Use this tool to discover what’s necessary, or central, to the spine of your story
by Jeffrey Kitchen
Reverse
Cause and Effect is a unique development tool that enables you to wade
into a complex mix of story material and pull it together into a tight
sequence of events. Cause and effect is a crucial part of good
screenwriting because Plot Point A should cause Plot Point B which
causes Plot Point C, and so on through to the ending. If each event
causes the next one, then your script has a crisp forward motion, with
no dead spots that can lose an audience. Used properly, this tool has
the power to consistently help turn your million dollar ideas into
salable screenplays. I’ll explain the tool, show how it works in Ben
Affleck’s Argo, and then structure and develop an original story so you can see it in action.The main skill in using Reverse Cause and Effect is to be able to distinguish that which caused an event from those events that merely came before it. Say that your sister calls you one morning and orders you to buy a lottery ticket because she had this incredible dream, and when you do so you win a boatload of money. Now any number of things might happen before you win the money—you lose your car keys, you buy some cigarettes, you get a parking ticket—but the cause of you winning is that your sister made you do it. MORE...
