Story Genius: How to Use Brain Science to Go Beyond Outlining and Write a Riveting Novel (Before You Waste Three Years Writing 327 Pages That Go Nowhere)

by Lisa Cron

The left side represents the cause side of the cause-and-effect equation. ♦ For the plot, that’s what happens in the first half of the scene. ♦ For the third rail, that’s why what is happening matters to your protagonist, given his or her agenda. • The right side is the effect side. ♦ For the plot, that is the external consequence of what happens in the scene. Be very clear: this is the consequence that takes place within the scene itself, not the consequence it will have in the next scene. ♦ For the third rail, it’s the internal change, the realization that the event triggers in the protagonist. (Or, if the protagonist is not in the scene, the realization it triggers in the scene’s POV character, and also the realization it will trigger in the protagonist when he or she finds out.) This realization must lead to action—often to the very next thing the protagonist does. In other words, the realization causes him—in ways large or small—to shift his game plan.