| name | sanderson-promise-progress-payoff |
| description | Use when the problem is plot promises, opening pages, middle-book momentum, payoff design, bittersweet calibration, or general story satisfaction. Based on Brandon Sanderson's 2025 plot lectures and plot Q&A. |
Sanderson Promise Progress Payoff
Use this skill to diagnose or design story motion through promises, visible progress, and earned payoff.
Source Protocol
- Read
references/source-notes.md first.
- Use this as the default plot lens unless the user clearly needs a narrower structural or character tool.
Operating Loop
- Name the main promises: tone, plot, character, genre, and worldbuilding.
- Mark where each promise is made.
- Show the visible progress the reader can point to.
- Identify what emotional currency the payoff must land in.
- Check for mismatches between promised pleasure and delivered pleasure.
- Repair with reseeding, reframing, or redesigning the ending.
Contract
Story or unit:
Main promises:
Where promises are made:
Progress engine:
Current stall or mismatch:
Desired payoff:
What must be seeded earlier:
Recommended repair:
Diagnostic Questions
- What is the reader waiting to see happen?
- What kind of story does the opening teach the reader to expect?
- What concrete progress occurs every few scenes?
- Which promise matters most at the ending?
- Is the ending satisfying in the same emotional register as the setup?
Rules
- Do not solve a progress problem by adding random action.
- Do not solve an ending problem by changing genre at the last second.
- If the story is meant to be tragic or bittersweet, check that the opening and middle prepared the reader for that contract.
- Preserve intentional weirdness if it still honors the story's promises.
