Today on the Go Teen Writers Book Club, we’re discussing Chapter Ten: Twists.

Chapter Recap:
Mr. James says that every great story will include a twist. He doesn’t say it “should” include a twist, but that if the story is going to be great, it “will” include one. This got me thinking, “Does my story have a twist?” I sure do try to include twists in my stories, and I confess that outlining can take some of the surprise out of the process for me. And “they” say, if you, the author, aren’t surprised, neither will your reader be. *shrugs*

All that to say, I heartily agree that twists make books better. In this chapter, Mr. James gives us several ways we can use to add twists to our stories.

-Include the four elements of all plot twists: surprise, inevitability, escalation, and revelation. People need to be surprised by your twist. If they see it coming, that’s not good. Once the twist happens, the reader needs to see that it was inevitable. It really was the only thing that could have happened. It should be an escalation of all that came before it. And it should reveal some kind of meaning or new information that wasn’t known before.

-Create multiple worlds of inevitability. Work hard to create an engaging story that stands on its own with or without the twist. Don’t tell a story that the reader has to put up with to find out the big reveal at the end.

-Turn expectations on their heads. Use expectations that readers have to lead readers down one road then transport them to another.

-Eliminate the obvious. Think of all the logical solutions to the major situations in your story, then think up something else to have happen.

-Redirect suspicion. Work hard to get readers suspecting the wrong people.

-Avoid gimmicks. Don’t make readers roll their eyes. Don’t make them feel like you tricked them into reading something that was ultimately unsatisfying. Don’t rely on clichés to move your story along.

-Write toward your reader’s reaction. Spend a lot of time building a firm foundation in your story that prepares readers for the twist you have coming. Make sure that when they get to that twist, everything will make sense and be satisfying.

At the end of the chapter, Mr. James gives two and a half pages of questions for each of the items above to help writers troubleshoot. I’ll put a couple of them in the question area below.

What Stood Out:
I really liked the four elements of plot twists—surprise, inevitability, escalation, and revelation. I never really thought about it before, but as I analyzed a couple different twists I’d written, it makes sense. In my rewrite of Thirst (which comes out in two weeks! *squeals*), I added a twist to the near end, and as I was reading this part about the four elements, I tested my twist and was happy to realize that my twist met each one. My twist is a surprise to my main character and I think it will be to readers too. It’s inevitable. Something like this needed to happen for certain characters to be free and safe. It’s a pretty big escalation of what came before. And it adds revelation to what my hero thought of a certain person. This new revelation adds a bunch of conflict to the story (and to book two), which helps make things more interesting for the readers. I hope. It might shock my readers too. We shall see.

Tip of the week:
“Readers want to both guess how things are going to play out and be surprised by how they do.” ~Steven James

Go Teen Writers Archived Articles to Help You Go Deeper:
How to Create Strong Obstacles and Plot Twists For Your Novel
Story Twists and Ripples
Clichés in Your Plot?

Questions:
Answer at least one of the following (or as many as you’d like).
• Do you have a plot twist? If so, does it improve your story and make it more meaningful? If not, how can you reconstruct the twist to add depth?
• Does your protagonist make a moral choice at the end of the book that both satisfies readers and surprises them?
• Is there anything in your story that you need to foreshadow to make your ending inevitable and unexpected?
• Do you have any tips for writing twists into your stories?
• Any questions?