In many ways, the plot of a story follows the same sort of timeline as a storm. A new day starts, gets a little darker, and the next thing you know a storm is raging.
The story spine provides a brief layout of how a story should go. Thinking of it in terms of the life cycle of a rainstorm can help a writer visualize exactly what comes next.
From sunrise (the beginning of the story) through the gathering clouds, the storm itself, and then, finally, the clearing sky, this layout helps keep it clear to the author where they need to go next.
