Ok, I'm super intrigued now because they're clearly making an important point, but I didn't get it Todd, the difference between "and then" and "therefore" between beats? Wondering if there is more out there on this story form you know of that addresses this?
I think each of the 8 steps is a structural "but" or "therefore." That's why they follow a masculine-feminine binary, too. YOU are here BUT you NEED something THEREFORE you must GO BUT you have to adapt THEREFORE you FIND BUT not without a price to RETURN home THEREFORE you are CHANGEd.
The 8 step structure is the most simplified BUT-THEREFORE arc, but you can wander around more if you want (which the South Park guys tend to do). If you look for BUT and THEREFORE you will automatically tend to fall into the story circle, which is the most condensed form of a BUT THEREFORE structure.
Sorry for the loose explanation. How does that hit your intuition, Rick?
And, to more directly answer your question, AND THEN only continues the beat you are already on. You need contrast to move to the next stage of a story.
Yes. I think like you said in your article it comes naturally to tell stories this way if you're not overthinking it. It's also a really good reason to practice telling stories in person because you can actually feel when you lose people in real life with and then, and then, and then.
My main takeaway (separate from the story circle) is that whenever you use “and then” you tend to be inventing events that happen for no reason, as opposed to tying a CAUSAL relationship throughout.
Luke Skywalker’s hesitating to leave his home planet BUT his guardians get murdered. THEREFORE he has no choice but to follow the path of the force
Yes, I found a bit of a longer clip with these two explaining this and now I'm getting it, but you applying it here to the story circle is super helpful, makes a lot more sense now. This is very cool.
This is great stuff as so often Taylor. Impressed. I will take inspiration from this in my own writing. I've seen this with my own family. My sister doesn't have as much formal writing training, perhaps, but when she writes it comes straight from the heart and has a strong power. It speaks to your main point here, that the power to tell a story comes from within, is our birthright, and it's about connecting to it. I don't remember if I read this from one of your past pieces but it reminds me of the Hemingway line, "Writing is easy. All you have to do is sit down at the typewriter and bleed."
I was really hooked on Community for a while so the Dan Harmon reference I find very illuminating, because if you watch a really good show it seems all so spontaneous, everyone just having fun, but I loved hearing about Harmon's system and realizing there is a deep discipline being applied to create these very compelling narratives. The Picasso quote is also a true gem, never saw this one before.
Taylor - beautifully written. A masterful weaving of LaCroix with Neo. What stood out was the way you encourage writers to relax into what’s already there, that the framework, like the alphabet, is to be experimented with. That approach reminded me of Steve Jobs saying creativity is just connecting things; no need to apply the framework rigidly.
Man this is so good. Glad you found a place for it.
Relevant: this Tik Tok of the southpark guys teaching how to write story beats. It's worth the 30 seconds: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRvUk9ha/
Ok, I'm super intrigued now because they're clearly making an important point, but I didn't get it Todd, the difference between "and then" and "therefore" between beats? Wondering if there is more out there on this story form you know of that addresses this?
I think each of the 8 steps is a structural "but" or "therefore." That's why they follow a masculine-feminine binary, too. YOU are here BUT you NEED something THEREFORE you must GO BUT you have to adapt THEREFORE you FIND BUT not without a price to RETURN home THEREFORE you are CHANGEd.
The 8 step structure is the most simplified BUT-THEREFORE arc, but you can wander around more if you want (which the South Park guys tend to do). If you look for BUT and THEREFORE you will automatically tend to fall into the story circle, which is the most condensed form of a BUT THEREFORE structure.
Sorry for the loose explanation. How does that hit your intuition, Rick?
And, to more directly answer your question, AND THEN only continues the beat you are already on. You need contrast to move to the next stage of a story.
Yes. I think like you said in your article it comes naturally to tell stories this way if you're not overthinking it. It's also a really good reason to practice telling stories in person because you can actually feel when you lose people in real life with and then, and then, and then.
My main takeaway (separate from the story circle) is that whenever you use “and then” you tend to be inventing events that happen for no reason, as opposed to tying a CAUSAL relationship throughout.
Luke Skywalker’s hesitating to leave his home planet BUT his guardians get murdered. THEREFORE he has no choice but to follow the path of the force
That's helpful. Thanks Todd.
Yes, I found a bit of a longer clip with these two explaining this and now I'm getting it, but you applying it here to the story circle is super helpful, makes a lot more sense now. This is very cool.
This is great stuff as so often Taylor. Impressed. I will take inspiration from this in my own writing. I've seen this with my own family. My sister doesn't have as much formal writing training, perhaps, but when she writes it comes straight from the heart and has a strong power. It speaks to your main point here, that the power to tell a story comes from within, is our birthright, and it's about connecting to it. I don't remember if I read this from one of your past pieces but it reminds me of the Hemingway line, "Writing is easy. All you have to do is sit down at the typewriter and bleed."
I was really hooked on Community for a while so the Dan Harmon reference I find very illuminating, because if you watch a really good show it seems all so spontaneous, everyone just having fun, but I loved hearing about Harmon's system and realizing there is a deep discipline being applied to create these very compelling narratives. The Picasso quote is also a true gem, never saw this one before.
That's a great point, too Rick. Great storytellers do the hard work to make the story feel effortless to the viewer. True expression of love IMO
Taylor - beautifully written. A masterful weaving of LaCroix with Neo. What stood out was the way you encourage writers to relax into what’s already there, that the framework, like the alphabet, is to be experimented with. That approach reminded me of Steve Jobs saying creativity is just connecting things; no need to apply the framework rigidly.
Thanks so much for reading, Eric. Love your summary here. Hope more people feel liberated to do what humans do best.