Promise and Payoff: A beginner's guide to foreshadowing

Last week, I went to see the new Superman movie twice in 48 hours. 

It's not unusual for me to hyper-fixate on something I really like - when I was a kid, I watched How to Train Your Dragon every day for 57 days straight - but I don't typically like DC films. 

So what made this one different? 

On top of being just a top-rate movie (beautiful camera work, great actors, a fun vibe) something kept poking my brain the entire time I watched it. 

In Act 1, James Gunn (the director) made a bunch of promises. Some were big. Some were small. Some I didn't notice until the 2nd watch through. 

And in Act 3, he delivered on all of them. 

Holy crap. 

The cool thing about really good writing is that when it IS really good, you don't tend to notice that it's there. When it's bad, it's laughed at all over the internet. 

The good stuff, though, often gets missed. But this isn't just good - this is an excellent lesson in PROMISE AND PAYOFF.

(By the way, this is a really good argument for having a strong outline. If you want to outline, but don't know how to start, you can grab my free plot perfect guide here.)

Also, if you want my personal, in-depth method for outlining, click here to get it.

Why do we care about promise and payoff?

In a lot of writing circles (maybe yours, who knows), writers are extremely concerned with marketing and selling books. 

Even if you're the type of writer who's like, "I just write for myself, I don't care about selling books," at some point, you probably WILL care. 

We all want someone to read it. We want someone to enjoy it. We want someone to rave about it online. It's not wrong to want those things, especially when you've put so much time and effort into your book. 

BUT this doesn't happen to most books. Why? 

Some of it is marketing. 

However, even when a book is marketed well, if it doesn't DELIVER on all the promises it makes to the reader, it won't succeed. 

You need to get your reader going, I need to tell everyone I know about this book, and the only way to do that (in a good way, not in a let's-point-and-laugh way) is to 1.) give your reader a SOLID promise about your book, and 2.) ACTUALLY GIVE IT TO THEM. 

Paging Superman...

When I was deciding how to spend my time last Thursday, I considered a few things besides Superman. I CHOSE Superman because I remembered the trailer - and the vibes I got from the trailer gave me a promise. 

When I sat down in the theater and watched the opening scene, it made me another promise. 

And with each passing moment building towards the end of Act 2, there were even more and more promises. 

Krypto, the Superdog. 

The real punk rock. 

Lex Luthor's crazy girlfriend. 

These are all important parts of the story that were tiny in the moment but determined the whole story in retrospect. 

When I finished the film, not only did I feel buoyant and like I could take on the world, but I also felt incredibly rewarded for watching the whole film. 

I whipped out my phone and texted my brother: 

And because the movie kept its promises to me, I started making promises to other people. 

Promises like, this movie is going to change your life. 

That's the real marketing that no money can buy - that word-of-mouth magic that makes other people not just want to read your book, but NEED to. 

So how do we do that in writing, and not with James Gunn's millions of dollars and a bright, shiny movie? 

It's actually really simple. 

Keep reading.

In literature, we call it foreshadowing.

In the basic, most simplistic form, these "promises" foreshadowing. 

This is the process of planting tiny seeds throughout Act 1 of the story, building on them in Act 2, and delivering on them in Act 3. 

For example, in Superman foreshadowing happens when we see the kryptonian parents' message at the beginning of the film. This is extremely important and helps develop the thematic elements of the story, in addition to the plot. 

In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, there's foreshadowing all over the place - time-travel certainly makes that convenient - and the ending of the novel brings all the Act 1 elements full circle. 

When you do this correctly, no matter the medium, you create cohesion, tension, and reader trust. They'll get that, "ohhhhh! That makes sense!!" feeling at the end of the story, and the next time you go tell a story, they'll want to listen. 

Actually, this is one of the big reasons I gave Superman a chance: I love James Gunn films. I trust him. He sold the film to me - through the last few films he's made. 

Isn't that cool?

You need a promise:

When you make a promise to your reader, you're saying, "if you read this book, you'll like it because...[insert trope, setup, emotion, etc. here]."

The promise shows up in a couple of places. 

In Superman, it was the trailer - all the little things that happened, promising me different pieces of the story. It said (without saying, but this is the point of a trailer) that if I went to go see this movie, I would feel emotionally connected to it based on these things. 

I actually watched Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets last night with my friend, and noticed the same thing: 

The promises that were in the mandrake roots, flesh-eating slug repellent, Dobby showing up at the beginning...etc. 

