Twist Endings

[Mythic Scribes]

Do you like twist endings? How do you set them up so that readers don't feel lied to?

 

[TWErvin2]

I enjoy twist endings to a point.

As a writer you have to weave clues into the story so that at the end the reader thinks, "Ahah" or "I get it" or "Didnt' expect that, but makes sense" or "Cool" or any variation.

I think it works a lot better with short fiction than with novel length works, except for mystery novels.

Some of my short stories have endings that are unexpected (or at least they were written that way):
"Vegetable Matters"
would be an example.

 

[Donny Bruso]

The best twist endings are the one when your twist comes out everything goes 'click' and yhou realize you saw it all along just didn't realize it. The most recent example I can think of is the movie The Book of Eli. The twist is blatantly obvious when you know it and are watching for it, but otherwise it doesn't come out that much.

 

[BeigePalladin]

I like twist endings that are supported throught the book - I:E, they are possible to figure out, or have at least been presented. or they're not awefully cliche if they are unsported: I.E 'Heroboy *dramatc pause* I am your father's cousings stepfather's golfing budy' in something other than star wars

I destet ending shtat are: 'well, you know all te blaringly obvious evidance that X did it, that it would have needed X themself to forge it's that convincing, and you saw X do the stabbing, it was actually this randomer who has turned up once, because the fanbase has started shipping for X to much for them to to be the villain...

 

[Derin]

Twist endings that completely change your perspective on events up to that point are brilliant. I'm a big lover of twist endings. However, I think some people rely on them too much; a twist cannot support the whole story, and it won't redeem a bad one, especially if you can't convince your audience to stay long enough for it. As far as I'm concerned, twists are great, but if your story can't survive the twist being spoiled (that is, if the twist was all you had going), it's still a bad story. It's like magic; it's better if you don't know how the trick is done, but if you can't enjoy the trick while knowing, it's a bad performance.

 

[Telcontar]

It is a sin and a shame that Shammy-Whammy (or if you prefer, M. Night Shyamalan) hasn't been mentioned yet. He runs the entire gamut of the 'twist ending.'

You have the perfect example of a good twist ending in Sixth Sense. Supported throughout the movie but never saw it coming. Yes there are some folks who say they called it before seeing the movie, but I maintain that they are all, in fact, dirty liars.

Then you have the rest of his career... The Village and its obvious and over-wrought "twist," Signs and its silliness, etc etc.

The cause? Trying to hard. I have the belief that a really great twist cannot be worked out. It has to hit you in sudden inspiration, it has to fall immediately into place. Maybe a great twist is what the entire plot was built around, even. But having a decent story and then telling yourself 'I'm gonna think up a twisty ending' never works. It'll always fall on its face.

 

[Meg the Healer]

I like twists myself but the pitfall is that as a person who likes twists I often find myself looking for them. Personally I don't like to be surprised and very rarely am I. I love the "pleasantly surprised" feeling I get when I get waylaid and get to exclaim "I didn't see that coming." (mostly recently this occured with both seasons of Dollhouse).

I do find that I incorporate twists in my own stories. I have to lay out clues even for myself because sometimes I start I writing and even I'll go - huh - now what just happened here? lol

 

[kennyc]

I Love twist endings. Of course some authors are much better at it than others.
I recently read T.C. Boyles Chicxulub which has a bit of a twist ending. The master of course was O. Henry - The Gift of the Magi