Rules of Storytelling

I recently saw this article on Boing Boing that shares a tweet from Emma Coates, Pixar’s Story Artist, in which she relates the 22 Rules of Storytelling.  I am regularly trying to encourage my students to do #12:  “Discount the 1st thing that comes to mind. And the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th – get the obvious out of the way. Surprise yourself.”  That rule could apply to many enterprises, not just storytelling.  Perhaps if my students see that it is advice from the studio that produced Up, they will find it more trustworthy!

One of my favorite bloggers, Sonya Terborg, also posted about this list.  The following day, she produced her own, modified, version, called “16 Rules for Sharing Your Story”.  She made an excellent graphic to accompany it.  You can download the PDF here.    I think it would be an excellent poster to put in your classroom, or to print for students to use as a binder or notebook cover.