Five Things Every Plot Twist Should Include

Almost every story has one. Authors cackle as they write them. Readers faint from shock. Characters take three chapters just to understand what just happened because of them. I’m talking about plot twists.

Plot twists are often the most important thing in the story. They directly move the characters and plot and keep the readers hooked throughout the whole story. They can be a writer’s nemesis or the peak of their genius. (I mean how many of us writers haven’t had that genius plot twist idea come into our mind out of the blue? XD) 

But what really makes a plot twist a good one? There are so many ways a plot twist can be too obvious or cliche, so how do you make a unique plot twist that helps your story all while surprising your readers? 

That’s what I’m here to help with. Over the years I’ve experimented with quite a few plot twists and found out which twists work and which don’t. So here are my five things that every plot twist should include to become a good twist. 

1. Surprise

This seems pretty obvious, but every good plot twist should include surprise. Both for the reader as well as the characters. It should catch everyone off guard and make them pause just to figure out what happened. 

Now this is easier said than done. It takes a lot more work to add surprise into a plot twist than to just throw in a cliche plot twist that everyone will see coming from a mile away. So, how do you add surprise to a plot twist? 

This primarily has to do with how you lead up to the plot twist. You should almost write the lead-up to the plot twist as though you yourself don’t even know it’s coming. (Still add foreshadowing, but more on that in the next tip) So when the plot twist appears in the plot, it will seem to come out of nowhere at first until the readers and characters glance back to realize that it was coming the whole time. 

For example, say one of your characters is a traitor. This itself is a pretty cliche plot twist, but if your put your own imagination to it, you could have a plot twist that surprises everyone. 

Say the traitor character is a happy, go-lucky character or perhaps maybe a character who seems honest. Then you, as the writer, can draw attention and suspicion to an entirely different character, so when the traitorous character reveals themselves, it will surprise everyone. 

2. Foreshadowing

Now at first, this seems to contradict my first tip, but in fact it goes hand in hand. It’s a fine line to walk, but if you can pull it off, it can make your story stand out from the rest. 

So how do you foreshadow while still keeping everything secret? Well, you’ve just gotta keep it subtle. Lay the pieces to the puzzle upside down, so they are still there, but are no use until you flip them over. 

There are several ways to do this. One is adding small hints in events here and there that aren’t super suspicious while drawing the attention somewhere else. Another would be including hints in your main character’s internal dialogue. This can be one of the easiest ways to balance foreshadowing and surprise. You can control what your main character pays attention to and what they ignore. 

Overall, I would really just recommend writing several plot twists and noticing what surprises readers and what plot twists they sniff out. This way you find the perfect blend for your plot twists. 

3. Change 

I think we all can agree that every plot twist should bring change. This can take place in many forms, but every good plot twist has a change of some sort. What do I mean by change? 

Well, after the plot twist, what happens? Do the main character’s goals change? Or does it move the plot forward? Whatever happens, it’s a change of some sort. It will change something around the main character. Whether that be physical setting, story goal, or their safety. Something about the plot twist should change something for your main character. It should change the plot to some degree as well. 

4. One Step Back or One Step Forward 

This relates directly to the last tip. With each plot twist, it should push your character in one way or the other. It should force them to take one step back or one step forward. 

For instance, your traitorous character reveals themself, directly forcing the main character to take a step back and recover, just trying to figure out what happened. Or perhaps it turns out your main character had the key to fixing the city’s problems all along, pushing them forward into the next steps of the plot. 

Basically, there are two types of plot twists, positive or negative. (There are different variations of plot twists, but those are the basic plot twist types) One type will push your character towards their goal, the other will hinder them from it. Both will move the plot forward. 

5. Add a Lot of Plot Twists

When you write a story, you shouldn’t just stop at one plot twist. There might only be one main twist at the end or in the middle of the story that completely shocks everyone, but you should add a lot more smaller twists throughout the story. Keep surprising the reader. 

That character you introduced in the beginning of the story? Have them somehow become your character’s new mentor. That small secret your main character’s been hiding? Have that be the key to saving the world. 

Now you don’t want to have too many plot twists. There could become a point where it would just confuse the reader, but if you add the right amount of plot twists in the right way, you could come up with an epic story that blows everyone away. 

Mostly, what I’m saying is, study plot twists. This is a lot of work and a lot to think about, but take time. Get some Alpha Readers to look over your story. Learn what surprises them and what doesn’t. Think of plot twists that completely shocked you. Then take that knowledge and write an epic plot twist. It’ll pay off big time! 

Until next time, 

A.J. Syngraféas