Thread by @hey_bernie

In 30 years, Pixar grew from being Steve Jobs side project to becoming a creative powerhouse.

Their secret's success lies in their "22 Rules For Storytelling".

The rules are a must-read for many, but MOSTLY for Creators.

Here's a breakdown on how to implement each one 👇🧵

0. Storytelling plays a huge role in any Creator's journey.

Our work is about using communication skills to bring people to our journey.

Storytelling is the essence of communication, and these rules if well applied, can help you move people's hearts.

It's time for the rules 😍

1. "You admire a character for trying more than for their successes"

We Human beings love the story, the journey, the hard times, more than the successes.

As a Creator make sure to share the "how" and "why" of your journey.

Eg: I'm on a journey to get 50k followers by year-end

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 very different"

As Creators, we are completely irrelevant. We're mere broadcasters.

Everything's about our community.

Eg: to me everything's about you, my Family

3. "Trying for theme is important, but you won’t see what the story is actually about until you’re at the end of it. Now rewrite"

Most of our initial ideas won't work. Hit publish and keep iterating.

Eg: the #45days45threads challenge is more important than being perfect

4. "Once upon a time there was __. Every day, __. One day __. Because of that, __. Because of that, __. Until finally, __."

This one is easy to implement to create a story.

Eg: Once upon a time, there was a small creator that grew from 54 followers to ~2500 in 2 months."

5. "Simplify. Focus. Combine characters. Hop over detours. You’ll feel like you’re losing valuable stuff but it sets you free"

Our goal as content creators should be to create more with less.

Eg: a bunch of single tweets makes a thread - which then creates value

6. "What is your character good at, comfortable with? Throw the polar opposite at them. Challenge them. How do they deal?"

Think of this as a contrarian thinking mental model.

What is everyone in your niche doing?

How can you create & share the same value but in your own way?

7. "Come up with your ending before you figure out your middle. Seriously. Endings are hard, get yours working up front"

CTAs, RTs/QTs, TLDRs - always think about how you'll end up your thread

Think your thread backward.

Eg: at the bottom of this thread, I'll have a clear CTA

8. "Finish your story, let go even if it’s not perfect. In an ideal world you have both, but move on. Do better next time"

Don't stress over perfection. Only progress matters.

Take action, don't overthink it. Hit. Publish.

Eg: every time I publish, I know it could be better

9. "When you’re stuck, make a list of what WOULDN’T happen next. Lots of times the material to get you unstuck will show up"

This is great advice to kick off your creation process.

Start by making a list of every piece of content you don't want to create for your topic/niche.

10. "Pull apart the stories you like. What you like in them is a part of you; you’ve got to recognize it before you can use it."

90% of being a good creator is about being a good consumer.

Follow the right people, curate the right sources.

Start here 👇

https://twitter.com/aaditsh/status/1453745795862257672

11. "Putting it on paper lets you start fixing it. If it stays in your head, a perfect idea, you’ll never share it with anyone."

Our heads are a maze, perfect to get lost forever.

Start with a weak draft, then improve.

Eg: @Julian goes deeper here 👇

https://twitter.com/Julian/status/1345071823923236864

12. "Discount the 1st thing that comes to mind. And the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th – get the obvious out of the way. Surprise yourself."

Seek for novelty in what you're creating.

Surprising ourselves with a new finding is a better way to measure success.

You'll learn more & faster.

13. "Give your characters opinions. Passive/malleable might seem likable to you as you write, but it’s poison to the audience."

We all have different opinions about the world we live in.

Share yours with your community, make a stand.

Eg: I believe Creators are future leaders

14. "Why must you tell THIS story? What’s the belief burning within you that your story feeds off of? That’s the heart of it."

Why are writing your Story the way you are?

Eg: Why Creators?

Because I believe content creation is about belonging, and we belong to our community.

15. "If you were your character, in this situation, how would you feel? Honesty lends credibility to unbelievable situations."

Top-performing Creators are authentic in what they do.

Eg: I try to do the same, by sharing as much as possible who I am and why I do what I do.

16. "What are the stakes? Give us a reason to root for the character. What happens if they don’t succeed? Stack the odds against."

What is at risk with what you're doing?
What can go wrong?

@dickiebush has a great tweet on this, read here 👇

https://twitter.com/dickiebush/status/1432714963093688321

17. "No work is ever wasted. If it’s not working, let go and move on - it’ll come back around to be useful later."

Most of our work won't be our best output.

Consistency plays a big role here. Being consistent is the best way to keep improving on your craft.

Keep working.

18. "You have to know yourself: the difference between doing your best & fussing. Story is testing, not refining."

Having a plan is good but just starting is better.

Eg: yesterday I've launched my newsletter with barely any preparation

Details here

https://twitter.com/hey_bernie/status/1460634146724737032

19. "Coincidences to get characters into trouble are great; coincidences to get them out of it are cheating."

Coincidences will take you on different paths.
Coming out "alive" is part of the Story.

Eg: my public challenge made me launch my newsletter, now let's see how it goes

20. "Exercise: take the building blocks of a movie you dislike. How would you rearrange them into what you DO like?"

Use this strategy to come up with new content ideas.

Repackage someone else's content into a new piece of content.

Make it yours. Make it to your niche.

21. "You gotta identify with your situation/characters, can’t just write ‘cool’. What would make YOU act that way?"

Make sure you hear your community. Engage with them.

Build authentic friendships by starting a conversation.

Learn from them.

Eg: use DMs & QTs, make friends

22. "What’s the essence of your story? Most economical telling of it? If you know that, you can build from there."

This boils down to: What are you trying to say?

Eg: in my case that's easy:

• I am a Creator.
• I believe in Creators.
• I'll help you become a Creator.

If you're here -- Thanks for reading.

Want to become a creator?

Then make sure to follow me @hey_bernie because I'm writing a thread like this every day until year-end.

Want them in your email? Then 👇

bit.ly/thecreatorjour…

I also write about:
• Creators ❤️ Web 3