And then” isn’t a plot, it’s a queue. In this craft-forward episode, we swap “and then” for the more muscular because / but / therefore and show how tight causality turns scenes into story. You’ll get a clear, jargon-free framework for chaining choices to consequences, plus two case studies that prove the point: a mini-autopsy of Pride & Prejudice and a contemporary comparison with Knives Out.

In this episode you’ll learn:

• Why causality (not act labels) is the real backbone of structure

• How to convert event beats into decision beats with costs

• The Because/But/Therefore test to expose sagging “and then” sequences

• A quick Coincidence Audit (allowed to enter a story, never to exit it)

• A repeatable Scene Ledger: Goal → Opposition → Outcome → New Problem → Forced Next Action