As we read, we constantly, unconsciously, analyse the internal logic of the flow of words on a page. Your reader will do it. Your agent, or publisher will do it when they read your one-page summary and decide if it’s worth going further.
One of the most interesting bits of my job is to interrogate your summary for this logic. I use a tool I call the Chapter Map (it’s based on the ‘Inside Outline’ used by Jennie Nash of Author Accelerator). It’s fundamental and indispensable to writing a better book.
You test the connection of your key scenes to each other. If something happens as a result of a scene, the logic is working.
This video* illustrates the cause-and-effect concept perfectly.
How strong are the links in your book?
*Honda – The Cog c.2010