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What's the hardest thing

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about writing? Well, it's

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getting started. Maybe you're

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having a hard time coming

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up with a story idea,

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or you're stuck on where

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to take your story next.

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If you want a way into

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a story or a way through,

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I have nine story starters to

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help you. This free PDF is

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full of story seeds and

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prompts to get you going.

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To download your

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nine-story starters,

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go to

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Nancy Pinuccio.com/start.

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That's Nancy with

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an eye. Pinuccio

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with two C's.

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Nancy Pinuccio.com/start. When

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cause and effect is

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reduced to only what happens

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on the surface story,

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it creates a

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dominant relationship over

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character. Dominance subordinates,

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subordinates dehumanizes. When

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you limit cause

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and effect to

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what happens, you're

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creating a character from

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the top down. Writer Unleashed

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is for you. A writer

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who has a story you

1:18

want to bring onto the

1:20

page and into the hearts

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and minds of readers. I'm

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Nancy Pinuccio, writer, editor, and

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writing coach, and each week

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we'll explore techniques, mindsets, and

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inspiration for writing stories readers

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can't put down. Thanks for

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spending some time with me

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today. Now let's begin. cause

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and effect is one of

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the main tenets of making

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your plot cohesive. so that

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it makes sense and shapes

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your story. Every cause leads

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to an effect. It's often

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described as a chain reaction.

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One event leads to another,

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but when we think of

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cause and effect slowly in

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what happens or what characters

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do, we're missing a big

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piece of the story. It's

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one of those things that's

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not explored deeply enough and

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when taken at face value

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it can lead to relatively

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shallow stories where things just

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happen to the characters. It's

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more focused on external events

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than character motive. So the

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characters feel more like pawns

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to move the plot forward

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and the story feels contrived

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and on the surface. So

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what do we mean by

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cause? And what do we

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mean by effect? What's the

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cause? What's the effect? In

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today's episode, we'll go deeper

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so that you can use

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cause and effect more effectively.

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So let's get right to

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it. What's missing from most

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stories is cause and effect

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that goes deeper than what

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characters do or what happens

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as a result of what

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they do. For example, If

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an accident causes traffic to

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stop, then will be late

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to his date with Sarah.

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Or if Frank cheats on

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his wife, his marriage to

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April will be in trouble

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and eventually lead to divorce

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or maybe she decides to

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buy a gun and kill

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him. In other words, there's

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a chain of events, one

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thing leads to another in

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a sequence of actions. But

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the best way to think

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about cause and effect is

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to start... with character motive.

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Now by motive I do

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not mean character goals. Your

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character has a desire which

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is express. in goals, in

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concrete goals. I'm often asking

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writers I work with, what's

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the purpose of this scene?

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What's the intention? What's the

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objective? And then we explore

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what the character wants to

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achieve by the end of

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the scene and why they

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have that goal to begin

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with. We talk about goals

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within the scope of the

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whole story, and then we

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talk about it within the

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scope of each scene. But

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the goal itself. The scene

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objective is not the cause.

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What the character does in

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a given scene is not

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the cause. If Frank cheats

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on his wife, it's the

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effect, not the cause. So

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the goal is the effect.

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It's an effect of a

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deeper need. The effect leads

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to an action, a result.

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Those actions lead up to

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the sequence of events that

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make up your plot. So

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what is the cause? The

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cause is the character's underlying

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need. The goal is always

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preceded by a deeper need.

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The deeper need is the

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cause. Why does Frank cheat

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on his wife? Because they

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had a fight the night

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before and he wants to

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feel admired. That's the cause.

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The desire to cheat is

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the effect. So the deeper

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need is the cause, the

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goal is the effect, and

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what the character does to

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reach that goal is an

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action. What happens, the plot

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events are not the causal

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chain. The character's goal or

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objective is not the cause.

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The goal itself is an

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effect. So the effect leads

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to an action, a choice.

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Frank makes the choice to

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cheat on his wife. That's

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the cause and effect chain.

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So we have a cause

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that leads to an effect.

