What's All This Talk About 'The Promise of the Premise'?

A New World

As I continue this series of daily newsletters, bringing us from one sequence of story structure into the next, I’m going to start this one with a little bit of a set up. It’s something rather simple, but important in that it will hopefully get your brain properly wrapped around this post’s topic – Sequence 4, and what I like to call the New World and Manipulation by the Secondary Character. 

In the previous posts, we’ve talked about what? Sequence 1 is all about the introduction of your Hero and making sure your audience knows who they will be dealing with for the next couple of hours. Sequence 2 is focusing on the character-oriented Set-Up Event and presenting a glimpse into what might occur throughout the 2nd Act, and Sequence 3 is the true introduction of the Secondary Character, and how that character will affect the Hero for the rest of the story. Sequences 1, 2, and 3 make up your 1st Act, so now we’ve left the 1st Act behind, and the audience should be cozy and snug in their chairs or sofas waiting for us, the writer, to give them a ride, a shot of adrenaline, a couple aww moments, maybe, and at the very least, a feeling of, “what will happen next? I need to keep watching this because I’m in”. 

Any movie that is shown on a virtual repeat on TV like THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, THE FUGITIVE, or NATIONAL TREASURE, have this make-up, this basic anatomy that includes a 1st Act that is so intriguing that we’re willing to wait through toilet paper commercials and Viagra ads to see what happens next. Those movies seem to be aired every day all year long, but why is that? They’re popcorn movies. Easily digestible, fun, forward-moving adventures that are filled with one obstacle after another, and we have to find out what happens next...even though we’ve watched the movie a hundred times. It’s just that entertaining. Maybe it's arguable that THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION isn't a pure popcorn movie because of its depth, heart, and emotional impact, it is still one of those stories that is so good, so perfect, that even when we know exactly what is going to happen and when, the moment - the recurring and ongoing moment that we know and expect to see - carries the audience every step of the way, and entertains us without the need to think or criticize. 

Now, back to the Sequence 4 reference. Imagine that you’re planning a trip. I’ll use myself as an example, and if any of you knew me well, you would know that I’m not much a world traveller. I’m not a huge fan of flying. Actually...I shouldn’t say that. I love flying, it’s just the whole crashing part that kind of gets me. And I’m only half-kidding. 

Still, let’s imagine I’m preparing for a big trip. I’m headed to a place like London, or Paris, or Edinburgh (all places that I would love to visit, by the way). I select the dates, I pack accordingly, I have a hotel reserved, the flight is taken care of. The usual stuff we do when planning a trip. Any of those three places, for me anyway, hold some semblance of familiarity. The English language is prevalent in each of those cities, though I would happily try and remember what I learned in my high school French class when going to Paris. All three cities are culturally similar in most ways to what I’m used to here in America, and I basically know what to expect before visiting. 

 - Now imagine that I’m sitting quietly in my living room, maybe watching an episode of House of the Dragon and hating these characters more and more every minute (in a good way, of course), and suddenly my front door bursts open, three men wearing black suits and sunglasses grab me, put a bag over my head, force me into their car, shove some sleeping pills down my throat and...the next thing I know, I wake up in the middle of a crowded street in Beijing. 

I’ve heard Beijing is a beautiful city. The Asian culture is amazing and something that everyone should experience, but compare this trip to the one I had previously described. The trip I would have taken to, say, London. Not only is this Beijing trip unplanned and unexpected, to put it lightly, but the cultural differences are extreme in comparison. Plus, I have nothing packed, no suitcases, change of clothes, or toothbrush, and the language might as well be alien to me. I don’t know where to go, who brought me there, or why. 

Now what?

That question – “now what?” – should be something that you have in your head when brainstorming not only your Sequence 4, but the experience of your Main Character as she is experiencing her 2nd Act. That question is basically what your Main Character will be thinking, at least on a thematic level, after leaving Sequence 3 and jumping into Sequence 4, no matter the story paradigm your project holds. Even if your character chose to go on this adventure and thinks he knows where he’s headed, there is still and will always be some level, some notion of, “now what?” running through that character’s head (and definitely the audience’s). Even if I had gone on that London trip after planning everything with a cozy hotel and a good night’s rest, there is still some level of “now what?”, but it just isn’t as interesting. 

Your Sequence 4 begins the fun and games featurette of your story. What do I mean by that? Since I referenced the Nicolas Cage movie, NATIONAL TREASURE, earlier, I’ll stick to that one for now. Not everyone loves that movie, and I get it, but I really enjoyed it, to be honest. Like I said, it’s a popcorn movie. But regardless, the reason NATIONAL TREASURE is a good example here is because the promise of that premise is so simple. It’s a treasure hunt. That’s it. The treasure has been established as being the biggest ever. There is intrigue and mystery. There is history behind it, and we know that this particular Main Character has been searching for it his entire life, as has his father and his father’s father, and so on. It’s easy. But there is something I need to reiterate, something I just said that is so incredibly important, whether you’re writing the next NATIONAL TREASURE or something deeper and darker along the lines of a Fellini film. Your story has a premise. That premise is making a promise to the audience that certain story elements are going to play out, story elements such as a treasure hunt like in NATIONAL TREASURE. The term, “the promise of the premise” is very basically the audience’s expectation. It’s what the audience expects to experience even after just watching the trailer, or the 1st Act of the story for that matter. 

