“No,” Elara said. “Chaotic goodness. Let me tell you a useful story.”

So if you want to write like that—don’t polish your hero. Sharpen their contradictions. Make your villain’s goal almost reasonable. And when in doubt, ask: What would a drunk, brilliant, terrified person do right now?

She explained that the first Pirates film succeeded not because of its budget or its battle scenes, but because it broke three rules most adventure stories obey: