Day 35

In the 35th email form 50 days of writing, David Perell talks about the framework 'but and therefore'

In the mail, David talks about the creators of TV series 'South Park', who used the But and Therefore framework to keep each episode to have a sense of cause and Effect.

They would setup a whiteboard in the writer's room and while storyboarding they would remove the stories where they had to put the words "And then" between each section.

Later the creators used the framework of "But & Therefore" which created conflict .

The scene they have written with "But and Therefore" method is -

“Jimmy went to the mall, but realized he was tired when he stepped inside. Therefore, he picked up a coffee. But since he was tired, he had parked in an illegal spot. Therefore, by the time he returned to the parking lot, his car had already been towed."

Finally, David says to visualize our story we want to share on a whiteboard, Outline or Post-It Notes and then identify the 'and then' with 'But & Therefore'.

My thoughts:

The But & Therefore framework is for the articles that need the cause and effect. If not, this framework will be effective in the outline phase as well just like storyboarding, like the creators of South Park.

The one video I would recommend everyone to watch is how Christopher Nolan de-constructs the screenplay of Memento.

Memento Explanation by Christopher Nolan - True Genius - Must Watch

Memento is a 2000 American neo-noir psychological thriller film directed by Christopher Nolan.Memento is presented as two different sequences of scenes inter...

YouTube

He explains how he outlined the movie. It is an interesting video to watch . As a storyteller we need to keep in  mind how we outline a story and how we tell it. There is no right way to tell a story. You can tell it in any order and there will be some people who wouldn't like it.

This kind of framework is good to have, but its not the only thing that brings out amazing stories. Be mindful of the things to avoid. It will benefit your story.

key takeaways:

1. Avoid 'And then' frameworks in your story to create cause and effect.
2. Instead, use the But and Therefore, which brings conflict in the writing and narration.
3. Not every framework works every time.
4. Take you time to understand what your article wants to establish and then write a summary box for the topic and then outline.

Thank you for reading.

For more of Perell's work, you can signup for the 50 Days of Writing Course by clicking and signing up to receive one mail every day with amazing take on writing.

50 Days of Writing

Writing