Plot Twists

Many writers have heard about the infamous “mystery boxes” from J.J. Abrams. They also know countless examples of stories that thought they were being clever by adding a big “plot twist” or “surprise revelation”, but were actually being dumb and ruining their own story.

This chapter (and the next) tries to define what these two things are. Why they matter, how to do them well, and how to do them badly.

What is a plot twist?

A plot twist is not a random occurrence that sends the plot in an entirely different direction. It’s also not something that is “surprising” or “unexpected”.

The whole idea of a plot is that it constantly changes. New obstacles appear, characters make choices that change the course of the plot, etcetera. A plot is riddled with “plot points” or “plot turns” that bring (optionally surprising) changes.

Yes, a plot twist is the “most extreme” type of plot point. It irreversibly, drastically changes the plot from now on.

But if the reader paid attention, the plot twist is actually … expected and completely logical.

It’s not called a plot twist because you are required to shock and surprise your viewer. It’s called that because it should recontextualize everything that came before. (With this new development, the previous chunk of plot suddenly gets a different meaning.)

Below is my most practical definition of a plot twist.

Two things you thought were different, are actually the same.

This is the core of puzzles and mysteries. A good mystery is hard to solve because it requires a creative “leap” to connect two things that seemed different.

A natural consequence

So, a plot twist requires two things to be the same. What does this require? What must you always do to achieve this?

Actually introduce the two things. And introduce them enough to make the reader understand what they are.

In other words, a plot twist cannot work without the proper setup!

That’s why I wanted to teach you setup and payoff first. A plot twist requires it, otherwise it’s simply not a plot twist. It’s a random event designed to superficially surprise, and that’s it.

Example: Spiderman

Let me give another example from an existing movie (spoilers!).

In Spiderman: Homecoming, there’s a great plot twist that really made the movie better for me. For half the movie, spiderman has been fighting a certain antagonist. He has seen his face, while his enemy doesn’t know the real identity of spiderman.

He wants to take a girl he likes to Homecoming. So he visits her at home to ask her father’s blessing. Guess what? The camera cuts to the father … and it’s the enemy he’s been fighting half the movie. PLOT TWIST.

Two characters you automatically assumed were different (spiderman’s enemy, girl’s dad) are actually the same.

This only works well, though, because both have been setup.

• Spiderman has repeatedly seen and engaged with this enemy.
• Peter Parker has repeatedly talked about visiting her home, meeting her parents, and how nervous he is about it

As always, we need consequences

Any plot twist might surprise, but that doesn’t necessarily make it good. The plot twist also has to have consequences. Without it, what’s the point?

For example, you might write a story in which somebody briefly talks about friends they have (at school). In some later chapter, they also talk about the usernames of people with whom they chat online. PLOT TWIST: one of those usernames is actually from a classmate! Those two things are the same!

That’s … nice, I guess, but now what? The hero just learned that two irrelevant entities in the story belong to the same person. If you only mentioned these classmates and usernames once, the reader probably already forgot. It’s not meaningful, it’s not impactful.

The general rule is …

The two things in a plot twist, that turn out to be the same thing, should be at their peak relevancy.

The plot twist from my example would work if those friends and usernames had a huge role in the story.

Maybe something has been stolen from the hero. Then they see people talking about it online, with pictures as proof. Obviously, the hero wants the object back, and wants to find the thief.

Now the same plot twist works. The revelation that one of those usernames is from a friend of his, is very relevant information to the hero’s goal. The best timing for the plot twist, is right when the hero is stuck with the investigation, or ready to decisively act upon it. (If they learn this info, but cannot really act on it right now, it’s not at peak relevancy.)

Now write

Write a story that’s all about a plot twist.

• As usual, the story introduces multiple “things” (characters, objects, locations).
• Plan two things to actually be the same. Make it two things that the reader will least expect, but which have the greatest impact when the twist happens.
• Set them up properly.
• Then execute the twist during the climax of the story.