How to write the Promise of the Premise

Your First Act is finished and your hero has entered the New World. Now, what? Well, it sounds to me like it’s time for you to write the Promise of the Premise.

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The Promise of the Premise is probably one of the most fun parts of your novel to write. Not in vain it is also known as the Fun and Games section of your story. Our hero is in a new exciting location, learning new things, meeting new people, but most importantly, getting closer to their final goal. Also, one thing that makes this part of the story so compelling, is that it’s here where we really explore and exploit the genre we’ve chosen.

But, before we get to the juicy part of the article, let’s get some concepts clear.

What is the Promise of the Premise?

The Promise of the Premise is one of the elements of the Three Act Structure. If you don’t know what the Three Act Structure is, no worries. We got you covered. Check it right here.

It happens in the Second Act. Right after our hero has decided to go on an adventure and has entered the “New World”. The name “Promise of the Premise” means that this is the part of your book where your readers have to be like “This is why I picked the book. This is when things get good.”

The Premise of the book is its foundation, the basic idea on which the book is based. For example, The Hunger Games’ premise would be something like:

In a post-apocalyptic world, a girl has to survive a deadly contest.

This is what the author promised to deliver to the reader, and the whole choice of the reader to pick up the book comes from this premise that comprises the genre and the basic route of the story.

And what is the point of the story where we really see the premise shine? Exactly “The Promise of the Premise”. In there we get everything we were waiting for. The Author delivers what he promised in the premise.

The Promise of the Premise of the Hunger Games is actually the beginning of the Games. The Games themselves. The fight for survival.

For another example, let’s think of Caraval (by the way, if you haven’t read it and you like a good Fantasy YA story, we 100% recommend it.):

In a magic world, a girl has to win a contest to save her sister.

The premises of both books are very similar, structurally speaking. And… where does “The Promise of the Premise” section of Caraval start? You guessed right. Exactly where the contest starts. Because, it’s there, where we can really savor all the elements of the magic world, plus the excitement of the contest.

Think of other stories, novels, or movies. Try to determine where the Promise of the Premise starts.

Now, without further ado, let’s get into the tips.

1. Keep your promise

The word PROMISE is right there in the title of this plot beat… and it’s there for a reason. Make sure your readers get what you told them they would get if they bought your book. If it’s a horror book, then include things that make your reader tremble from the other side of your book. If you promised it was an adventure novel, then that’s what you have to deliver: have your protagonist visit some exotic lands and face big obstacles.

Imagine the disappointment if the Hunger Games didn’t actually include the Hunger Games and it was all about Katniss’s love triangle and life in the Capitol. And I’m not saying this plot would not be good and entertaining, but that’s not really why you started reading.

Just like the disappointment we get when a waiter brings the wrong food. It’s not that the one they brought is bad. It’s just that that was not what you ordered in the first place.

So, focus on keeping the promise you made in the beginning.

2. Watch your pacing

This is probably the beat of the story where it’s most difficult to keep good pacing. What is pacing? I would say, it’s the way in which the events are distributed throughout the story, the rhythm your story has. If they happen too close to each other, the reader may feel that things are being rushed. If nothing happens for quite a bit of time, then you have good chances of boring your readers.

The Promise of the Premise belongs in the Second Act, which is the longest Act in the novel, comprising approximately 50% of the whole story. Furthermore, this beat is probably the longest in the Second Act. That means that pacing it correctly will be extremely important for the whole story.

Now, how can we pace this beat in a manner that we neither rush things nor bore our readers to death? Simple. We’ll use the Rule of Three.

Make sure to include Three big/important events. If you are writing a love story, it could be three interactions of your Main Characters. If it’s an adventure movie, then let it be three obstacles your characters have to face in the exotic land. Is it a murder mystery? Then let them be three pieces of new information.

Before each event, make sure you prepare your readers for what’s coming. Create anticipation and show your characters debating on the possible outcome. This will give you the opportunity to raise the stakes and create some old, good suspense. What will happen if this upcoming event goes wrong? what will it mean if it goes right?

