The Rule of Three and How it Helps Our Writing

By Janice Hardy 

Three is a magic number in writing, and can help you craft stronger stories.

There was a joke in my house growing up, that things always happened in threes—good luck, bad luck, it didn't matter. If the car broke down, that meant two other things were sure to break within a few weeks. Someone got a raise, well, then two more good things were certainly on the way.

Most of the time it did actually happen—but probably not for the reasons you'd think. Good and bad things happen all the time, but we don't always notice them or make the connection to other similar events. It’s part of our culture and so ingrained in our subconscious that we notice (if not seek out) patterns that fit this rule. 

 

Using the rule of three in our writing lets us tap into this understood principle and helps pique reader interest as they look for these patterns.

People remember "things in threes" better. (Really, they’ve done studies) Think of famous speeches (Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness), or clichéd ad copy (location location location). Even our stories are broken down into three acts. Three makes people pay attention, and we can use that to make them pay attention to our stories.

The Rule of Three and How it Works

The principles are simple: It takes three things to establish a pattern. 

• That the first time someone sees something they merely see it. 
• The second time they notice it, because it stands out. "Hey, didn't I just see that?" 
• The third time, they’re looking for it because you’ve established a pattern.

This holds true even in the beginning, middle, ending structure. You let readers "see" the problem, you make readers "notice" all the things that connect to that problem, and then you make them "look" for how that problem pans out in the end. 

1. It builds tension or foreshadows

Foreshadowing works because it establishes patterns, drops hints, and starts putting all the little clues into your reader's subconscious. Even if they don't know they know something critical to the story, it's there lurking under the surface. That helps build tension, because readers will subconsciously know something is coming, and be eagerly waiting for it to happen. 

This event might unfold over the course of one scene or the whole book. But it almost always starts with a brief glimpse of something that seems unimportant, then is seen again later with a little more importance, and finally revealed in an impactful way.

The movie Antman has a fantastic example of this (minor spoilers). Early on in the movie, one character tosses a keychain with a toy tank on it into a bowl to get through security (view #1). Later, the hero sees the keys and tank when he's robbing that character's house (view #2). Finally, the toy tank becomes pivotal when it's the solution to the good guys escaping the bad guys in the climax (view #3). 

It works because we've seen the tank all along, we know the backstory of the character who has the tank keychain, so when the unexpected happens, it feels inevitable and not out of the blue. The clues were there the entire time for us to guess the truth—and some people did, which let them anticipate the big reveal of that fun secret.

"Three things" can be a specific item or event, or similar in theme or concept. 

You could have a creak in the night, followed by a thump, followed by a guy in a ski mask jumping out at you—they're all "spooky things" that build upon one another.

(Here's more with How to Sneak Clues Past Your Readers and Keep Them Guessing)

2. It makes readers remember

Have you ever heard marketing experts say people need to hear the same message seven times to remember it? Same principle on a smaller scale.  

In novels, three is enough. For example, say your protagonist is considering a heist. They mention motion sensors in the hallways early on, but it's part of a whole briefing on the security measures they'll need to overcome. Later, the protagonist is going over the plan, but they forget to mention the motion sensors, and a friend reminds them. It draws attention and makes readers notice it even more. Then during the heist, readers will probably worry about those motion sensors and how they might cause trouble. Not only do you build tension, but you keep the stakes, goals, and motivations in your reader’s mind the whole time.

This can be tricky since repetition can be bad, so make sure to slip it in where it feels natural. 

A protagonist simply saying the same thing again does stand out, but not in the good way. Constant reminders usually wind up telegraphing those big moments, and kill any tension you created.   

(Here's more with Message for M. Reader: Are You Telegraphing Your Plot?)

3. It sets up a surprise

People notice patterns, so when patterns don’t go where we expect them to, it surprises us. This is how many jokes work: they set up a pattern, then throw something unexpected in for the third item and shock us.

How do you get to my place? Go down to the corner, turn left, and get lost.

This works great for setting up both reveals and red herrings. You can drop hints that lead readers in one direction, then hit them sideways with that third reveal. Maybe they:

• Expect something terrible to happen and it's actually a good thing
• Expect the protagonist to be injured, but the best friend is killed
• Expect to learn the big secret that changes everything, but the secret is not at all what they thought it would be

You can use this with entire scenes, too. Two scenes set up the pattern, then the third scene changes direction and surprises readers with something they so didn't see coming.

(Here's more with The Joy of Discovery: Keeping Readers Hooked Through Story Revelations)

Three really is a magic number. It works on a line-by-line basis or in a macro structure format. 

Next time you’re stuck in a scene, try looking at what patterns you’ve created and how you can use those patterns to get the story moving again.

EXERCISE FOR YOU: List the big or memorable events and/or moments in your story. Then identify the clues or mentions of those events/moments. How many times do you draw the reader's attention to them? Once? Nine times? Brainstorm how you might use the Rule of Three to create a pattern that piques reader interest, makes them pay attention, and then delivers a solid pay off in the end.

Do you use the rule of three?

*Originally published April 2011. Last updated March 2025.

For more help on plotting or writing a novel check out my Plotting Your Novel: Ideas and Structure.

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Available in paperback and ebook formats.

Janice Hardy is the award-winning author of the teen fantasy trilogy The Healing Wars, including The Shifter, Blue Fire, and Darkfall from Balzer+Bray/Harper Collins. The Shifter, was chosen for the 2014 list of "Ten Books All Young Georgians Should Read" from the Georgia Center for the Book.

She also writes the Grace Harper urban fantasy series for adults under the name, J.T. Hardy.

When she's not writing novels, she's teaching other writers how to improve their craft. She's the founder of Fiction University and has written multiple books on writing.

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