Wednesday's Writer's Tip - Cause and Effect and Beyond

Wouldn't it be wonderful if each cause only had one effect. The problem is that often there are more than one cause that creates an effect. In real life, often there are many causes that produce an effect. When writing fiction, the writer must examine the cause and see what effect they are looking to show the reader. John kisses Mary and she slaps his face. The kiss is the cause and the effect is the slap. The author needs to explore further. In real life, everyone may know why Mary slapped John. They know the people involved in the incident, especially when Bob kisses Mary and she collapses in his ar,s. So while a cause has an effect, the writer needs to go further. But where?

What the writer needs to know and show the reader is Why. What reason did Mary have for slapping John or for passing out in Bob's arms. The writer also needs to know why John kisses Mary. Did he expect the slap? Did he expect her to be happy? Expectations are the reasons people act in certain ways. That his expectations weren't met, at least it seems that way. After the slap, both he and Mary will have follow up reactions. Thus stories are woven. By looking at the cause, seeing the effect and exploring the reasons for the effect and going on to explore the expectations and the reactions, the story is woven word by word action by reactions until the story reaches the end.