Plot Twists
In this week’s Story Club, my young writers’ workshop, we looked at Plot Twists. How can we surprise the reader? Can we hide the truth and then uncover it in an ‘aha’ moment?
I enjoyed the film City of Ember, which is based on a book. What amazing plot twists! I don’t want to ruin the tale for you if you’re thinking of watching or reading it. But in this tale there is a clever question that lurks at the back of one’s mind … why is the city dark? The plot twist gets at the very nature of the world.
Severus Snape was always meant to come across as a villain. Misleading clues make the reader (or Harry Potter film watcher) believe he is a baddie. His dark, severe clothes, his scowl. The fact that he’s a bit mean to Harry and in the past was a Death Eater.
However, plot twist! Snape was always on Dumbledore’s side, working against Voldemort. And protecting Harry for love of Lily, Harry’s mother.
If this plot twist came out of the blue with no context, we the reader/film watcher might get annoyed. In a good plot twist, there are clues showing the truth, though they are hidden. We the reader can think back through the story and find the truth planted like little gems throughout.
In City of Ember, Lina and Doon piece together a broken up note as the story progresses. This note shows the reader/viewer there is a mystery to be uncovered. It helps get the reader get ready for a surprise, or reveal.
In the case of Severus Snape, Dumbledore says multiple times he trusts Snape completely. Harry has witnessed memories of his Mum when she and Severus were friends. These clues make it believable that he is actually on Dumbledore’s side, and not a villain as was hinted at in other ways.
So to make a plot twist work well within a story, we not only need to be misleading, we need to plant clues that show the truth.
What plot twists did the young writers invent?
One story, entitled Is She? has a protagonist (Fern) who likes to dress completely in black, with black fingernails. She keeps to herself at school and doesn’t smile or chat much. So the reader might be thinking, is she ‘nice’ or ‘not-nice?’ Meanwhile her friend Oestara wears cheerful clothes, is chatty, friendly and compliments everyone. The plot twist? Fern has a good heart, and is a nice person. While Oestara? Downright mean! I enjoyed hearing this story which seems to send the message ‘don’t be fooled by appearance and charm’.
A second story relays a very tense scene. A dragon egg is about to hatch. The last time this happened, an earthquake shook the protagonist’s friend off her perch on a roof … and she fell to her death. The protagonist wants to get away as far as possible. But … plot twist! The egg hatches and a lovely ash-covered red and orange dragon crawls out, very sweetly. The dragon is ready to bond with a human. And there is no real threat. In this story, we learn that trauma can make us afraid of something that is not actually dangerous.
A third story tells a tale of a war between humans and witches. Monsters attack both sides. The plot twist comes when the witches save a human boy. All along, the witches were good, didn’t want to fight the humans and were just defending themselves. Whereas the monsters are the enemies to both groups. I enjoyed this as it shows old battles are sometimes so old that the reason for fighting might have been lost. And one side may not want to fight, but is roped into it by having to be defensive.
As you might guess, Crime novels and Murder Mysteries are good stories to write if one wants to delve into plot twists!
One young writer told the tale of a murder mystery where a keen detective gathers all these lovely clues pointing to the murderer. When he, feeling certain and triumphant, goes to her home to arrest her … he finds her dead. So who is the real villain?
We also had a story of an unexpected thief and potential killer. A woman who was a usually lovely person who is just carrying out the dying wish of someone dear. In fact she so much does not want to steal that she leaves money in replacement for the item on her list. And a big plot twist … she’s the detective’s girlfriend.
Enjoy reading and writing plot twists! But beware, the more you think about twists, the more you might catch them early in a story you’re reading or film you’re watching, before the author intends!
