Ice's writing tips

Plot twists

Okay so I think this is another important thing to any story. If you write a story, there always should be a shocking twist to the plot. Plot twists are fun IF you do them right.

Okay so even I have done horrible plot twists; I think every writer does at some point. But the best thing to do since this is a free writing website is that we are still growing as authors and writers.

I think that one of the most important elements to a plot twist is that they go along with your foreshadow. Now I realized that a twist MUST be foreshadowed. I didn't know that till recently. But it makes sense as you want those small warnings that warn your readers but not too much yah know? Now I think that an excellent of foreshadow that I’ve seen in a fan fiction here on wattpad (in my opinion) was done by a Tom Hiddleston Fan fiction. Now this writer had her main character receive a puppy, an innocent puppy. But the puppy died (It was killed), which was innocent and pure. Later in the story, a baby was born and her mother died. The puppy foreshadowed the death of someone innocent and pure later in the story which I didn't notice till I read over it again which I thought was BRILIANT!

Now there are some horrible plot twists I’ve seen (That I won't mention as one they were on a different website). One of my friends is an actual author, she and I were neighbors once upon a time when we were little but we still talk. I won't mention her name because she wrote a brilliant story but her plot twist lacked. So in her story, this random guy showed up and claimed he was this one characters uncle. I re read her book and could not find a single thing of foreshadow for the twist let alone the character she introduced would do as what I call 'ninja vanish characters' and be there when you need them but magically disappear when you don't need them.

So with a good plot twist, it needs to be shocking to your readers, something they won't expect, something that makes their jaw drop and etc. you need to also be sneaky with your plot twist as well. Like you are sneaking up on someone, you don't want them to hear you till you scare them. Now, something I’ve heard numerous authors state is to avoid Cliché twists. I say otherwise. You can do a Cliché twist if you know what you’re doing. You have to be careful though, extra careful as readers might figure it out.

Now, one thing I found absolutely entertaining is when a reader thinks they found out the plot twist but in the end it was something completely different. You can do that too! Make them think your going through with a Cliché twist but then twist that twist in the end so they are like, 'I did not see that coming' kind of thing. Now, with a plot twist too, you can let your readers figure it out in the beginning of the book if it’s under special circumstances. Let’s say....the main character's dad is the main villain, so if you release that a little early in the story, you can also improve that character with them having to face their father in the ending battle which readers might find interesting.

So, I hope I helped with this topic and twists. Please comment if you want to add something or correct me on something. I'm open to ideas. Oh and tell me as a reader of stories, what you find as a good plot twist and what makes the best. Well, I’ll see you guys later!

~Ice~