"A story is not a list of events. It is a sequence of cause and effect."
Beginners try to serve up "interesting" ideas. Masters embrace the boring. A story starts with a Routine. We must establish the "Every Day" before we can break it with the "One Day".
The "Story Spine" is a tool used by Pixar and playwrights alike. It forces you to link events causally ("Because of that...") rather than just listing them ("And then...").
The skeleton of every great narrative. Fill in the blanks.