Promise, Progress, Payoff--in Stories, Acts & Scenes

When lecturing on plot, New York Times best-selling author Brandon Sanderson often breaks structure down into three parts: promise, progress, and payoff. These fit beginning, middle, and end, respectively. 

While I find this approach too simplistic for what I need to write a great story (hey, I'm not Brandon Sanderson!), it is an excellent foundation to build on. Without these things in place, your story will always be lacking. Without these things in place, you'll run into problems that will lead to bored (or even annoyed) readers.

Lately, I've been thinking about how these principles not only apply to the story as a whole, but how they are useful for smaller structural units as well--acts and scenes.

As always, I'm not going to say using them is vital to every scene or every act of every story.

But I will say, they can be super helpful if this approach resonates with you, your story, your act, or your scene.

Before I explain all that, though, let me give a brief overview of Sanderson's perspective . . . (though I admit to sprinkling in some of my own thoughts along the way). 

Promise, Progress, Payoff

Essentially all stories are made up of beginnings, middles, and ends. And as mentioned, Brandon Sanderson assigns these three different purposes (broadly speaking of course). The beginning makes promises to the audience. The middle shows progress toward those promises. And the end illustrates the payoff of the promises and progress. 

Beginning--Promise

When the reader opens up the book, they want to know what sort of story this is going to be (and if they want to stick around for it). As a writer, it's your job to make promises that convey that. 

Sanderson talks about several promises you need to make:

- Genre (The opening of the book should make it clear the story is science fiction, historical, romance, crime, or whatever it is. However, Sanderson does acknowledge the cover, title, and back cover will likely illustrate this as well.)

- Tone (the feel--will this be comedic? Dark? Whimsical? Cheerful? etc.)

- Plot (Will this be a mystery? Travelogue? A heist? A rivalry? etc.)

- Character (Who is the protagonist and what is he like?)

- There should also be a promise of change or conflict--it's a promise that something will be in motion.

I admit that Sanderson uses the term "promises" a little differently than I have on here in the past, but I think it's fair to call these promises (and Sanderson also admits to wanting the alliteration of three P's: promise, progress, payoff).

I want to mention, too, that you are essentially setting up the story here. You are conveying to the audience where and when the story takes place, who it's about, what's going to happen, and why it matters (the "why" would be the stakes). When you look at Sanderson's list of promises, you see they basically cover all that as well. (But I'm pointing it out for something I will bring up later.)

Middle--Progress

When the reader gets into the middle of the story, you need to keep them reading by showing progress on what you promised. If this story is a mystery, you need to show the characters finding clues. If the story is about traveling to a destination, you need to show the characters traveling. If this story is about a competitive rivalry, you need to show each character striving to outdo the other.

After introducing the protagonist in the beginning, you need to show how she is progressing toward her wants, as well as how that character is progressing through her character arc.

You may also want to show "progression" related to genre. If you introduced a magic system in the beginning, you may want to dig deeper into it in the middle. (And you don't want to introduce magic in the beginning, and then have no magic in the middle (usually).)

End--Payoff

This one is pretty straightforward. As the reader gets to the end, you are going to pay off everything you promised and progressed. The mystery gets solved. The destination gets reached. The rivalry ends with one or the other as the victor.

The character achieves her objective and/or completes her arc.

And you'll probably have the biggest, best illustrations of your genre at the end.

This is all simplistically speaking though. Of course not every story ends with the character reaching her destination or achieving her objective. There are absolutely ways to turn the ending with a surprise, or twist or subvert an expectation, but that's beyond the scope of today's article. 

Basically, the ending is about doing a good, satisfying job of completing what you started. 

As Brandon Sanderson says, ideally you want to give the audience the expected thing (what you first promised), but in a way that is better (read: bigger, more surprising, more powerful) than expected.

Application to Acts

Recently I've been thinking about how these same basic principles can be used to create satisfying acts.

If you've been following me for a long time, you may know that I see basic story structure as fractal. 

This basic shape has smaller versions of it that live inside it, like a Russian nesting doll.

