Story Nerds: The Causal Chain

 

In celebration of our first Story Nerds,   I’m revisiting one of my favorite subjects: the causal chain. Remember, narrative structure is a sequence of cause and effect. Stories are formed by an interlinked sequence: Event A causes Event B (and so on). One event, one decision, one reaction triggers the next one, and the next one. To reinforce both action (external) and emotional (internal) plot movements, build tension, and create strong drama, a writer needs to be mindful of the story’s causal chain.

Weak plots tend to follow a “This happens, then this happens, and then this happens” formula.  Such a plot is reduced to a series of unrelated scenes. A stronger method for mapping a plot is using the formula, Therefore + But. In this way, the plot unfolds logically, and every scene also becomes relevant. 

In other words, the power in any plot beat is not the beat itself. It’s how the character got there.

To strengthen your narrative structure, you can outline your causal chain at the planning stage. Write the events of your story in a series of cause and effect.  Once you create this outline, revisit each event to determine which cause/effects relationship needs to be explained or implied. 

As you create this outline, ask yourself as you revisit each event:

• Why did the character behave in that specific way?
• What is the reason for this event?
• What event acted as the tipping point that set this chain of events in motion?
• What was the trigger or "inciting incident" for this action?
• What was the consequence of this choice?
• How did this action affect the next scene?
• Does this scene directly cause the next scene?
• Is the character's reaction believable?
• What is the cost of this success/failure?

Cause without effect is like a single domino set up alongside, but not within, the domino chain. If the domino can be removed without effecting the chain, then the domino isn’t necessary. Likewise, if you can remove a scene, or a sequence from the manuscript without notable effect on the surrounding action, it reflects a weakened causal chain.

For a visual, check out this video, in which pro domino artist Lily Hevesh uses 32,000 dominoes to create a massive domino chain, demonstrating how a causal chain works in Story. Each subplot must connect to and ultimately affect the broader action.

If you want to take a deep dive into Story, check out Story Nerds!

-- Bobbi Miller