This doesn't have to be super complicated, either. (In fact, a lot of really great storytelling isn't complicated - it's super simple. I'll tell you why this works in the next section). 

At the beginning of Superman, we get videos of Superman's parents. (Promise). At the end...I won't spoil it because I want you to go see the movie. 

And the ending? 

That's the next best part. 

You need a payoff

I was talking with my husband about this earlier today, and we both came to the same conclusion: the beginning of  Superman was great. The middle was pretty meh (not bad, just not super engaging). But I didn't even remember the middle, because the ending (the payoff) was soooooooo good. 

That's the power of this simple formula. 

When you set up a really good promise, the payoff is natural. Expected. Extremely rewarding. 

This doesn't mean it has to be predictable - there are lots of stories with really cool twists (think: Murder on the Orient Express  if you want a classic example). 

The idea is that it has to be in line with what you promised your reader at the beginning. 

(At this point, I've written that word so many times it no longer has meaning for me. Yikes)

That payoff can re-wire your feelings about the middle section if it's good enough. That's how powerful this is. 

When you're setting up your payoff, keep a few things in mind. This is how you'll keep it satisfying: 

• an effective payoff feels earned (so make your characters fight for it)
• it resolves tension or deepens the meaning of the piece (so...barring a few exceptions, your payoff needs to END the escalation of conflict)
• it needs to be surprising yet inevitable (like the ending of Murder, which I mentioned earlier. It was a huge shock, but when I realized what happened, I went. OH. THERE IS LITERALLY NO OTHER WAY THIS COULD HAVE PLAYED OUT.)

On a technical level, there are a few types of payoffs you can use, too:

• Emotional (a cathartic moment)
• Plot (solving a mystery)
• Thematic (a callback that reinforces theme)

This blog post needs to remain focused or we'll be here all day BUT look into these above to see which ones are right for your story. 

Sometimes, you can use all three!!

(and there are more. These are just common ones that I KNOW do really well in most fiction).

A few mistakes you don't want to make...

Like every writing technique, there are a few rookie mistakes I see in manuscripts that you can easily avoid if you are on the lookout for them.

One: Overloading with clues too early or being too obvious. 

A lot of writers fear this one, and for good reason - but my honest advice is this: don't worry about this mistake until at least draft 3. That's where you'll be refining plot details and making sure your story lands. 

Before that, just focus on getting the story parts in the right order, even if you're heavy on telling and not showing. 

Two: Forgetting to resolve your promise (broken trust).

I'm guilty of this one. I'll start 45 story threads and forget about them. This is the primary reason I brought my editor on - and the first thing I tasked her with - because I want to make sure all my promises are kept. 

If they're not, my readers won't trust me, won't like the work, and probably won't read anything else I write ever again. 

Yikes.

Three: Making the payoff too predictable or too far-fetched.

This is another one I don't want you to worry about until draft 3. If you're at draft 3, though, you can double-check that your ending fits using the Unforgettable Ending Blueprint that's in the Ultimate Plotting Toolkit. 

This tool is what I made to help me keep my endings perfectly balanced between surprising and aligned with the story. 

Four: Over-explaining the foreshadowing after the fact.

Your audience isn't stupid. If you've done the work, they'll understand exactly what you're saying. 

If you over-explain it to them, you risk either sounding cheesy OR insulting them, neither of which are good. Have faith in the first act of your story and let it do the heavy lifting for you. Assuming you do that, everything else should be fine.

A few last pointers for using this effectively:

I'm just going to wrap this up quickly, so you can get to the exciting part of actually writing the book! 

Here's what you need to take away from today's post:

Layer Your Clues: Use sensory detail, metaphor, and symbolism.

Track Your Threads: Use a story map or scene spreadsheet to note promises and check they’re paid off.

Use Character & Setting: Tie foreshadowing into character goals, fears, or settings.

Timing Matters: Consider spacing between promise and payoff.

Beta Reader Test: Ask readers if anything felt unresolved or too obvious.

And remember that all of this is a lot easier when you have a solid outline. If you don't know where to start, I've got a free plotting workbook that will help! Click here to grab it.

Before you go...

Struggle with knowing how to plot your book? Click here. 

Not sure how to create emotionally complex and deep characters? Click here. 

Want my help creating a story world that is rich, full, and lively? I got you. Click here.