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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/40877
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/40877
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

The components of a really effective payoff, in my mind, are these:

- The reader knows _something_ is coming
- But: they don't know _what_ is coming. They have open questions; they have doubts. They're in a state of tension; anticipation.
- The payoff resolves the tension, in a way that makes sense to the reader -- but, ideally, not something they were able to guess themselves.

It sounds to me like the reason you're unsatisfied with your buildup is because, while it does build _support_ for the twist (helps it make sense), it doesn't do anything to build tension or anticipation. "People gossiping" is a _hint_, but it doesn't create a narrative arc.

So the question is: how can you get your readers to not merely _accept_ your resurrection twist, but look forward to it?

You need to figure out what kind of anticipation you can build. Here's a few suggestions -- they're tailored to your specific case, but they're just examples; you and any other writer should be able to come up with your own ideas.

**Fake Out.** The hero thinks something _else_ is going on; the reveal makes everything click into place. E.g., the hero is trying to figure out who saved his life when he blacked out during a shipwreck. Answer: nobody did; he died and came back.

**Reflection.** Establish the groundwork for somebody else, first. Maybe your hero has a bitter rival who just won't stay dead. That's a lot easier to build up with lots of tension -- and once you have, then going "hey btw you're one of these too" is muuuch less of a stretch.

**Heroic Buildup.** The hero knows _something_ is special about them, but they don't know what. Prophecies and oracles are staples for this -- they're practically information-free buildup; "_something_ here is important, by divine/authorial decree".  
Imagine the despair of "oh no I'm dying and I never even found my power" and then being "ohhhhhh _now_ I get it."

**Thematic Buildup.** Some stories work less on straight cause and effect, and aim for developments that resonate more with emotion than strict logic. If you build a strong thematic element into your story -- an idea, an image, a rule, that become the _rules_ of your story -- then you can do almost anything. Because that's how the story goes.  
If you think this doesn't pack enough punch to literally bring somebody back from the dead -- consider Aslan, Gandalf, and even Buffy.

You can find your own arc and buildup -- something that interests you, and fits in well with your story. The trick is simply to look beyond "have I justified this enough," on to "how do I build a story arc with this as its climax."

All the best!

Original score: 27