Because of That: A But/Therefore Test for Your Novel’s Plot
I once wrote about 145,000 words of “and then this happened.” My protagonist’s life, event after event, in order. Every scene was fine on its own. Together they added up to a very long list.
What finally helped was a test I now use on my own work and with the writers I coach. Between every pair of scenes, you should be able to put one of three connectors: because of that, therefore, or but. Each one means the first scene caused or complicated the second. If none of them fits, and the only honest link is “and then,” you have a sequence, not a plot.
Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the creators of South Park, are known for a version of this: swap the “and then” between story beats for “but” or “therefore.” Pixar’s story spine runs on the same logic, with “because of that” doing the work.
Start with the Pixar story spine
Like most Author Accelerator coaches, I’m a big fan of Pixar’s story spine, a simple framework for starting to flesh out a plot:
Once upon a time there was ____.
Every day, ____. One day ____.
Because of that, ____.
Because of that, ____.
Until finally ____.
And ever since that day ____.
Numbers 1 and 2 are where you start. Your main character (1) is living their life (2a). They have an unacknowledged problem they’ve been able to ignore until something happens that forces them to deal with it (2b). Hijinks ensue in 3 and 4 (and eventually there will be many more “because of that”s). Then the problem is resolved (5), and we leave our MC in their new state of being (6), having dealt with the issue that set them on their journey.
If you have a synopsis (where the story begins, where it ends, and a little about how your MC gets from point A to point B), use it to fill in the blanks. If you don’t, a few rough sentences will do. Need more “because of that” lines? Take ’em!
People sometimes freeze when they start to put structure around a story idea because it feels premature, or they’re afraid of locking themselves into decisions they aren’t ready to make. Have no fear! Things almost certainly will change, and that’s fine and normal. You’ll learn a ton while you draft: about your MC, about the journey you’ve sent them on, and about yourself as a writer. The tools are there to work for you, not against you.
The test: “because of that” vs. “and then”
Here’s where the spine turns into a test. Between each pair of scenes, put “because of that,” “therefore,” or “but” and see if one fits. “Because of that” and “therefore” mean the next scene is a consequence. “But” means it pushes against what just happened. If you can’t find a connector that works, that scene is an item on a list, not a link in a chain.
Here’s what it looks like.
Scene: Mary Read is on trial for piracy with her best friend Anne Bonny. Governor Nicholas Lawes, who is presiding over the trial, wants to make an example of them. They are convicted and sentenced to die, but they “plead their bellies” and are given a reprieve until they give birth, assuming they can prove they are actually pregnant. Pregnancy tests are administered and it’s confirmed that both women are pregnant; they have earned stays until their babies are born.
Because of that…
Scene: After several weeks (during which Mary and Anne have tried to think of plans for escape or other ways to save themselves but come up empty-handed), Lawes comes to their cell and offers to sweeten the deal: cooperate with a writer developing a book on the “scourge of piracy” and he’ll give them clemency and let them keep their children. Mary and Anne debate after he leaves and ultimately decide to cooperate.
Therefore…
Scene: When Lawes returns with writer Charles Johnson, Mary says they’ll do it. Lawes lets it slip that the women are becoming popular. He wants to be sure they are figures of scorn. After Lawes leaves, Charles confirms what Lawes says is true. He encourages them to tell the truth. Mary says that she wants to write her story down rather than tell it to Charles, and he agrees to give her paper and pen and pretend, to Lawes, that she’s still cooperating.
Notice that each scene’s outcome becomes the next scene’s problem. I’ll admit I cheated a little: this example comes from my completed novel, so it has been refined over many iterations and sets of eyeballs.
Try it on your own plot
List your scenes, or the beats of your synopsis, in order, one line each.
Between each pair, try “because of that,” “therefore,” or “but.” Write down the one that fits.
Wherever none of the three works and the only honest connector is “and then,” mark it.
For each mark, ask what in the previous scene could cause this one. If the answer is nothing, that scene needs a cause, a different spot in the book, or a cut.
In my experience, a broken link isn’t always in the scene that shows it. Sometimes the scene is fine and the one before it never set it up.
Don’t worry about sketching each scene in multiple sentences at this stage. Jot down whatever feels like the logical next step based on what you know now, and let things morph and grow as you learn more. This is the beauty of drafting: the stakes are low, and the expectation is that the result will be shitty. Embrace it!
If you’ve run this test on a finished draft and still can’t find where the chain breaks, that’s the kind of problem a Manuscript Diagnostic is built to find.