When writing your story, no matter the genre, you must remember the three p’s. They are, promise, progress and payoff. They mirror the three act structure respectively but the three ps is more than that. Any mini story arc must contain the three p’s.
Promise is the question usually posed at the start of the story or a scene. It is the question posed that which makes the reader want to read onwards to find out what the answer is. Will Romeo and Juliet get together? Will the superhero save the world? Usually, the reader knows that the answer is “yes” but they are interested in the how. This is the progress.
Progress is what the character does in order to fufill that promise. Progress is one of the hardest part of the story to write. If the progress (the middle of the story) is bad, then the payoff will not be satisfactory.
The payoff is the outcome as a result of the character’s actions. This is the ending of the story but it’s not just found in the ending. As I’ve said before, the three ps are also found in the mini story arcs and in the scenes of the stories. If you’re writing an action sequence, then the promise could be, Will the hero defeat all the bad guys?; the progress is the hero fighting the bad guys and maybe using a ladder or a sidekick to help him; and the payoff is that the hero wins and fights all the bad guys. Or, maybe the payoff is that the hero loses and as a result is captured by the evil mastermind. And so, the three ps are found throughout the story and not just in the overarching structure. It is good therefore, to master the three ps and make sure that you are using them in your story.