I'm actually a bit torn about this list in general, but I'll stick to these 4 for right now. The reason that I'm torn is because I think that, on the one hand, they have a lot of truth to them while, on the other hand, the more cookie-cutter aspects of them (such as #4) is part of what leads to the homogenization we've seen in mainstream movies. I definitely agree with #1 - the journey is what's important - though I do think it's also important to remember that just because your character doesn't succeed in their goal it doesn't mean you've got an "unhappy ending". #2...I'd say it's a mix. I do think it's important to write what you like and not try and write for the audience all the time. That being said, sometimes you do reach a point where, to be commercially viable, you need to make a choice between what will be more satisfying to an audience, and what you see in your mind. IMO, the audience should usually win that vote, but there are times where you need to challenge your audience. Break #2 as you deem necessary, but be aware that it could make it more difficult to sell your script (and then after it's sold, the studio can just change it anyway during rewrites :) #3 is probably the statement that I agree most wholeheartedly with from these 4. Thinking thematically is important, but I always find that I see what my story is REALLY about as I'm finishing the first draft (sometimes it's what I started with, and other times it's a different direction) #4 I've already kind of touched on. Structure is good. Following structure so that it becomes formula is...not so good. Anyway, I didn't mean for this to go on as long as it did - but those are my thoughts on the matter :)

Plus - any list about tips involving film/screenwriting/etc. should automatically start with #1 Don't NOT be talented.

Whoah. #1 Resonates with me like a power chord. Damn.

#1: You admire a character for trying more than for their successes. This is pretty much true of life in general, but when it comes to stories, I'm always more enthralled with the journey than necessarily the outcome. National Lampoon's Vacation, for example - seeing them enjoy Wally World was a positive experience, but only because we saw all the negatives they had to go through to get there. #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. I think there's truth to this, but I think you've always got to write for yourself first and foremost and hope others like it. It's hard to please everybody. #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. I somewhat disagree with this. I know my first few scripts, despite getting certain levels of recognition, weren't written with theme in mind. It took tearing apart the car and reassembling it more than I would care to admit before I realized, ah ha! THAT'S what it's about! It's like the pieces are there, you're just not making the connections until you've examined it from every angle and one day, out of the blue - you have an epiphany which makes what you need to do with your story all the more clear. Once you've reached that level of enlightenment, it's much easier to write with a theme in mind. You've got to know what your story is about and what direction it's going because how it turns out is what you ultimately have to say about the matter. All the events that come prior to that moment? They're the dramatization in one way or another for whatever it is you're trying to say thematically - and if your writing isn't attempting to do that, my guess is it's unfocused, wandering and, gasp, lacks as much meaning as it could/should. Knowing what you're working toward before you set out on your journey will keep you from doubling back over and over and over again. #4: Once upon a time there was ___. Every day, ___. One day ___. Because of that, ___. Because of that, ___. Until finally ___. The takeaway here is causality, plain and simple. Things can't just happen to characters - they have to be intermingled with the plot, forcing it to happen to - you got it - dramatize whatever theme you're working toward with the outcome of your climax.

Isn't bland homogenization a good thing for an aspiring screenwriting? Seems to me that anything challenging or idiosyncratic directly undercuts one's chances, at first. Maybe after you're established, you can step away from the cookie-cutter, but as Scott said in a previous post, you're trying to sell to people who are heavily invested in cookies. (Okay, that's a very rough paraphrase!)

This may be a bit off topic, but #2 reminds me of something I realised when I first began writing - just because you've always wanted to write an (insert plot or genre) movie doesn't mean you should write one. Certainly not right now. If the industry's knee-deep in movies about Africa, as it was at that point, then "But *i've* never written a movie about Africa" is not a good enough reason to write one. Not unless you have something truly different and interesting to add. Unless it's a zombie movie. They *always* want zombie movies... :)

Brad just scored two big points with Max Millimeter.

Hmm, I don't think Pixar is being that cycnical re: #2. It doesn't say "write for an audience" instead of yourself. It says to write for "you AS an audience." In other other words, write what you'd like to see on the screen instead of what's fun to write on the page. For instance, you may love writing pages of witty repartee, but I doubt you actually want to watch a ten-minute scene of rapid-fire zingers. Three minutes, yeah. Ten, no.

You're right - I misread that! My brain has been all over the place today...

Also, the operative word in #2 is fun -- not passionate about or care deeply about. When I read fun, what came to mind is that kind of self-indulgent writing people do sometimes when they want to shake things up for all the wrong reasons -- because they're bored with their own work and want to pop wheelies instead of just getting from A to Z. When I read work like this, I always find it very, very hard to get my bearings in a scene.

I think #4 does a good job managing both of the above commenters' concerns. On one hand, yes, Hollywood traffics in structured narrative films and traditional storytelling. They don't make Alain Resnais or Nathaniel Dorsky films. Even Wes Anderson is considered "out there." On the other hand, no, you don't have to follow a step-by-step "beat sheet." That's unnecessary and formulaic (even if it works for some writers). So instead, Pixar just boils it down to the basics: "#4: Once upon a time there was ___. Every day, ___. One day ___. Because of that, ___. Because of that, ___. Until finally ___." THE END As long as you follow those basic parameters, you can fill in the _____s in any super-creative way you want. It's also a reminder of simplicity: keep your story as simple and focused as possible.

I don't see #4 as Cookie Cutter. It's saying you have to have an actual core of a story. You need to establish a protagonist, his/her situation, the event that starts the story rolling, then things that happen that relate to previous things that happen or activity (not just random events or episodes), and then you have to have a finish. You can write it however you want and in a different order if you wish but at the core all stories tend to breakdown to someone who's life changes with multiple following events related to the mail character and then have to have some type of ending. If you can't fill in the basic blanks then you don't have a story yet.

Heh, no problem. As you can tell from my typos, I'm not Mr. Careful either.

the journey is what’s important – though I do think it’s also important to remember that just because your character doesn’t succeed in their goal it doesn’t mean you’ve got an “unhappy ending”. Brad great analysis. My first thought when I read your post was from the "Great Escape". Not a recent film but historically an odd ensemble film which garnered "some recognition". Even though the escape went south, Steve McQueen made a brilliant effort and lived, and James Coburn and Charles Bronson actually did escape in the film. Despite the Nazi's killing 50 prisoners, there was an extreme sense of hope in that film. I love pitching a ball at the wall when I'm in a bad place, like Steve McQueen!!!

Infrequent commentor, regular reader, but I thought I'd add RE #4 that Emma left off the final step: "And ever since that day..." Popularized by sometime-Pixar lecturer Brian McDonald: http://www.booktrope.com/chapter/invisible-ink-chapter-2-seven-easy-steps-to-a-better-story/

Thanks, Erik. And please feel free to post more often!

Thanks, Scott. Appreciate being made to feel welcome. Can't emphasize enough how rare that is on internet messageboards, as I'm sure you well-know :)

I thoroughly agree with the analysis re: # 2. I am at the moment in the middle of crafting a character whom I've suddenly discovered is very boring and depressing. I realized that if I don't like writing her, I probably sure as heck will not want to shell out AED 30 dirhams/12 Aussie dollars / 400 Sri Lankan rupees to see her on screen. In this case, what I like to write = what I'd like to see.