Not only does the story as a whole take this shape.

But so does each act.

And most scenes.

It's just that, the smaller the structural unit, the less impactful and important the pieces are.

I think I also feel that way with the concepts of promise, progress, and payoff. Yes, they're very important to the story as a whole, but to a smaller degree, for many stories, they are also important to acts. 

If it suits your story, you can likewise view acts as following these principles of promise, progress, and payoff--they just show up a little watered down.

I'm not necessarily saying you have to promise genre, tone, and everything else, all over again. 

But what I mean is, it's this idea that there is a sense of setup and promise for the act. 

Then a sense of progress.

Then a sense of payoff.

If we look at the first act of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (which I've been using as an act example lately), you'll see how this works.

The story opens with the Dursleys and then Harry being left on the doorstep before we move forward in time to when he is ten--this has both promises for the story as a whole, and also for the act.

In the middle of Act I, strange things start happening. Harry can make odd things happen, and odd things seem to be happening around him, while the Dursleys continue to hate anything out of the ordinary (including Harry). 

We hit Act I's peak turn, which is when Hagrid reveals Harry is a wizard, and he's been accepted into Hogwarts.

Promise. Progress. Payoff.

Start Act II (Part I).

As Hagrid takes Harry to Diagon Alley, we get promises of what Harry's new life will be like as he gets a wand, and we also see Hagrid take a mysterious package from Gringotts.

Harry starts his new life and begins learning magic. On the train ride to Hogwarts, Ron mentions someone tried to rob Gringotts, and later Harry learns from the paper, that that was the same day he went there with Hagrid.

Harry goes to meet Malfoy for a midnight duel, and then finds the trapdoor with Fluffy. Harry realizes that whatever Hagrid took from Gringotts is now below the trapdoor, being protected. Soon after, someone tries to steal the item (which results in a troll getting loose). The thief is at Hogwarts.

Promise. Progress. Payoff.

No, it's not as big or as obvious as the story as a whole, but I certainly think it can be useful at times to look at acts in this way. 

Application to Scenes

Likewise, it may also be helpful to consider these principles in relation to scenes.

When you open the scene, and set it up, you make promises about what's going to happen in the scene.

Then you show the character taking action toward an objective (progress).

Then you hit the scene's peak, where it often becomes clear if the character did or didn't get their scene-level objective (simplistically speaking). Promise, progress, payoff.

So as a quick example, Harry plays his first quidditch match. . . . 

The start of the scene sets up the time and place and characters involved, and makes the promise that yes, this scene is going to be about a quidditch match. We know Harry's objective is to catch the snitch. We know the stakes.

As the game starts, we get a sense of progress as the characters play, and Harry searches for the snitch. (And there are some other surprises along the way, too.)

The game ends with Harry successfully catching (in his mouth) the snitch.

Promise. Progress. Payoff.

--They can be useful for any structural unit. 😊

***

Recently I attended FanX as a panelist, and it turned out great! Later this month I will be teaching a class on balancing dialogue, description, action, and interiority in scenes, at LDSPMA in Orem, Utah. I'll also have a vendor table while there. (So if it seems like I've been slightly MIA lately, just know I've been busy with these things ☺️)

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How to Write the Grand Gesture for Any Story, Any Genre

If you write romance or have hung around romance writers, you may have heard of the Grand Gesture, (arguably) the most important part of any romance story. We have all read or seen this moment in Act III, where one of the leads takes a huge action, puts everything on the line, and confesses (directly or indirectly) their love for the other person. Of course, in romance, this person then accepts and reciprocates (directly or indirectly) that confession. But the Grand Gesture isn't limited to the romance genre. It's actually not limited to a romantic relationship. Or even a positive relationship.

In reality, the Grand Gesture is an important beat for any story that has a predominant relationship plotline. Yes, it's important in The Proposal, but it's also important in The Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Dune, Guardians of the Galaxy, and The Umbrella Academy.

And you know what?

Most successful stories feature a relationship plotline as one of its dominating plotlines.

