NaNoWriMo is here - is your storytelling telling? Cause and Effect. A post for the Insecure Writer's Support Group.

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Nanowrimo  is here again! Wow! Day Three already!

This post is not about the 'showing vs telling' debate, this is about how to make your story un-put-down-able. I'm writing this as much for myself as anyone else as I wrestle with the premise/chapter one of my third NaNo novel. This post looks at cause and effect in our writing.

"I just couldn't put that book down. You must read it!"

Now wouldn't we like readers to say that about our stories? If they do it probably means:

• the story followed logically - it moved forward naturally - cause and effect was in place.

You want your readers to be captivated by your story. If they're forced to think about why something happened, or maybe didn't, they're forced out of the story, they disengage while they try to analyse the plot. Maybe if you do it too often your book may languish, unread...

Example: You book is a thriller. Your MC is home alone. Your might write:

"With shaking hands she fumbled for the lock on the door. She could hear the killer outside, moving through the bushes."

Too much information? In a logical order? YES to the first, NO to the second. Your reader would be taken out of the story while he/she wonders why is she locking the door? Why didn't she already have the door locked, especially if she's a woman home alone, blah, blah...So he/she reads on, getting it. Yep, there's a killer outside, so sure, she should lock the door alrighty! 

If one sentence is there to explain what happened in the preceding sentence, it can be improved. Reverse the order - logic! 

Maybe your rewrite looks like this:

"She could hear the killer outside in the bushes. She reached out with shaking hands and fumbled the lock on."

CAUSE:  The killer lurks on the other side of the door.

EFFECT: She locks it.

Tip to remember today! 

• When writing scenes, especially complex scenes, realizations and discoveries happen after actions, not before.
• Always build on what has been said or done, rather than laying the foundation after the idea is built.
• Continually move the story forward, rather than flip-flopping around with cause and effect. 
• Each event should cause the one that follows it. 
• Show your reader what is happening as it happens rather than explain what just happened, or what happened several sentences ago.

Like all general rules, there are exceptions, especially in section or chapter breaks. You might begin a section with:

"Why did you do that?" she screamed.

This would make the reader curious - who is 'she'? why is she screaming? who is she screaming at? This could be a good hook. However, if this happened in the middle of a scene, it would be wiser to go back to cause and effect - 

He slapped her, hard.

"Why did you do that?" she screamed.

• can you suggest any other exceptions to the rule of cause and effect? Please share...
• I know I like to be mysterious when I write and often blow the cause and effect rule. It's hard to know what works best. Interested in what you think...

Thanks to the Writers Digest for the ideas behind this post.