Expect the Unexpected: Creating Plot Twists

We're all looking for a great plot twist, right? Be it in the books we write or ones we read. That unexpected event or revelation that changes everything we thought we knew and takes it to a whole new level. The things that make us go, "wow, that was awesome. I never saw that coming."

Trouble is, knowing you want one is a lot easier than coming up with a good are. There is no formula for devising a great twist, because every plot is different and any number of things can work in a story. My trick for twisting my plot is pretty simple:

Reader expectations.

Now, I'm not talking about what readers expect when they pick up your book, but what they expect in how a scene plays out or how a character acts.

It's usually pretty obvious what's going to happen in a story, and in a lot of ways you do end up having to fulfill that expectation in some fashion. A hero gets caught, but they'll escape. A threat is made, but there are ways to avoid it. The hero's life is in danger, but they'll get out of it.

Readers know the hero won't die. They know certain things won't happen no matter how much you dangle the threat over their head, because the story would stop dead if that happened. As high as the stakes seem on paper, they're really false stakes.

This is where the tricky thinking comes in. You want to give readers what they expect, but not in the way they expect it.

I start by thinking about what I'd expect if I were reading my book. What paths are clear, what plots are unavoidable? I've even written them down. I know in my outlines I have things like "Nya breaks friends out of jail and escapes." Right there I've clearly stated what readers are going to expect to happen because that's what IS going to happen. So it gives me a spot in which to defy expectations.

Try looking at your own plots and ideas and pinpoint the obvious outcomes -- even if they're exciting and wonderful and do all the things a good scene should do. This is about finding possible twists, not fixing a bad scene. Once you have some candidates, try:

Brainstorming
Sometimes it's good to just free think and see what you can come up with. What is the most obvious thing to do in a scene? Scrap that idea. Now what's the least likely thing to happen? Most times, you can scrap that idea, too, because it's so far off in left field it won't work for the book. But it usually loosens your brain enough that you start thinking about things that are unexpected, but no so far off. Really brainstorm, and don't think about practicality at this point. When something grabs you, then start seeing how it fits into your scene and plot. Don't discard something because it doesn't fit or would require a lot of revisions. Let it simmer and see if something develops from it. A great twist is a surprise, and if it was an obvious fit odds are it wouldn't be a twist.

Revealing a Secret
You can also surprise readers by revealing info that ties into the problem. You may have your protag resolve this issue exactly as the reader expects, but you slip in a major secret or detail that blows their mind and changes the meaning of the events they just saw. So what they expected, isn't at all what is really going on.

Making it Worse
Ask the delightful, "what's the worst than can happen?" question on a variety of levels. What's the worst thing for the scene? For the current goal? For the protag's inner goal? For the protag's flaw or weakness? For a secondary character that's important to the protag? For the antag? The "worst thing" might not be an external physical thing about to hurt the hero. It might be something that tears their world view apart, or shatters their beliefs or makes them doubt something they always trusted. It might be having to choose between them and a friend or loved one. What ways can you rip your protag apart emotionally as well as physically?

Exposing a Liar
Is anyone not who the reader thinks they are? An unexpected betrayal can surprise the reader and change expectations. Or someone who's been lying about information the protag thought was reliable. Or maybe the protag has been lying and is finally forced to fess up.

Letting Them Lose
You can even do the unthinkable and let the hero lose and the bad guy win. Everything they've been fighting for is gone and now they have to regroup and find a way to go on. This is an extra sticky one though, because it can be easy to make your reader feel like everything they just read was pointless. Make sure that even when you let the protag lose, what they went through to get there still has meaning and wasn't a waste of the reader's time.

There are lots of ways to defy expectations if you spend time thinking about it. You can even ask your friends or crit partners what they think would happen next in X situation.

Then you can do stuff they won't expect.