Which means, most successful stories have a Grand Gesture.

You just haven't realized it yet.

So whether you are writing romance, fantasy, historical fiction, or a thriller, let's dive into this critical story beat and what it's really about, so you'll better write your own.

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What is Head Hopping? And Why is it Bad? (with Examples)

If you are writing in third person point of view, you should almost always avoid what's called "head hopping," and stick to one character's perspective at a time. But that is sometimes easier said than done, especially when you are new to writing. All of us have head hopped at one point or another, so let's go over what it is, why it's a problem, and how to (potentially) get away with it.

What is Head Hopping?

Head hopping happens when the writer jumps from one character's head to another's within a passage; it's a switch in viewpoint that is typically considered an error. 

This is different from a writer changing viewpoint characters at a scene or chapter break, which is considered acceptable. 

Head hopping, though, is best understood with an example.

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Answering Your Recent Writing Questions

Years ago, I used to answer people's writing questions on a regular basis, but . . . alas, my professional life got too busy to keep up with them, especially when they can be so specific to that person's needs. But recently I went through my Tumblr inbox and responded to a lot of my "asks," so I'm sharing them today in all their miscellaneous glory. Maybe they will be helpful to you.

(One caveat: I responded to these quickly off the cuff, so you will notice I'm not as deep and thorough as I am when I do regular blog posts. (Speaking of regular blog posts . . . I was also on Writers Helping Writers last week, talking about how story structure is a fractal, if you're interested 😉.))

Question: How do you show progress being made in the promises you make in your story?

Answer:

Often the best way to illustrate progress is to break big, overarching elements down into small things, and show how the small things are met/accomplished.

So, usually in a story, there will be one or more big overarching goals for the main character (of which there are three types: obtain, avoid, or maintain). Often these big goals can be broken down into smaller goals. For example . . . 

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Then vs. Now Scenes

Recently I did an article on types of scenes that have little to no conflict, and it seemed like the proper time to write up a little post on another pair of scenes: Then vs. Now scenes.

This topic has been sitting in my "draft queue" for quite a while, but I haven't covered them yet because . . . frankly, they don't need much of a word count to explain. Nonetheless, they are worth going over. So, let's go over Then vs. Now scenes in a short post today.

Then vs. Now scenes are pretty much what they sound like. They are usually a pair of scenes, one at the beginning of the story and one at the end, that illustrate how things have changed (or less commonly, haven't changed). So for example, there could be a scene at the beginning of the story that shows a depressed protagonist missing the bus to work. Then, there could be a similar scene at the end that shows the protagonist happy as she arrives at the bus stop early. This blatantly shows how the story has transformed her.

When people talk about Then vs. Now scenes, they typically reference how the protagonist has changed, but as I mentioned, you can technically use them to show how the protagonist has remained the same. I could have the end scene show the protagonist once again depressed and missing the bus. This communicates that, despite all that has happened through the middle of the story, the protagonist remains (or has gone back to) the same state.

Then vs. Now scenes are commonly used to showcase the protagonist's character arc. Perhaps the protagonist started the story believing that she had to take advantage of others to get ahead. Perhaps we showed her in the opening stealing money from the panhandling homeless. In one of the closing scenes, we show her giving money to them instead. This clearly illustrates she has a new worldview: It's better to help others.

As you've probably guessed, Then vs. Now scenes can be used to show an infinite number of things--how a character has aged, how a character has mastered a skill, how an occupation is the same, how a setting has changed, how a best friend continues to be a scoundrel.

When we think of these scenes, we usually think of being obvious, but you can implement them subtly as well. Maybe we don't show the protagonist giving money to the same homeless people. Instead, we show her pulling her car over to help someone change a tire. This still illustrates "It's better to help others," but it's less obvious.

It's also possible to have more than a pair of scenes. Perhaps you have three that build off each other--one at the beginning, one in the middle, and one at the end. In the first, the protagonist steals from the homeless, in the second she ignores them, and in the third she donates to them.

