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Do you need a plot twist?

Roc

Troubadour
I've just realized I don't have one in my current outline for book one or my outline in book two.

Is this potentially a bad thing? I realize that as the author I have complete creative control, but this is bugging me, as I hear it talked about often.

BQ: What kind of twists do you like?

Thanks guys!
 

OGone

Troubadour
I don't fully understand, your plot is always going to have plot twists. If it doesn't then the story is going to be bland and linear. Bob went to the shop to get some milk, Bob got the milk and returned home. Your outline will have plot twists, surely, just you haven't obscured the reader's knowledge of them I'm guessing?

There are plot twists which are a slow burn, plot twists which are nothing more than denying the reader information and red herrings. Take Lord of the Rings as an example, full of plot twists but, I may be wrong, there isn't really a moment where you can really say "oh shit I didn't see that coming." Gandalf already told of his arrival, Aragorn's dialogue with the Army of the Dead implies what happens next and the reader knows Gollum is going to betray Frodo & Sam at some point so that's no surprise.

You can build just as much suspense & intrigue for the reader by them knowing a twist is going to happen and them questioning when? I mean in LoTR if Gollum had been a goody two shoes then led Frodo into Shelob, Tolkien would've had to go back and give a massive description of his backstory and why they were his intentions, we'd miss the whole bi-polar thing and it'd turn Sam into somewhat of an antagonist until then.

Surprise endings can be extremely corny too if just threw into be a plot-twist, especially if they aren't explained previously. E.g. the character just happens to be the most powerful wizard of all time at the end of the story out of nowhere, a good guy just happens to turn bad out of nowhere.

No story *needs* a surprise twist but it definitely needs complications in the plot, I don't think there are better kinds of plot twists because they can all work well but I typically roll my eyes at ones which have to be then explained through flashbacks, but there are always exceptions (The Prestige was awesome).

Do you have an outline of the book which you could post?
 
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Roc

Troubadour
The outline is 12,000 words, so I probably won't post that, however, when I talk about plot twist, I mean, as a blatant example, Harry Potter 4. Professor Moody was actually Crouch Jr. or w/e. That kind of twist, a major one, at the end.

But I liked your example with Lord of the Rings, thank you.
 
I don't think plot twists are required, but they are good to have.

They are like character development, or forshadowing. If you can have them, you should.

BQ: What kind of twists do you like?

The kind I don't see coming at all (which is very rare these days) yet make perfect sense in hindsight, and completely changes my perspective on the plot.
 
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Chilari

Staff
Moderator
With Harry Potter 4, there were clues leading up to that conclusion, and a lot of the plot depends on it and makes sense once you know it, so while it might be a plot twist, it wasn't unfounded and it wasn't just for the sake of surprise.

I think what you need to consider is the following:

1. Is the ending satisfying? As in, does it answer enough questions and feel like solid conclusion where the events which preceded it support it? An ending needs if nothing else to be satisfying. If it is not, readers will feel abandoned, led on or cheated.

2. Is the end too predictable? There's nothing wrong with it being predictable in essentials, but if the reader predicts from early in the story how the protagonist defeats the villain (not merely that they do, but how), who dies and who gets paired up, it's too predictable. You should keep the reader guessing in some elements. They need to wonder how the protagonist will get out of the trap they're in, or how the piece of information another character knos but the protagonist doesn't is going to change the protagonist's plans and how they're going to react to it once they find out half way through said plan. I suppose that's where the twist comes in. Shake things up a little, have things the protagonist - and the reader - thought was insignificant come back later and change things in small ways that nevertheless leave the protagonist having to change their plans and the reader guessing.
 
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T.Allen.Smith

Staff
Moderator
Three types of plot twist are my favorites:

First, this one that Anders mentioned. Hard to do well but this, by itself, can make a great story into a "oh my god" story.
The kind I don't see coming at all (which is very rare these days) yet make perfect sense in hindsight, and completely changes my perspective on the plot.

Second, a plot twist where I knew a certain story element was gong to come into play somewhere but I'd forgotten about it until it becomes important.

Third, slow builds that lead to a lot of reader speculation as the story progresses until the final reveal. This can either confirm or contradict the reader's assumptions as long as the author ties everything in and makes the twist not only plausible but the most reasonable & powerful reveal. Often there are many subtle clues along the way that build to the climactic reveal. The author can even use the surrounding story to mislead the reader. Think: The Usual Suspects reveal of the identity of criminal mastermind "Kaiser Soze".
 
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OGone

Troubadour
Could a character dying be a possible plot twist?

In my opinion yes, but only if they're one of the primary characters or needed to be alive for some reason.

If Harry Potter would've died it would've been a massive plot twist, if Ron died not so much - I guess? If one of your characters is the key to unlocking the Chamber of Blahblah and dies then that's a plot twist. I think it depends on how they die/who they are. I'd definitely say yes though...

A character dying at the end of the story is not really a plot twist (again purely imo) unless it 1st person past tense and the narrator dies, though I watched or read somewhere that this was getting overused.
 

Steerpike

Felis amatus
Moderator
I read one where the MC and sole viewpoint character up until that point died about 2/3 of the way through and never came back. Didn't see that coming.
 

T.Allen.Smith

Staff
Moderator
Could a character dying be a possible plot twist?

Absolutely. Especially if it's set up as one of those "they'll be saved at the last second" scenes but they aren't saved, just dead. I like it when a story can turn reader expectations on their head.
 
Could a character dying be a possible plot twist?

Sure, as long as it changes the plot in some significant way.

"I didn't expect that person to die" doesn't quite cut it, I think, but suppose it causes an important character to undergo a radical change in mood or personality, which then turns out to have considerable consequences? I'd count that as a decent twist.

I think the problem with plot twists is that, by definition, they have to be built into the plot from the start. It's not usually something you can add retroactively - you can't look at your plot and go: "I need to toss a twist into this." You actually have to twist the whole plot.
 
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I think that a story needs tension and emotion. Beyond that, everything is optional.

That sums up a lot. It's just harder to maintain enough of that tension when the plot always goes in a straight line, rather than putting in a zigzag or two to grab reader's attention. Look at LOTR's Frodo-Sam-Gollum chapters: long long stretches of them trudging on and on, orcs circling and Gollum smirking but you start to realize not much is going to happen for a while. That the chapters work at all is proof that Tolkien knew his characterization, and his world offered so much color that anything could have happened. But if a lesser writer tried that kind of extended slog...
 

Penpilot

Staff
Article Team
To me twists are part of telling the story. BUT how big the twists are is entirely up to the author. When you tell a story nothing is ever free for the protagonist, so to me, that's where the twists come in. There's the standard protagonist tries something and fails, then tries something else and fails cycle. But there are two other possibilities in there too.

The first is (Success but having to pay for it story-wise, by having something bad happen.)

Sure Bob made enough money to buy his dream hotrod but the girl he was hoping to win over with it has now chosen to go steady with Bob arch nemesis Fred.

The second (Failure and then it gets worse.)

Not only did Bob get fired, so he now doesn't have the money to by his dream hotrod, people are now saying he got fired for stealing, which isn't true, and now the girl he was hoping to win over thinks he's a thief.

Which of these you choose to use and how big the twists are depends on the story you're trying to tell.
 
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