The notable exceptions – Terminator 2, Aliens, the Toy Storys or The Godfather II – have clear structural reasons why they are as good if not better than their predecessors: either they change the protagonist’s flaw or the nature and scale of the antagonist, or, in the case of The Godfather, continue the tragic journey all the way to spiritual deat

I was watching the movie Star Wars recently and wondered what made that movie so good. Of course, there are a thousand reasons. But I also noticed that if I paused the DVD on any frame, I could point toward any major character and say exactly what that person wanted. No character had a vague ambition. It made me wonder if the reasons our lives seem

that character must also have purpose, depth, personality, flaws, goals, and backstory.

Emma Coats, a former storyboard artist at Pixar, outlined the basic structure of a fairy tale as a kind of Mad Lib that you can fill in with your own elements: “Once upon a time, there was _____. Every day, _____. One day, _____. Because of that, _____. Because of that, _____. Until finally, _____.” Pick your favorite story and try to fill in the b