These scenes also don't have to strictly show up at the beginning and end. One could be at the beginning of Act I and at the close of Act I, or at two different places in the middle.

In any case, I think you get the idea of how these work.

There really isn't much more to say about them, but they are a great way to show what has (and what has not) changed through the story. And just to follow up with what I covered last time, these scenes may or may not have conflict--they may be structured as a typical scene, or an incident, or a happening, or whatever. It's not unusual for the first one to be a typical scene in the opening of the story, and the second to be an incident at the close of the story. 

In Coco, we see how Miguel's interest in The Day of the Dead has changed.

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Writing Scenes Without Conflict: Incidents, Happenings, Sequels, & More

Ideally, nearly every scene in a story will have conflict, because nearly every scene should have these primary plot elements: goal, antagonist, conflict, and consequences. And nearly every scene should have a turning point, which will be its climactic moment. With these things in their proper places, nearly every scene will follow basic structure:

In writing, all of these elements work in fractals. Yes, the overall narrative arc should have these things, but so should each act, and so should each scene.

. . . Generally speaking, anyway, because every rule is made to be broken.

As long as you know why and how you are breaking it.

With that in mind, sometimes you may have a scene that has no conflict.

Or no important goal, or antagonist, or consequences.

And on rare occasions, no turning point (though almost always there should at least be a turning point).

But these are exceptions, and the writer should implement them intentionally, not out of laziness or ignorance.

And when I say that most scenes should have conflict, I'm not saying they need shouting matches or flying fists. Conflict is simply what happens when a character runs into and deals with resistance (antagonistic forces). 

In any case, let's go through some types of scenes that don't require much, if any, conflict.

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Writing & Structuring Multiple Plotlines (with Visuals)

Writing multiple plotlines can sound difficult and daunting. How can you keep the storylines straight? And relevant to each other? How do you handle all the moving pieces and subplots? 

One of your biggest helps for writing such a story is understanding how to structure it, which is what this article is all about. And it may be a relief to hear that you've likely already written with multiple plotlines . . . now you are probably just adding more than you are used to . . . 

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Looking for a Writing Group?

Hi friends! 

I've been busy putting together my next writing tip article, but its topic is rather complex, and writing about it is more time-consuming than a lot of my other posts, so it's not quite ready yet (but it will be worth the wait 😉). If you can't wait that long though, I did put up my quarterly post on Writers Helping Writers that you can check out in the meantime: "Structuring an Ensemble Cast with Plotlines." 

I also have some other exciting news to share . . . 

A while ago, Ben from Apex Writers Group reached out to me and invited me to be a monthly guest on their Zoom calls. I will be teaching the first Monday night of each month, starting in July. Obviously I love teaching others about writing, so this is gonna be awesome for me (and hopefully the writers 🙃)!

My first class will be on negative character arcs, and the next will be on positive steadfast/flat arcs.

Of course, though, if you are reading this, you probably "hear" from me all the time, so it might be helpful to know Apex Writers Group has a lot more than me 😆

They host multiple Zoom calls a week where they invite professionals to teach writers how to write better. They have had guests like best-selling authors Brandon Sanderson (Mistborn and The Stormlight Archives), James Dashner (The Maze Runner), Kevin J. Anderson (who writes in the Dune universe (and worked as a producer on the recent films), and Orson Scott Card (Ender's Game). They've also brought on Angela Ackerman (The Emotion Thesaurus), Joanna Penn (prolific writer and podcaster), Dave Chesson (owner of Kindleprenuer), and more. (I think you get the idea.)

As the name suggests, it's also a writing group, so there is a community element where you can connect with other writers online for writing sprints and virtual get-togethers (and sometimes participate in competitions). 

Apex was founded by one of my writing mentors, David Farland, who taught Brandon Sanderson, Dan Wells, James Dashner, Brandon Mull, Stephenie Meyer, and others who went on to have very successful writing careers. Unfortunately, David passed away, but fortunately, Apex has recordings of his writing courses that you also get access to when you join.

