February 12, 2025 • 10 mins
This episode uncovers the vital role of the word "because" in storytelling and creativity. It highlights how this seemingly simple word enhances narrative flow, connects characters to their choices, and serves as a persuasive tool in communication.
• Exploring the significance of the word “because”
• How “because” links actions and meaning in storytelling
• The concept of voltage in narrative flow
• Persuasive power of “because” in arguments
• Understanding personal motivations for creativity
• Importance of knowing your “because” for meaningful storytelling
Thanks for listening.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
It's Chris McHale, and welcome back to Creativity
DGD, the podcast.
We're going to do something alittle bit different.
I'm going to just talk aboutone thing today.
Get right to it.
And that one thing is a word, aspecial word, and if you're
interested in creativity and whyit works, this particular
(00:27):
podcast is for you, becauseyou're going to get the essence
of voltage in storytelling.
We explore creativity and how wecreate things and why we make
them and how they influence us.
It's kind of an interestingtopic and how they influence us.
It's kind of an interestingtopic.
You're exploring that word thatshapes every sentence I write,
(00:51):
whether it's fiction or fact orad copy or song lyrics or
scripts or anything else.
This word lies at the heart ofall my writing.
This simple word carriesimmense power in writing
storytelling and creativity.
Bet you can't wait to hear whatit is.
You may already know it, but forthose of you that don't, what
(01:20):
is that word?
Because, because, because,that's the word.
It's a word we often overlookSmall, functional,
straightforward, you know, easyto dismiss, humble, only two
(01:42):
syllables, because.
But it's in fact the glue thatbinds meaning together.
It serves as the bridge betweenideas, the rational fraction
and the essence of causality instorytelling I sound like a
(02:04):
professor.
The rational fraction Well,it's heavy stuff, but it's true,
because we end up withfragments and with it we have
purpose.
So, think about it, because,think about it, the engine of
(02:32):
storytelling that's Rita, arobotic interface, talking
assistant, or something likethat.
Okay, consider the stories thatlinger with you.
Every compelling narrativerelies on cause and effect.
The princess fled because thecastle was ablaze.
The scientist defied the oddsbecause he believed in the
(02:55):
impossible.
The hero returned home becausethey finally grasped what home
truly meant.
Yeah, because adds meaning toaction, it links characters to
their choices and transforms asequence of events into a
journey.
(03:15):
Without it, we're merely leftwith random occurrences, and
randomness is not storytelling.
No, it's just noise.
And noise is fun, for sure, Ilike noise, but we're talking
(03:35):
about stories.
Stories need a voltage, apropulsion forward.
Okay, dwight Swain, dwightSwain.
Voltage, a propulsion forward.
Okay, dwight Swain, dwightSwain, you should know him, I
love him.
He's one of the greatestwriting teachers I've ever come
across and he is the author of abook called Techniques of the
(03:59):
Selling Writer.
You know what?
I've actually got it on thestudioggio website.
You can go there and you canbuy it right from there.
It's a pretty amazing book andpretty essential book.
Dwight emphasized this principlein his discussions on scene
structure.
He pointed out that a scenemust follow a
(04:23):
motivation-reaction unit.
A motivation-reaction unit whensomething occurs, that's your
motivation and then thecharacter reacts.
The connective tissue betweenthese two elements guess what it
is.
That's right, because Withoutit, action lack context.
(04:49):
Your story flows seamlesslywith it and your characters
decisions listen to this feelinevitable.
The decisions feel like logical, like that's the decision the
character has to make.
By the way, if the characterdoesn't make that decision and
(05:10):
makes the wrong decision, that'seven cooler.
Eventually, he's got to makethe right decision.
Or he's going to make the rightdecision or he's going to fall
off the cliff and die and thatwill be the end of the story,
because the cliff is very high.
Persuasion and connection.
(05:35):
Okay, let's step outside ofstorytelling for a moment,
because I've done a lot ofcopywriting.
You know, which is myconfession.
Have you ever noticed how theword because can make almost any
argument more persuasive?
Right, for example, whichsounds more convincing or more
(05:56):
compelling Give to our campaign.
Or give to our campaign becauseyour support helps children,
because your support helpschildren in need.
Here's another one Drive a BMWif you want.
Drive a BMW because it's theultimate driving machine.
(06:21):
Because, drive it, because thepower of because is that it
connects our need to logic,justification and understanding
reasons.
Justification and understandingreasons, whether you're a
(06:43):
writer or a marketer, or simplytrying to persuade a friend to
watch your favorite movie.
