Pixar and the Craft of Storytelling
By: Scott Myers
Tags: Creative Writing, Writing, Fiction, Storytelling, Screenwriting

My popular one week online class begins Monday, January 4, 2021.

Be sure to check out two special holiday deals at the bottom of the page!

Consider the great characters Pixar has created. Learn how and why they work, and bring those insights to your writing.

22 movies produced. 20 movies #1 at the box office. Worldwide B.O. gross $15 billion. Average B.O. per film: $714M by far the highest average per film of any studio in Hollywood history.

It’s not just dollars and cents, it’s also quality storytelling. 15 Academy Awards, 9 Golden Globes, 11 Grammys. Indeed, 8 of Pixar’s 20 films are in the IMDB Top 250 Movies of all time.

No disrespect to Disney, but I think the real Magic Kingdom lies 397.8 miles north of Anaheim in a city called Emeryville, California where you’ll find this:

Longtime Go Into The Story readers know of my fascination with Pixar having blogged about them dozens of times. Due to having two sons who quite literally have grown up in what someday is likely to be called the Pixar Era, I have seen every one of the company’s movies, most of them several times.

In my estimation, the filmmakers at Pixar are master storytellers.

But how do they successfully wrangle magic time after time in their films? Are there lessons we can learn from Pixar to inspire and upgrade our own writing

Up-up-upgrade your writing with Pixar story-crafting principles and practices.

Those are two key questions I undertook in creating the online course Pixar and the Craft of Storytelling which begins Monday, January 4, 2019. My answer: An emphatic yes!

First off, there are the practices Pixar uses in developing, breaking, writing and rewriting a script. In our 1-week class, we go through that process step by step, then see how we can adapt that approach to our own writing.

Then there are several narrative principles evident in Pixar movies, six of them we focus in our online class: Small Story / Substantial Saga, Special Subculture, Strange Sojourners, Separation, Sentimentality, Sires and Siblings, Stumbles and Switches, and Surprise. Going through every Pixar movie, we explore how these dynamics work in the context of each narrative and their overall applicability to storytelling.

There are 12 lectures, each of which I wrote, the content buttressed by an exclusive interview I conducted with Mary Coleman, Senior Development Executive at Pixar since the days of Toy Story 2, so we get a real inside look the outfit’s creative process.

In September 2017, I interviewed Mary Coleman as part of the DePaul University School of Cinematic Arts ‘Courier 12 Screenwriting Conference.

The class also has a Logline Workshop where you can post a story idea and revise per peer feedback. And two teleconferences to accommodate peoples’ schedules where participants get a chance to dig into the course content with me as well as discuss anything related to writing, screenwriting, and movies.

Trust me, this Pixar class I teach is INCREDIBLE!

Here are some nice comments from just a few folks who’ve taken the class:

“I was lucky enough to be able to take Scott’s Pixar and the Craft of Storytelling class. It was my first class and a wonderful experience. I learned a ton and now have some important utensils that will help make all my stories better. Scott’s a great teacher and it was a pleasure learning from him!” — Valencia Stokes

“This course is awesome. I refer to these notes and lessons all the time.” — Traci Nell Peterson

“A course on Pixar movies? Apart from legitimately letting out my inner child and renting Up ‘for research purposes, I learnt about the ethos of the Pixar Brain Trust and the essential elements contained in all of their movies. Scott took us on an all-inclusive week long journey into why Pixar are so successful and how to practically apply this to your own script.” — Camilla Castree

“I recommend this course wholeheartedly. Plus you get to watch Pixar films as homework.” — TheQuietAct

“Scott Myers is a brilliant teacher and unites his knowledge and experience, insight and depth of thought in his lectures as well as he is providing help and support to his students. I highly recommend the class.” — Eva Brandstätter

A few words about the format: I’ve been teaching online since 2002, worked with thousands of writers in that platform, and honestly believe it is superior to the onsite class environment in many ways:

You can do virtually everything on your own time: Download lectures, read forum conversations, add your own comments, upload writing exercises and assignments. In your pajamas. In bed. Drinking coffee. However you want to access online course content, you can do it.

As opposed to listening to a teacher present lectures verbally, you get to download lectures and read them. Again at your leisure, but even more importantly, instead of feverishly trying to jot down notes from a verbal presentation, here you get everything laid out for you. I take great pride in my lectures, as they not only provide great content, they also have a narrative flow to them. Yes, they tell a little story.

Feedback and conversations online tend to be much more thoughtful and therefore beneficial than onsite settings. Why? Because instead of off-the-cuff, random comments, participants online tend to spend more time and reflection in composing posts for online.

Finally, I’m constantly amazed at how much of a community emerges in online class environments. Writers from all around the world and somehow we bind together into remarkably vibrant learning communities, time and time again.

So if you’ve never tried an online screenwriting class, come on in! The virtual water’s fine!

For more information on Pixar and the Craft of Storytelling which begins January 4, 2019, go here.

Get lost trying to write your story? Let Dory help you find your way!

So join me to learn some incredible insights into crafting a story with the practices and principles at work in Pixar movies. I look forward to the opportunity to work with you! Or to put it another way…

To infinity and beyond!

In the spirit of the season, I have two special deals for you! Check out the entire schedule of 10 Craft classes I will be offering in 2021:

January 4: Pixar and the Craft of Storytelling

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January 18: Story Summaries — From Loglines to Beat Sheets

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February 1: Handling Exposition

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February 15: Scene Description Spotlight

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March 1: Character Development Keys

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March 15: Create a Compelling Protagonist

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March 29: Write a Worthy Nemesis

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April 12: Scene-Writing Workshop

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April 26: Dialogue-Writing Workshop

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May 10: The Coen Brothers and the Craft of Storytelling

Learn More

The first holiday offer: Each Craft class is on sale. Regular price: $95. Sale price: $79.

But here’s the really big second deal: You can enroll in the Craft Package which includes all 10 Craft classes at a savings of nearly 50% off the already discounted sale price. Special price: $400. That’s each course for $40 apiece! You not only get all 10 one-week classes, you also obtain exclusive access to the Craft Package site enabling you to go through all of the Craft lectures — 70 in all, each written by me — at your own pace and on your own time.

Know somebody who’s a writer? Or is someone looking to get you a special writing gift? Check out the Craft Package for something truly unique and turn 2021 into an excellent learning opportunity.

Happy Holidays!