In South Park, Matt Stone and Trey Parker use a simple technique that will radically improve your writing.
They connect events in their stories using the word “Therefore” not “And.”
This forces your characters to dig deeper and respond more authentically. It makes you as the storyteller have to operate at the top of your intelligence in order to keep the train on track.
Let’s say you’re writing your outline. And you connect story events with “And.” It looks like this:
Bobby slaps Danny upside the head. AND…
Now ANYTHING humanly imaginable can happen.
Bobby slaps Danny upside the head. AND Danny cries. AND Danny falls down. AND Hog prices drop in China. AND somewhere in the swamps of Louisiana a fiddler’s ukulele explodes. See that? Not good. It gives you too many options and makes it too easy for the train to fly off the tracks. Connecting with “And” will drive you mad and wreck your story.
Instead you connect events with “Therefore.”
Bobby slaps Danny upside the head THEREFORE:
Danny slaps Bobby, Danny cries, Danny falls and cracks his head open, Danny knifes Bobby…
You still have an arsenal of options. But now the story’s generating momentum and most importantly, forcing you the writer to make choices that reveal character.
South Park’s Classic Episode “TSST”
So, in the South Park episode “Tsst” the outline looks like this:
Cartman’s mother comes to school because Cartman almost talked a kid into gnawing off his own leg. THEREFORE:
His mother breaks down and cries and admit she needs help. THEREFORE:
She calls Nanny 911. (You can also throw in “BUT” as needed) BUT Cartman savages her with personal insults. THEREFORE:
They try another celebrity nanny, Supernanny, BUT Cartman literally drives her so insane she winds up in a psychiatric ward eating her own feces! THEREFORE:
Cartman’s mom brings in celebrity dog trainer Cesar Millan to train Cartman like a dog.
You see how the momentum builds as the stakes raise and Cartman is pushed to new levels of despicableness? Feel how that ups the comedy? Mom is desperate and we know exactly why. When Cesar Millan enters to teach her how to use “dominant energy” we feel this is going to be a hell of a fight.
The writers build momentum all the way to the end. And the episode is a brilliant exploration of the nature of evil. It has a strong point of view – that parents creates evil children. It’s hilarious but also genuinely sickening. And its excellence is driven by executing this simple principle:
Connect with “Therefore,” not “And.”
If you feel stuck in your story and that it lacks oomph and drive and necessity, try working through the outline by executing this principle. It will challenge you to dig deep and make the process of writing more interesting and rewarding. It will radically improve your story.
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