No, I'm not done yet. I love my plot twist babble.
"Everything's great," Plot Twist. This is usually the most heart-wrenching type of plot twist.They come right after everything seems resolved, after you've written "happily ever after" everywhere. Then you take down all that down and plunge your characters back into a situation worse than ever. Let me tell you a little secret: these work every time. With rules applied. Here are a couple tips on successfully pulling these off:
-Don't foreshadow. Never foreshadow these plot twists. If foreshadowing anything, foreshadow how perfect the situation will turn out to be. Then shoot your readers the opposite. One of the reason these plot twists work so well is because readers are so caught up in the "real" problem, and when that problem is resolved, your readers will be caught up in celebrating that. The twist these plot twists provide is the fact that what seemed to be the real source of the problem, isn't the real source of the problem.
-Find the right timing. It's best to put these right before the climax, as to easily drive your characters into issues dramatically more suspenseful than those before the plot twist. They need to be well before the ending, or else the resolve will feel rushed and horribly planned; and they need to be well after the beginning, preferably after the first fifty percent of the book as well.
Say we use the plot I've been going on about all this time. Laura discovers the truth about her brother, and that Michael is the true killer. He gets arrested, and everything is brought to justice. Not the best "Everything's great example," but close enough. Then, she stops by Michael's empty house to pick up some of her things. She accidentally discovers the outline of a plan, that, in fact tells her that her brother was not the only intended victim. It was, in fact, her whole family targeted, and progressively being targeted as victims of death. Laura then immediately finds her life, and her family's plunged into jeopardy. These incidents should happen a little earlier after, if not right after, everything is seemingly resolved.
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The Right To Write
Non-FictionAre you a writer? Did you think it was going to be easy? Well then, you've got yourself in some pretty messy business. From plot twists to character development. From suspense to finding a writing tone. Step by step I'll take you into the li...