Also, after each of these events, include your characters’ reactions. What does this event mean to them? How did it affect their relationship with the other characters? This way, your readers will have the opportunity to breathe with your protagonist and have a mental break to process what’s happened before you put them through new events once more.

3. Develop your B plot

We call the A plot the main course of events in the novel. That is the Main Character trying to fulfill their main objective. Now, the B plot would be the secondary course of events, usually involving some sort of relationship between your hero and some secondary character. This relationship could be romantic or between friends or relatives. For example, Katniss and Peeta in The Hunger Games; Scarlett and Julian in Caraval.

While the B plot can be considered a beat of its own, and it should be introduced before the Promise of the Premise starts, you can and you certainly have to develop it while you are on the Promise of the Premise. Make the secondary character your protagonist will have some kind of relationship with, accompany them in the events that will take place during your Promise of the Premise. When two people share difficult moments together, help each other and just spend time together, odds are that feelings of some kind will arise.

Make them share moments alone, maybe in the “reaction” phases after the “events” have happened. Have them talk about personal things or share a memory. Create scenes where their relationship can thrive. Make their relationship progress step by step to the point in which they become close to each other.

4. Pose new questions

Posing questions to the reader is key to keeping their interest alive. Questions should be posed to the reader especially in the first half of the book because in the 2nd half, guess what? we are going to be answering them.

The Promise of the Premise is a beat where questions can flourish because it’s the part of the story where your protagonist will be facing the real challenges that come with the world and the core of the story. That means that your hero still needs a lot of new information to figure out their destiny. This gives you the opportunity of mining the story with unresolved mysteries, red herrings, mysterious people with tricky messages. Just make sure that while you leave the most important questions to be solved at the end of the book, you answer some minor ones in the way, so your readers feel like they are actually getting something.

Questions could be as simple as: Will the hero achieve their goal? Will Katniss survive the Games? or they can be more complicated and specific depending on the story. Who left the package on the door? Why is this character acting so weird?

5. Move your plot forward

If there’s something that the Promise of the Premise should do is move your plot forward. While you are enjoying the display of genre elements, the new discoveries, and the exotic lands, always remember that everything you include should have a purpose.

Each one of the events in the Promise of the Premise should take your hero one step closer to their final objective. Don’t waste readers’ time. Even if your characters are following a false clue that will take them to an apparent dead-end, make sure they learn something from it, they get new information or they realize something. Everything you include should push them forward, not sideward or backward.

6. Develop your characters

Right before the Promise of the Premise, your Main Character had just entered the New World. So, during this beat, he is getting a lot of new information and meeting new people. Once the Promise of the Premise is finished, your character should have started to have a different idea of the place they are in, or of the relations he’s made. Your hero has gotten a little bit closer to the new people. They are a little bit wiser and stronger. They have more knowledge. Use that and let it show. Make your hero’s relationship with the environment and the other characters progress.

This should be also related to your character’s flaw. Make him fight the misconception he had before entering this world. Show this in a progressive way, “event” after “event”.

7. Give them good obstacles

Don’t be afraid of giving your character some obstacles. Obstacles mean conflict, and conflict keeps your story interesting. Obstacles will also make your characters stronger. No one likes a story where absolutely nothing happens and objectives are easy to achieve. The key to reader satisfaction is a good character struggle. Let them sweat. Let them fight for what they want. Or else, how do we know that they really want it? How will they be worthy of a successful outcome in the end?

So, spice up their path with some good hurdles for them to jump over. If everything is flowers and butterflies, the path is not really that interesting.

Summing up…

The Promise of the Premise is an essential part of every novel. In it, your characters will grow, they will face important obstacles, and obtain crucial information that will become even more relevant at the end of the story.

We believe that the tips we discussed today can help you write a good Promise of the Premise for your novel. So, let’s sum them up.