Expect the Unexpected: Creating Plot Twists

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Readers pay attention when they don't know what's coming next.

When someone asks, "What's a story with a great plot twist?" your mind probably conjures one of the classics. Soylent Green. The Sixth Sense. Fight Club. The Lottery. Even Newhart. 

You no doubt have your favorites. Stories that shifted and turned and blew your mind.  

A great plot twist is a wonderful thing, be it in the books you write or the ones you read. Readers revel in that unexpected event or revelation that changes everything they thought they knew and takes the story to a whole new level. They delight in the surprises that make them think, "wow, that was awesome. I never saw that coming." (And then they tell all their friends). 

Trouble is, knowing you want a plot twist is a lot easier than coming up with a good one. 

There's no formula for devising a great twist, because every plot is different and any number of things can work in a novel.

My trick for twisting my plot is pretty simple:

Defy the reader's expectations.

It's usually obvious what's going to happen in a novel in a general sense. A protagonist gets caught, but she escapes. A dire threat is made, but the characters find ways to avoid it. The protagonist's life is in grave danger, but he finds a way out of it. It's exciting, yes, but overcoming the obstacle before them is a protagonist's job, and readers expect them to win.

Readers also know certain things won't happen (like the protagonist dying) no matter how much you dangle a threat over their heads, because the story would stop dead if it did. As high as the stakes seem on paper, they're really false stakes if there's no chance they'll actually happen.

This is where the tricky thinking comes in.

Give readers what they expect, but not in the way they expect it.

I start by what I'd expect if I were reading my book. What paths are clear, what plots are unavoidable. What is the most obvious path or outcome for the scene. Once I get the most likely options out of the way, then I can dig deeper and find the solutions readers won't see coming. 

If you outline, check and see if you're building predictability into it. 

Sometimes I inadvertently plan predictability in my outline, with lines such as, "Nya breaks friends out of jail and escapes." Right there, I've flat out stated what readers will expect to happen because that's what is going to happen. Odds are every reader will assume Nya will win in this scene.

Which gives me the perfect spot to defy reader expectations. Instead of breaking her friends out, or even failing and getting caught (the next most likely scenario), I consider what else might happen:

• Could Nya only save half?
• Could Nya discover someone unexpected in the jail?
• Are her friends not there after all?
• Was this a trap by her "so-called friends" to capture her? 

It doesn't take much effort to devise a list of possible outcomes readers won't anticipate. Even if these options aren't a true twist, they're still less predictable than the original.

Look at your scenes and pinpoint the obvious outcomes—even if they're exciting and wonderful and do all the things a good scene should do—and determine if the scene is too predictable. Is there a possible twist there?

(Here's more with The Difference Between Tricking Your Reader and Surprising Your Reader)

Once you have some candidates:

Brainstorm for the Unexpected

Let your imagination run free and see what you can come up with. What is the most obvious thing to do in that 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.

Don't think about practicality at this point, such as, "What works for my existing plot." That can hinder your creativity and keep you from coming up with great ideas. When something grabs you, start exploring how it fits into your scene and overall plot. 

Don't discard something because it doesn't fit or would require a lot of revisions—let it simmer and see if a great twist develops from it. A twist is a surprise, and if it was an obvious fit, odds are it wouldn't be a twist.

(Here's more with How to Sneak Clues Past Your Readers and Keep Them Guessing)

Reveal a Secret

A twist doesn't have to come from the plot. You can also surprise readers by revealing information that ties into the problem and affects that plot. You may have your protagonist resolve this issue exactly as the reader expects, but that's not at all what's really going on.

Secrets are rich areas to look for twists, because it changes character motivations and can send a story in a whole new direction. A major reveal can blow readers' minds and change how they understand the entire story. 

(Here's more on The Joy of Discovery: Keeping Readers Hooked Through Story Revelations)

Make it Worse

Ask the delightful, "what's the worst that can happen?" question on a variety of levels. What's the worst thing...

• For the scene? 
• For the current goal? 
• For the protagonist's inner goal? 
• For the protagonist's flaw or weakness? 
• For a secondary character that's important to the protagonist? 
• For the antagonist? 

The "worst thing" might not be an external physical threat about to hurt the protagonist. It might be something that tears her world view apart, or shatters his beliefs, or makes her doubt something or someone she always trusted. It might be having to choose between a friend or loved one. 

Put on your evil hat and brainstorm all the ways can you rip your protagonist apart emotionally as well as physically.

(Here's more on Plotting for the Thrill: Making the Most of the Worst That Can Happen)

Expose a Liar

Just like secrets, lies are a fantastic way to twist the story and set up shocking reveals and situations. Exposing a character who's been lying all book will force readers to reevaluate everything they thought they knew. Even if they're right, they'll doubt it, which makes the entire story more unpredictable. 

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 protagonist thought was reliable. Or maybe the protagonist has been lying and is finally forced to fess up. 

Lies don't have to be for nefarious reasons either—a lie told with good intentions can be just as effective.

(Here's more on How Could You Do This to Me? When Characters Betray Other Characters)

Let the Protagonist Lose

It doesn't happen often, but you can let the bad guy win. Everything the protagonist has been fighting for is gone and now they have to regroup and find a way to go on. This is an extra sticky choice, though, because it's easy to make your reader feel like everything they just read was pointless. 

Make sure that even when you let the protagonist lose, what they went through to get there still has meaning and wasn't a waste of the reader's time.

(Here's more with Do You Suffer From NWS?: Living With Nice Writer Syndrome)

Readers remember the books that evoke strong emotions. A shocking twist is one way to give those emotions a hard yank. 

Bonus tip: Ask your friends or critique partners what they think would happen next in X situation. Cross off anything they say that's on your list of options. 

Then do what they won't expect.

What are some of your favorite plot twists?

*Originally published June 2011. Last updated January 2025.

For more help on plotting or writing a novel check out my Plotting Your Novel: Ideas and Structure.

Go step-by-step through plotting and writing a novel. Learn how to find and develop ideas, brainstorm stories from that first spark of inspiration, develop the right characters, setting, plots and subplots, as well as teach you how to identify where your novel fits in the market, and if your idea has what it takes to be a series.

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Plotting Your Novel: Ideas and Structure is an easy-to-follow guide to writing your novel or fixing a novel that isn’t quite working. 

Available in paperback and ebook formats.

Janice Hardy is the award-winning author of the teen fantasy trilogy The Healing Wars, including The Shifter, Blue Fire, and Darkfall from Balzer+Bray/Harper Collins. The Shifter, was chosen for the 2014 list of "Ten Books All Young Georgians Should Read" from the Georgia Center for the Book.

She also writes the Grace Harper urban fantasy series for adults under the name, J.T. Hardy.

When she's not writing novels, she's teaching other writers how to improve their craft. She's the founder of Fiction University and has written multiple books on writing.

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