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which leads to an action,

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a choice. And those actions,

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character choices, add up to

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your plot. So if you

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think of the inner need

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as the cause, the goal

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is the effect. Which means

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goals alone are not enough.

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Cause and effect is not,

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this happens, then this, then

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this. Or the character does

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this, and so this happens.

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The cause is the inner

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need, the character's motive. The

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effect is the goal or

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the objective, and this leads

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to a series of actions

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that make up your plot.

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And this is where most

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writers go wrong. They're missing

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a crucial piece of what

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we mean by cause, so

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goals and actions are a

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surface expression of a deeper

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cause. You can never have

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an effect before a cause.

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For example, let's say your

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character wants a cup of

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coffee. The goal is to

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get a cup of coffee.

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But what's the cause? You

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need to sit in the

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need. So when he enters

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the scene, that's the same

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goal, to get a cup

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of coffee. The cause, though,

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could be that he was

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up all night with his

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four-year-old, or he had a

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fight with his wife the

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night before. He drank whiskey

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to calm his nerves and

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slept badly. That's the cause.

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His desire for the cup

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of coffee is the effect.

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So you want to build

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a belief in the cause.

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If your character wants food,

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you want to build belief

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in the hunger. If he

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wants a cup of coffee,

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you need to build belief

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in his exhaustion. That's the

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cause. The cause leads to

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the effect, the desire goal

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or objective. That objective leads

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to an action, and that's

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how you create a chain

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reaction. Okay,

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let's wrap this up with

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three main... points to keep

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in mind. Number one, you

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can never have an effect

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before a cause. Character goals

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and actions are a surface

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expression of a deeper cause.

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Goals and desires are the

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effect. So you want to

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build a belief in the

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cause. Build a belief in

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the hunger. Build a belief

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in the fear. For example,

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at the time of this

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recording. Trump has won the

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presidential election in the United

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States and approximately half the

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country is spinning in fear

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and uncertainty about the future.

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If that's you, use it

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to build belief in a

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character's world turning inside out

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and upside down. What desire

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will this fear and uncertainty

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give rise to? What desire

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goal or objective? Will that

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fear cause? What will be

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the effect? Point number two.

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When cause and effect is

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reduced to only what happens

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on the surface story, it

9:07

creates a dominant relationship over

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character. Dominance subordinates subordinates, dehumanizes.

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When you limit cause and

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effect to what happens, you're

9:16

creating a character. from the

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top down you've decided before

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you've discovered so don't figure

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out your character before you

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start writing if it can

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be figured out it's too

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small to give life to

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so don't reduce character if

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you've figured your character out

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beforehand you've reduced his or

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her humanity and point number

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three character choices should be

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discovered not decided not decided

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They're a result of the

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cause, the inner drive, which

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leads to a desire. the

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effect which leads to a

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choice. So live in the

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character's moment. Otherwise you'll miss

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all of your character's doubts

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and confusions that make your

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character relatable. Now some characters

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are aware of their objectives.

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They have a goal. There's

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no real deeper need. For

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example, they have to get

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to their job at a

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certain time. So it's a

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timing issue, a timing constraint.

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But there's much more going

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on in the lived experience

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of your character. So you

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want to create character not

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from the top down, but

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from the bottom up. Goals

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alone often lead to a

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very linear, predictable story. There's

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nothing wrong with a linear

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story. Many great stories are

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linear because it's the best

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way to tell the story,

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but cause and effect is

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not about what happens. The

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goal is always preceded by

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a deeper need. That need

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is the cause. The goal

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is the effect, and it's

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the action, scene by scene

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action, that creates your plot.

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So there you have it.

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Thanks for hanging out with

11:12

me today. And if you

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know any writers who need

11:16

some support in their writing,

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please share this episode or

11:21

the writer on Leash podcast

11:23

in general. And if you

11:25

love what you're listening to,

11:27

subscribe on your favorite listening

11:29

platform and please leave me

11:31

review. Reading how this podcast

11:33

impacts your writing truly lights

11:35

me up and helps me

11:37

create topics for the show.

11:39

Until next time keep writing

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and I'll talk to you

11:43

soon