By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills

Story Payoff is not a writer gripping the handle of a slot machine and hoping the reader gets it. That friends, would be a gamble. Who wants to risk their story, a work of the heart that has taken weeks, months, or years to create?

The craft of storytelling weaves the writer’s imagination with logic to develop a unique and unpredictable story. The payoff requires technique; the art of establishing information that is later revealed. The power of the unexpected adds clarity to the plot and becomes the true reward for the writer’s work.

The payoff can be physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual. The process equates to creative foreshadowing.

• The investigator doggedly runs down evidence to later discover the villain.
• The police officer questions a bystander in which the response means nothing until later.
• A home builder is known for meeting his deadlines ahead of contract, then later he’s proven to indulge in shoddy workmanship.
• A young man refuses to date while pursuing his education and a coveted career until later when he settles into a rewarding profession and can devote time to a relationship.
• A teenager faces bullying, betrayal, and ostracization from former friends but chooses to forgive and laterreceives her doctorate in psychology with a focus on helping teens.

How can a writer create the best setup and payoff?

1. Establish a strong protagonist who is worth hours of the reader’s time.
2. Establish a problem that means the protagonist has the most to lose and the most to gain from the outcome.
3. Establish the protagonist’s worst fear and force the character to face it before the goal can be reached.
4. Establish a goal, emotive and/or physical conflict, and a high probability of failure in every scene.
5. Establish an antagonistic setting in every scene.

 Every story needs the high stakes of an emotional payoff, something sacrificed resulting in something gained. The internal shows the real character and is worth all the time and effort spent to setup the story and implement the foreshadowing to reward the character and the reader. If omitted, the reader feels duped, even if they don’t understand what’s missing.

How do you show story payoff?

DiAnn Mills is a bestselling author who believes her readers should expect an adventure. She weaves memorable characters with unpredictable plots to create action-packed, suspense-filled novels. DiAnn believes every breath of life is someone’s story, so why not capture those moments and create a thrilling adventure?

Her titles have appeared on the CBA and ECPA bestseller lists; won two Christy Awards, the Golden Scroll, Inspirational Readers’ Choice, and Carol award contests.

DiAnn is a founding board member of the American Christian Fiction Writers, an active member of the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers, Advanced Writers and Speakers Association, Mystery Writers of America, the Jerry Jenkins Writers Guild, Sisters in Crime, and International Thriller Writers. DiAnn continues her passion of helping other writers be successful. She speaks to various groups and teaches writing workshops around the country.

DiAnn has been termed a coffee snob and roasts her own coffee beans. She’s an avid reader, loves to cook, and believes her grandchildren are the smartest kids in the universe. She and her husband live in sunny Houston, Texas.

DiAnn is very active online and would love to connect with readers on: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Goodreads, BookBub, YouTube, LinkedIn. or her website: diannmills.com