Let's watch Star Wars, becauseI made popcorn, because serves
as your secret weapon.
Yeah, I'm telling you it reallyworks.
(07:09):
Why we create?
And that leads us to creativityitself.
Thank you, rita.
Why do we create?
Creativity itself?
Thank you, rita.
Why do we create?
Why do we write, compose, buildor design?
(07:34):
It's not enough to just say Icreate.
The true significant lies inthe reason.
I create because I havesomething to express.
I create because the worldneeds this story.
I create because it's the onlyway I know how to make things.
I create because the rent isdue.
Dwight Swain reminds us that astory is a chain of cause and
(07:55):
effect relationships driven byneeds and desires of characters.
That's a quote.
A story is a chain of cause andeffect relationships driven by
the needs and desires ofcharacters.
That's it.
That's it.
That's all a story is.
(08:17):
And when you grasp your becauseyour work gains depth.
It becomes more than just words, notes or brush strokes.
It transforms into a statementUnderstanding our own because is
crucial for meaningful work.
(08:38):
Without it, we risk creating anavoid and with it, we risk
creating an avoid.
Our work truly resonates.
So, as you write, tell storiesand craft anything, pay
attention to the word, becauseevery character needs a reason,
every idea requires a foundation, every creation has to have a
(08:59):
purpose.
Mastering this one word unlocksdeeper storytelling.
Wow, stronger arguments.
Whoa and meaningful arguments.
Whoa and meaningful creativity.
Stop, you're killing me withthis word, and that's why
because might be the mostcritical word in writing.
(09:20):
What do you think?
I'd love to hear from you, youknow?
Do you agree?
Do you disagree?
Why do you create?
What's your reason?
You can connect with us atStudioJudijiio or on your
favorite socials.
We're almost everywhere andwe're nowhere at the same time.
And thanks for listening toCreativity, jijiji.
And thanks, rita, for the H2headlines.
(09:44):
Thank you, chris, thank youRita.
If you enjoyed today's episode,subscribe yeah, it helps us in
our work and leave a review,because the pod people tell me
that's an ask you have to make.
So I do and share it withfellow creators, because you're
a beautiful person.
We are a community of creatorsbuilding a new audio.
(10:06):
Treats for you.
Song in Space is coming up CallMe.
Moby is right behind it andthere's something weird about Dr
Jekyll.
Oh, that's my favorite becauseit's really fun and we love to
build them together, you and metogether.
So go to studio2ggio and join,no cost.
We just like to keep in touchwith you.
(10:27):
I'm Chris McHale and until nexttime, keep creating, because
It's Chris McHale, and welcome back to Creativity
DGD, the podcast.
We're going to do something alittle bit different.
I'm going to just talk aboutone thing today.
Get right to it.
And that one thing is a word, aspecial word, and if you're
interested in creativity and whyit works, this particular
(00:27):
podcast is for you, becauseyou're going to get the essence
of voltage in storytelling.
We explore creativity and how wecreate things and why we make
them and how they influence us.
It's kind of an interestingtopic and how they influence us.
It's kind of an interestingtopic.
You're exploring that word thatshapes every sentence I write,
(00:51):
whether it's fiction or fact orad copy or song lyrics or
scripts or anything else.
This word lies at the heart ofall my writing.
This simple word carriesimmense power in writing
storytelling and creativity.
Bet you can't wait to hear whatit is.
You may already know it, but forthose of you that don't, what
(01:20):
is that word?
Because, because, because,that's the word.
It's a word we often overlookSmall, functional,
straightforward, you know, easyto dismiss, humble, only two
(01:42):
syllables, because.
But it's in fact the glue thatbinds meaning together.
It serves as the bridge betweenideas, the rational fraction
and the essence of causality instorytelling I sound like a
(02:04):
professor.
The rational fraction Well,it's heavy stuff, but it's true,
because we end up withfragments and with it we have
purpose.
So, think about it, because,think about it, the engine of
(02:32):
storytelling that's Rita, arobotic interface, talking
assistant, or something likethat.
Okay, consider the stories thatlinger with you.
Every compelling narrativerelies on cause and effect.
The princess fled because thecastle was ablaze.
The scientist defied the oddsbecause he believed in the
(02:55):
impossible.
The hero returned home becausethey finally grasped what home
truly meant.
Yeah, because adds meaning toaction, it links characters to
their choices and transforms asequence of events into a
journey.
(03:15):
Without it, we're merely leftwith random occurrences, and
randomness is not storytelling.
No, it's just noise.
And noise is fun, for sure, Ilike noise, but we're talking
(03:35):
about stories.
