Promises

As mentioned in the previous chapter, every storyline starts with a promise. You promise the reader what it’s going to be like. But what is it exactly? How do you construct a good promise? You obviously don’t want to give away too much and spoil the story.

A good promise

A strong promise usually includes the following elements.

• Tone: is it generally happy or dark? Is it funny or serious? Is there a clear voice narrating the story?
• Theme: what kinds of conflict or goals will be at the center of this story? (If your first chapter introduces somebody eager to travel the world, and the rest of the story takes place at one and the same location … that’s going to feel unsatisfying.)
• Character (Arc): introduce your hero and hint towards what might be missing in their life or how they might change. (Not fully, not detailed, but a small hint. People read it and subconsciously think “hmm, I hope this character learns to salvage their relationship with their parents”. If the book delivers that, it feels really good.)
• Plot (Type): plots can be categorized in general types. (For example, everybody knows what a “detective story” is. If your book is a murder mystery, clearly signal that in the first few paragraphs! This way, readers know what they’re in for.)

You will make these promises whether you want to or not. So it’s better to take control and make promises on purpose.

Promises are not the place where you break rules or try to be “surprising”. In fact, err on the side of being predictable, as it makes the promise easier to understand and execute.

As mentioned, most plots have already been done. So, where would you get a new promise? Where would you get new story ideas? A good way to generate a promise is to …

• Either take a new spin on a familiar idea
• Or mash two familiar ideas together

And you don’t need to be coy about it. If you’re inspired by heist movies, clearly promise a heist story in your first chapter, using all the tropes and genre trappings available. But also invent one twist, one reason you’re telling this new heist story, and clearly signal that as soon as possible.

The broken heart promise

This is the most common issue for beginning writers. The thought process is understandable.

• What if I write a book that mixes genres A and B?
• They write half the book as genre A.
• And the other half as genre B.

For example: what if I write a detective … that’s also a romance!?

Promises are always made in the first chapter(s). As such, every reader picking up the book, assumes this to be a detective. When it turns into a romance, they’ll be disappointed and most likely stop reading. (Conversely, those who enjoy romance will never pick up the book, because the first chapter clearly promises a detective.)

I call that the Broken Heart Promise. It breaks one story into two stories that should’ve been separate books. (It also often happens when the writer doubts themselves halfway, or gets bored, and pivots the story into a new direction.)

Don’t do this! If you mash multiple genres or ideas, promise all of them (a tiny bit) in the first chapter. If that is too much, your idea is too complicated and you need to cut something.

In general, with stories, it’s better to focus. To pick one theme, one premise, one genre, and commit fully to that. Any reader who sees that and thinks they might like it, will love your book. Any reader who would not enjoy your story anyway, will not pick up the book, as you’ve clearly communicated what it is (and what it’s not).

Foreshadowing

Many writers call this “promise” or this “setup” (which gets a payoff later!) foreshadowing. Good foreshadowing is essential to a satisfying story.

Think of it this way. There might be some evil person standing behind you this very moment, but you wouldn’t know. They cast a shadow, but it’s behind them, so you have no clue of the bad things that are about to befall you. When they attack, it is sudden, and you could not have prepared in any way.

Now imagine the reverse. The evil person stands behind you, but they cast a shadow in front of them. You see the shadow first, then the evil person. This leads to a much more interesting scene, because now you build tension (you see the shadow, you slowly follow it, getting closer and closer to the intruder) and you give the reader a taste of what’s about to happen. If you’re smart or quick, you might still run away or defend yourself.

Without foreshadowing, many scenes feel meaningless and random. There were no hints for the hero (or the reader), nothing that might have helped them prepare to fight obstacles. With it, stories get clear meaning and purpose, which is what people seek.

It’s similar to a quote from Hitchcock.

Imagine a scene with two people talking in a restaurant. They just talk about their day, make some jokes, catch up—until suddenly a bomb goes off! Yes, it’s a shock, but the whole scene before that was boring and did not do anything useful. You didn’t know about the bomb and neither did the characters.

Now imagine showing the audience that there’s a bomb under the table. (Or somebody subtly revealing there might be a bomb through dialogue.) You foreshadow that something is about to blow up. As the people make small talk, you’re already growing tense. Check under the table! Why don’t you look? Why don’t they talk about something more important? Are they going to stop the bomb in time?!

An otherwise boring conversation, suddenly becomes interesting and exciting because you foreshadowed.

For specific tips on how to actually execute effective foreshadowing, check Spoilers versus Foreshadowing, a chapter near the end of this course.

Inciting Incident

The inciting incident kicks off your story. As such, the promises you make will always be strongly connected to this incident.

I think this is another true skill of the writer: coming up with the best possible inciting incident. You have to design a single event that promises all the right things! Come up with a good one, and readers are hooked (and the story much easier to write from now on). Come up with a bad one, and your whole plot fights against it.

My best definition of this event is …

An inciting incident should interrupt the current situation. (This interruption prompts the reaction that starts the plot cycle I explained earlier.)

Your first chapter has to start with a situation. Usually the daily life of the hero, the current “status quo”. This is a given: the reader knows nothing of your world, so you have to start somewhere by explaining the current state of the world.

But remember the promises. You have to promise a character arc. A plot type, and plot moves forward (using that cycle of action and reaction). So you need CHANGE!

The inciting incident should be that change. It should interrupt your explanation of the current situation, and promise the reader what kind of change will happen in this story.

You can do anything

Beginning writers often ask if something “can be done” or “will work”. They explain their story idea, which they’re very excited about and is very unique, but worry if it’s just impossible to execute.

The answer is simple.

You can do anything, as long as you set it up

As long as you promised you were going to do it, you can do it (in your story). As long as you clearly signaled this might happen, and set up the pieces for it, you can pull the trigger later.