不管是在报告中还是其他写作中，都会使用到story telling，这可以用来筹款或者传播。 Emma Coats 是皮克斯的前故事艺术家（Story Artist） ，她给出了皮克斯编故事时的22条规则（可能是copy自22条军规的说法）：
- You admire a character for trying more than for their successes. 比起角色的成功，更敬重故事中的角色。
- 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. 以观众的角度时刻保持警惕：这个故事有趣的地方是什么，而不是作为写作者而言“这个故事有什么有意思的地方”
- 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. 主题的尝试非常重要，但到最后你根本不知道这个故事是关于什么的：再写一遍……
- Once upon a time there was ___. Every day, ___. One day ___. Because of that, ___. Because of that, ___. Until finally ___. 故事这样说：很久以前有_____，每天，______；有一天________，因为______，因为_____，最终________
- Simplify. Focus. Combine characters. Hop over detours. You’ll feel like you’re losing valuable stuff but it sets you free. 聚焦，整合角色，不绕圈子。
- What is your character good at, comfortable with? Throw the polar opposite at them. Challenge them. How do they deal? 你的角色擅于什么，对什么感到舒服？ 让其处于相反的境地，挑战他们，他们是怎么处理的？
- Come up with your ending before you figure out your middle. Seriously. Endings are hard, get yours working up front. 在你想出故事的一半的时候就想好结尾（这个有点难吧）
- 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. 结束故事之后就放手吧，即使不完美。
- 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. 当你写的时候梗住了，那就列一张“接下来不会发生什么”的表单。很多时候，让你走出来的素材总会出现的。
- 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. 分拆故事
- 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. 把想法写下来并完善它。
- Discount the 1st thing that comes to mind. And the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th – get the obvious out of the way. Surprise yourself.
- Give your characters opinions. Passive（主动）/malleable（顺从） might seem likable to you as you write, but it’s poison to the audience.
- 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.
- If you were your character, in this situation, how would you feel? Honesty lends credibility （可信性） to unbelievable situations.
- What are the stakes? Give us reason to root for the character. What happens if they don’t succeed? Stack the odds against.
- No work is ever wasted. If it’s not working, let go and move on – it’ll come back around to be useful later.
- You have to know yourself: the difference between doing your best & fussing. Story is testing（考验）, not refining（提炼、改进）.
- Coincidences to get characters into trouble are great; coincidences to get them out of it are cheating .使用巧合让角色陷入困境很好的，但是使用巧合让角色脱离困境则是作弊/欺骗。
- Exercise: take the building blocks of a movie you dislike. How d’you rearrange them into what you DO like? 练习：找一部你不喜欢的电影，怎样重新安排角色/故事才会让你喜欢？
- You gotta identify with your situation/characters, can’t just write ‘cool’. What would make YOU act that way?
- What’s the essence of your story? Most economical telling of it? If you know that, you can build out from there. 你的故事精髓是什么？