Keep Your Horses and Carts Where They Belong

Keep Your Horses and Carts Where They Belong

Newton said it long ago. For every action, there’s an equal and opposite reaction. Taking away the “equal and opposite” part, the “law” holds for writing, too. It can be broad, such as “scene and sequel.” Something happens in a scene, and then there are reactions or consequences in the following scene.

But when writing actions and reactions on a much smaller scale—the paragraph or sentence level—we need to beware of not putting the cart before the horse. Chara...