Stories need a voltage, apropulsion forward.
Okay, dwight Swain, dwightSwain.
Voltage, a propulsion forward.
Okay, dwight Swain, dwightSwain, you should know him, I
love him.
He's one of the greatestwriting teachers I've ever come
across and he is the author of abook called Techniques of the
(03:59):
Selling Writer.
You know what?
I've actually got it on thestudioggio website.
You can go there and you canbuy it right from there.
It's a pretty amazing book andpretty essential book.
Dwight emphasized this principlein his discussions on scene
structure.
He pointed out that a scenemust follow a
(04:23):
motivation-reaction unit.
A motivation-reaction unit whensomething occurs, that's your
motivation and then thecharacter reacts.
The connective tissue betweenthese two elements guess what it
is.
That's right, because Withoutit, action lack context.
(04:49):
Your story flows seamlesslywith it and your characters
decisions listen to this feelinevitable.
The decisions feel like logical, like that's the decision the
character has to make.
By the way, if the characterdoesn't make that decision and
(05:10):
makes the wrong decision, that'seven cooler.
Eventually, he's got to makethe right decision.
Or he's going to make the rightdecision or he's going to fall
off the cliff and die and thatwill be the end of the story,
because the cliff is very high.
Persuasion and connection.
(05:35):
Okay, let's step outside ofstorytelling for a moment,
because I've done a lot ofcopywriting.
You know, which is myconfession.
Have you ever noticed how theword because can make almost any
argument more persuasive?
Right, for example, whichsounds more convincing or more
(05:56):
compelling Give to our campaign.
Or give to our campaign becauseyour support helps children,
because your support helpschildren in need.
Here's another one Drive a BMWif you want.
Drive a BMW because it's theultimate driving machine.
(06:21):
Because, drive it, because thepower of because is that it
connects our need to logic,justification and understanding
reasons.
Justification and understandingreasons, whether you're a
(06:43):
writer or a marketer, or simplytrying to persuade a friend to
watch your favorite movie.
Let's watch Star Wars, becauseI made popcorn, because serves
as your secret weapon.
Yeah, I'm telling you it reallyworks.
(07:09):
Why we create?
And that leads us to creativityitself.
Thank you, rita.
Why do we create?
Creativity itself?
Thank you, rita.
Why do we create?
Why do we write, compose, buildor design?
(07:34):
It's not enough to just say Icreate.
The true significant lies inthe reason.
I create because I havesomething to express.
I create because the worldneeds this story.
I create because it's the onlyway I know how to make things.
I create because the rent isdue.
Dwight Swain reminds us that astory is a chain of cause and
(07:55):
effect relationships driven byneeds and desires of characters.
That's a quote.
A story is a chain of cause andeffect relationships driven by
the needs and desires ofcharacters.
That's it.
That's it.
That's all a story is.
(08:17):
And when you grasp your becauseyour work gains depth.
It becomes more than just words, notes or brush strokes.
It transforms into a statementUnderstanding our own because is
crucial for meaningful work.
(08:38):
Without it, we risk creating anavoid and with it, we risk
creating an avoid.
Our work truly resonates.
So, as you write, tell storiesand craft anything, pay
attention to the word, becauseevery character needs a reason,
every idea requires a foundation, every creation has to have a
(08:59):
purpose.
Mastering this one word unlocksdeeper storytelling.
Wow, stronger arguments.
Whoa and meaningful arguments.
Whoa and meaningful creativity.
Stop, you're killing me withthis word, and that's why
because might be the mostcritical word in writing.
(09:20):
What do you think?
I'd love to hear from you, youknow?
Do you agree?
Do you disagree?
Why do you create?
What's your reason?
You can connect with us atStudioJudijiio or on your
favorite socials.
We're almost everywhere andwe're nowhere at the same time.
And thanks for listening toCreativity, jijiji.
And thanks, rita, for the H2headlines.
(09:44):
Thank you, chris, thank youRita.
If you enjoyed today's episode,subscribe yeah, it helps us in
our work and leave a review,because the pod people tell me
that's an ask you have to make.
So I do and share it withfellow creators, because you're
a beautiful person.
We are a community of creatorsbuilding a new audio.
(10:06):
Treats for you.
Song in Space is coming up CallMe.
Moby is right behind it andthere's something weird about Dr
Jekyll.
Oh, that's my favorite becauseit's really fun and we love to
build them together, you and metogether.
So go to studio2ggio and join,no cost.
We just like to keep in touchwith you.
(10:27):
I'm Chris McHale and until nexttime, keep creating, because
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