Sequence 4 is proving the promise of your premise. It’s the fun and games portion of your story, and where we see some of the major setpiece moments. What’s a setpiece moment? When I say “setpiece”, I don’t mean literally a structure on a sound stage. A setpiece moment is an event on screen that shows the unique quality of your story. So, NATIONAL TREASURE: we see Nicolas Cage and friends going through preparations to steal the Declaration of Independence. And actually, if we take a step back for a second and go to the third sequence of that movie, how does the third sequence end? You want to talk about formula, Nicolas Cage is standing in the middle of the Rotunda at the National Archives building in Washington and he says to his friend and teammate, “We’re going to steal the Declaration of Independence”. He just told us, the audience, exactly what we can expect to experience in the 2nd Act. It’s so simple, but the idea of stealing the Declaration of Independence is so ridiculous and so big that it’s impossible for the audience to not want to at least see how they’re going to do this, even though we know exactly what it is they’re going to try and do. The fourth sequence is then a series of moments that prove that statement of “We’re going to steal the Declaration of Independence.” Now, not every story is so simple, but it’s an excellent example of how the 1st Act ends and how the 2nd Act begins. Fun and games (even though it won’t always be literal fun and games for the characters). 

Let’s get more specific

It’s one thing to prove the promise of your premise through actions of the Main Character, fun and games, and new obstacles, but the other, and truly more essential part of Sequence 4, is that we see the emotional flaws and issues being shown clearly. Why does the flaw come out of the Main Character? Because he was just blindfolded and tossed into the middle of Beijing. New world. New adventure. The unknown. Of course his personal fears are going to come out. But there is a Secondary Character going along for the ride here, so their flaws are, in some ways, attacking each other. That’s a bit of an extreme way to describe that – attacking each other – but for example’s sake, it makes sense. There is usually some kind of conflict between the Main Character and the Secondary Character, at least on a surface level, because they’re both experiencing something new – the Main Character is, and the Secondary Character is, reacting to the new world. They don’t necessarily need to fight each other, but I think you know where I’m going with this. This back and forth, this conflict between the two characters could be called “manipulation”. The Secondary Character is putting obstacles in front of the Main Character in order to affect that character. I’ve said that a bunch of times in my previous post from yesterday…

…but that is the basic dynamic and make-up of their relationship. The Main Character is confronted with obstacles – whether she has chosen to go on that adventure or not – and she’s experiencing tests, possibly making new allies and likely new enemies. But within this fourth sequence there is usually some form of an initial setback. Think about it: they set out on this new adventure, willingly or unwillingly, and they’re going at full speed. That first obstacle is more than just a fork in the road or the need for a basic decision. It’s a true setback, something that keeps the Main Character from achieving his goal. So much so, they may need to choose a completely different direction to take, and likely it’s something for which they didn’t plan. This need to make a new decision tests both of the characters, especially the Main Character, but…the Secondary Character is much more willing to go with it and dive in…and the Main Character agrees to follow. 

In my opinion

Sequence 4 (and Sequence 5 which is basically just a continuation of Sequence 4, but I’ll get into that in our next post), is the most fun a writer can have when telling her story. This is the part that likely came into your head when you first came up with the idea; that first inkling of an adventure and story that popped into your head a month ago. This is where you’re able to have fun with that initial concept, put your Hero through the ringer, and allow your Secondary Character to really shine and prove who she is and how she is going to be such a vital part of the story (watch EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE for a perfect example). Ultimately, it’s where plot meets character and they run along the path hand in hand.

So there you have it, folks. Sequence 4. In my stories, I love writing my fourth sequence for all of the reasons I just stated, but mainly because it’s where the real fun of your premise gets to play out. If you’re creating a big fantasy adventure, it’s when you’re introducing your Hero to this magical world you’ve created and, really, the audience as well. If you’re writing a love story, it’s when you can really dig into the melodrama and lovesick notions of unrequited love. Like I said, tomorrow’s post will dive into Sequence 5 which is pretty similar to Sequence 4, but the Villain or Opponent really starts to take off and show his prominence. That’s not to say, though, that the Opponent hasn’t shown up and bared his teeth yet. Since Sequence 4 deals with presenting obstacles, it’s natural for the bad guy to come into play, but I could go on about the Opponent. We’ll get there. Just keep reading.

Alright, so on to our quote of the day. Even though I quoted my favorite professor in the last post, I’m going to again because this is my Substack, and I happen to love JRR Tolkien…and you’re just going to have to deal with it. But this quote sums up the beginning of your 2nd Act perfectly, and it gives me a little bit of wanderlust just reading it.

“It’s dangerous business going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.”

So go forth on your writing adventure and let that road take you where you least expect. Though for your sake, I hope it doesn’t involve a bag being placed over your head and randomly waking up in the middle of Beijing.

As always, thanks for reading. If you like what you read, Like, Comment on, or Share this post through the Substack app!

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