find the emotional heart through discovery, and refine the theme during your revisions.
Rule 6: Challenge Character Strengths
What is your character good at, or comfortable with? Throw the polar opposite at them. Challenge them. See how they deal with the discomfort.
If you have a character who relies entirely on physical strength, place them in a puzzle room where muscle achieves nothing. If you have an intellectual character who plans every second of their life, toss them into complete chaos. True character depth appears when people lose their usual tools and must adapt to survive.
Narrative Structure and Momentum
Structure gives a story its backbone. Without structure, a narrative becomes a random collection of scenes that drift without purpose.
Rule 4: The Story Spine
One of the most widely quoted entries in Coats's notes is Rule 4, often called the Story Spine:
Once upon a time there was ___.
Every day, ___.
One day ___.
Because of that, ___.
Because of that, ___.
Until finally ___.
This formula breaks down plotting to its simplest elements. Notice the phrase "Because of that." It enforces cause and effect. Scene A causes Scene B, which causes Scene C. When writers struggle with sagging middle chapters, it is usually because events are linked by the words "And then" rather than "Because of that." Changing your transitions to rely on direct consequence restores narrative drive immediately.
Rule 7: Work Out the Ending Early
Coats suggests figuring out your ending before you work out your middle. Endings are notoriously difficult. Having a clear destination makes the path forward much easier to map out.
When I plan an article, a short fiction piece, or an essay, knowing where the argument finishes allows me to plant clues early. If you do not know where your story lands, your middle chapters wander aimlessly. Once your ending is locked, every prior scene can be trimmed to lead toward that exact finish line.
Rule 14: Honest Purpose
Why must you tell this story? What is the belief burning inside you that your story feeds on? That is the heart of it.
If you write a story simply because you think a genre is popular, the result often feels hollow. Readers sense when a creator does not care about the underlying emotional truth. You need a personal stake in the material. Ask yourself why this specific story matters to you, and let that personal passion guide your creative decisions.
Rule 16: Establish the Stakes
Give your reader a reason to root for the character. What happens if they fail? Stack the odds against them.
Stakes give weight to action. If a character can walk away from a conflict with zero negative consequences, tension disappears. The reader needs to know what is lost if the protagonist falls short: their home, their dignity, their family, or their life. Once the stakes are clear, every decision carries genuine weight.
Rule 19: The Rule of Coincidence
Coincidences that get characters into trouble are great; coincidences that get them out of trouble are cheating.
This rule remains one of the sharpest structural insights in screenwriting. If a sudden thunderstorm strands your detective on an isolated island with a killer, that coincidence creates tension. But if a random lightning strike knocks out the killer right before they attack, the audience feels cheated. Characters must solve their problems through agency, skill, and sacrifice, not through convenient luck.
The Writing and Revision Process
A large portion of the twenty-two principles focuses on the messy, uncomfortable work of drafting, rewriting, and overcoming creative blocks. The publication Fast Company highlighted how these practical rules help visualize the raw labor behind great animation.
Rule 5: Simplify and Focus
Combine characters. Hop over detours. You might feel like you are losing valuable material, but it sets you free.
Writers often fall in love with secondary characters who perform only one small task. Having seven minor characters with overlapping duties confuses the reader. By combining three weak characters into one vibrant personality, you streamline your plot and give that single character richer moments to shine.
Rule 8: Finish the Draft
Finish your story, and let go even if it is not perfect. In an ideal world you have both, but move on. Do better next time.
Perfectionism kills creative output. When you polish the first chapter for six months, you never learn how to write a climax or resolve a third act. Finishing an imperfect project teaches you lessons that you can carry into your next project.
Rule 9: Break Writer's Block
When you are stuck, make a list of what would not happen next. Many times, the material to get you unstuck will show up.
When you cannot figure out the right path, listing terrible, absurd, or cliché options removes the pressure of finding the perfect answer. By clearing away the obvious ideas, your mind relaxes and uncovers unexpected solutions.
Rule 10: Dissect What You Love
Pull apart the stories you like. What you like in them is a part of you; you have to recognize it before you can use it.
Passive consumption does not help a writer grow. When a movie makes you cry, or a novel keeps you reading until dawn, stop and study the mechanics. Look at how the author handled the chapter transitions. Notice how the dialogue withheld critical information. When you identify why something moved you, you can use that structural technique in your own writing.
Rule 11: Put It on Paper
Putting it on paper lets you start fixing it. If it stays in your head, a perfect idea will never be shared with anyone.
In your mind, an idea always feels flawless because it lacks form. The moment you write it down, the flaws become visible. That is not failure; that is editing. You cannot improve words that do not exist.
Rule 12: Discount the Obvious
Discount the first thing that comes to your mind. And the second, third, fourth, fifth. Get the obvious out of the way. Surprise yourself.