Here is what Apex says about itself: Apex offers an incredible set of resources for writers, regardless of your stage of development. Whether you want to break into the publishing field, level up to bestseller, or begin selling more books than before. Apex members get access to the training, motivational tools, and supporting community that they need to achieve their personal goals.

It's $47 per month to join, and you can learn more or enroll by visiting their website.

In any case, I hope to see you next time for another tip 😉 (and you can always peruse my previous tips in my Writing Tip Index). Thank you for sharing this journey with me.

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Overwhelmed with Writing a Book? Try These.

How do you not get overwhelmed writing a book? Well, honestly, "writing overwhelm" is not something most of us can avoid completely. It's normal, and probably even natural, to get overwhelmed from time to time. Writing a book is a big undertaking, with so many moving, developing pieces--all of which we hope will sing off the page in the final published product. So perhaps it's better to ask, how do we deal with writing overwhelm? This is what I want to talk about today.

If you haven't noticed, I almost entirely focus my blog on the writing craft. But every once in a while something outside that scope is brought to my attention, and I feel like I need to do a post on it. So while I won't be going deep into the nitty-gritty of plots and characters today, I hope this article is helpful to someone reading.

Here is what helps me with writing overwhelm, in the order I try them.

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12-Step Checklist for Writing Beginnings (Act I)

Beginnings tend to be the most difficult part of a story to get right, at least for many writers. There is so much Act I needs to accomplish--the hook, the introductions, the turns. 

And if your opening doesn't interest readers, they won't stick around for the "good stuff."

Well, recently I was looking for an Act I checklist . . . and I didn't really find what I wanted, so . . . I decided to make my own (and share it with you, of course). 

For most stories, the beginning--or rather, specifically, Act I--makes up the first quarter of the narrative arc. Let's go through what it should contain.

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Writing a "Hollow Victory"

What is a "Hollow Victory"?

In writing, a "hollow victory" happens when the character gets what she wants, but ultimately isn't thrilled about it. It's as if the character feels "hollow"--empty, unfulfilled, unhappy.

Simplistically speaking, it works like this:

The protagonist has a goal.

She runs into antagonists, which creates escalating conflict.

At the peak of the conflict, she succeeds (at least seemingly).

And so everything should be amazing . . . right?

Only something seems to be missing . . . so the victory didn't land how the character imagined.

This all breaks down more, and we can get more detailed. Let's talk about this in relation to structure.

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"All is Lost" vs. "Dark Night of the Soul"

Recently at a conference I attended, an audience member asked what the difference was between the "All is Lost" beat and the "Dark Night of the Soul" beat. The speaker gave her answer, but I found myself itching to answer as well (of course I didn't--the question wasn't directed at me). And one of the reasons I wanted to answer, was because I used to wonder this same thing.

In the writing community, "All is Lost" and "Dark Night of the Soul" are story beats that come from the Save the Cat! approach to writing. People in the community, though, sometimes use these terms interchangeably with each other or other terms, and some use them at different places in a story. And even if you look directly at Save the Cat!, it can be a bit tricky to differentiate them. Are they kind of the same? Are they not the same? If they are not the same, what's the difference? And do they show up in Act II? Act III? The climax? These are some of the questions that come up.

First off, if you are unfamiliar with the term, a story "beat" is basically a moment in a story. Often these are scenes--one scene or multiple scenes. But it's possible it's a moment smaller than a scene. Honestly, part of me dislikes the term "beat" because it's rather ambiguous. Not only is the term used to reference these moments in the overall story (narrative arc), but the term "beat" also gets used at the microscopic line level, which can make everything rather confusing when you are new to writing and trying to understand the terms. But I digress a bit. 

If you aren't familiar with Save the Cat!, it's a popular approach to writing that originates from Blake Snyder's book by the same name. Snyder was a screenwriter, and while his book contains other things related to writing, it's best known for its beat sheet--which outlines common story beats. And now when people say, "Save the Cat!" it's pretty much a given that they are referencing the beat sheet, specifically. (I've already gone over the Save the Cat! beats here.)

With that out of the way, let's go over these two major moments . . . 

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