The first three ideas you have for a scene are usually the same three ideas everyone else has seen in popular films. By rejecting your earliest assumptions, you dig deeper into your imagination and discover fresh, memorable scenarios.
Rule 13: Give Characters Opinions
Give your characters opinions. Passive or malleable might seem likable to you as you write, but it is poison to the audience.
Characters who agree with everyone and drift through life without a stance are boring. Even polite characters should have private convictions, pet peeves, and boundaries. Conflict arises naturally when people with opposing viewpoints share the same physical space.
Rule 15: Emotional Honesty
If you were your character in this situation, how would you feel? Honesty lends credibility to unbelievable situations.
Even if you are writing about talking toys, alien monsters, or medieval wizards, the underlying human emotions must be authentic. If an event causes grief, do not skip over the pain for a cheap joke. Ground unusual premises in genuine emotional reactions so the audience stays grounded in reality.
Rule 17: No Work Is Wasted
No work is ever wasted. If it is not working, let go and move on. It will come back around to be useful later.
Cutting fifty pages from a draft can feel like a disaster. However, the time spent writing those cut pages helped you understand your characters better. The discarded scene might become the central premise of a new project years down the road.
Rule 18: Know Yourself
You have to know yourself: the difference between doing your best and fussing. Story is testing, not refining.
There is a point in every project where additional editing stops making the work better and simply makes it different. Learn to spot the difference between fixing genuine structural problems and obsessively rearranging commas out of fear of publication.
Rule 20: Exercise the Narrative
Exercise: take the building blocks of a movie you dislike. How would you rearrange them into what you do like?
This exercise shifts your focus from complaining about bad art to understanding construction. When an ending fails, ask yourself where the plot went off track. Rebuilding another creator's broken story strengthens your diagnostic skills.
Rule 21: Identify with the Situation
You have to identify with your situation and characters. You cannot just write cool scenes. What would make you act that way?
Spectacle without human motivation is empty noise. If a character runs into a burning building, the reason must be powerful enough to make sense to the audience. Cool visuals only work when supported by relatable motives.
Rule 22: What Is the Essence?
What is the essence of your story? What is the most economical way to tell it? If you know that, you can build out from there.
Strip away subplots, minor characters, and ornate descriptions until you reach the bare minimum premise. If the story works at its simplest level, you can carefully add back secondary layers without losing clarity.
Applying These Story Rules to Nonfiction and Everyday Work
While Coats gathered these concepts in an animation studio, their value extends far beyond Hollywood screenplays. I use these same principles when writing essays, crafting presentations, and developing business proposals.
In business writing, Rule 4 provides a clean structure for case studies:
We had a steady process.
Then an obstacle appeared.
Because of that obstacle, sales dropped.
Because of that drop, we tested a new workflow.
Until finally, efficiency improved.
Similarly, Rule 1 applies to presentations. Audiences respect a team that explains how they tackled a difficult problem through trial and error. Hiding all mistakes behind glossy charts makes you appear untrustworthy. Highlighting the effort creates authentic respect.
Rule 5, simplifying and focusing, remains the best editorial advice for any written document. Trimming redundant sentences and combining points sharpens your argument and respects your reader's limited time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did Pixar create these 22 rules as official studio doctrine?
No. Emma Coats compiled these observations and tips while working as a storyboard artist at Pixar. She published them on Twitter in 2011 to share what she learned from colleagues. They represent personal advice and studio working culture rather than formal company policy.
What is the Story Spine in Rule 4?
The Story Spine is a narrative template that organizes plots into cause-and-effect beats: "Once upon a time," "Every day," "One day," "Because of that," "Because of that," and "Until finally." It ensures that events happen as direct consequences of earlier actions rather than unrelated accidents.
Why does Rule 19 consider helpful coincidences to be cheating?
Audiences want to see characters overcome adversity using their own intelligence, bravery, or sacrifice. When an unexpected coincidence rescues the protagonist from danger, it robs the character of agency and deflates the narrative tension.
How can business writers use Emma Coats's storytelling tips?
Business writers can use Rule 5 to simplify complex reports, Rule 4 to outline persuasive case studies, and Rule 1 to build trust by showing the honest effort and problem-solving behind a project rather than claiming perfection.
Why should you work out the ending before the middle?
Rule 7 advises writing the ending early because middle sections easily drift off course. When you know the exact destination of your story, you can write scenes that point directly toward that climax, making the editing process faster and more coherent.
Conclusion
The enduring popularity of Emma Coats's storytelling principles comes from their practicality. They do not treat writing as a mystical secret reserved for geniuses. Instead, they treat storytelling as a craft of testing, failing, simplifying, and revising.
When you sit down to write your next project, remember that an imperfect first draft is normal. Focus on your character's honest struggle, connect your scenes with direct cause and effect, and do not be afraid to discard weak ideas. Storytelling is about connecting with human emotion through persistent effort and clear structure. Use these principles as your toolkit, put your ideas on paper, and finish your story.