How To Write a Plot Twist

There is arguably no story element that is harder to pull off than an elegant plot twist. The plot twist, or unexpected narrative turn, is a powerful hook that can define an entire story, if not a filmmaker’s whole career. Nolan. Shyamalan. Fincher. They are almost synonymous—for better or worse– with the term.

But what’s so special about a device that is somewhat equivalent to narrative sleight of hand? Let’s get into it!

What Is a Plot Twist, Really?

Some of us throw the phrase around when something unexpected or mildly inconvenient pops up in our own reality. However, an actual plot twist is defined as a constructed narrative storytelling device. (Though, our true stories would probably never make it to the page, screen or stage if they didn’t have naturally occurring twists of their own.)

The plot twist isn’t just a mere change in narrative course. A story arc wouldn’t be an arc if there were no changes or rising stakes. But a plot twist is more powerful than that. Specifically, the plot twist “completely changes the direction” of a story from where it seems to be going.

Read More: The Importance of Reversals

The device is not screen-specific. Games, novels– even theological texts contain these reversals of expectations. Plot twists often define the point of a story by serving up a thematic hook that will stick in the audience’s mind. Consider the all-too-famous, “I am your father” moment from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.

In a franchise that is specifically about the diametric opposition between the forces of good and evil, we are reminded how fragile that line can be. Luke Skywalker, who represents ultimate good, is a direct product of Darth Vader– who we learn was once the equally heroic Anakin.

So, while a plot twist can take many forms, including ones that leave an audience feeling cheated and/or disappointed, we can consider the ideal version to be meticulously based on illuminating the story’s deeper points.

Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1977)

The Anatomy of a Plot Twist

The Story’s Circulatory System: Foreshadowing

When I think about my favorite big plot twists, including the ones I’ve written myself, I prefer to picture the foreshadowing structure like the story’s circulatory system.

Capillaries: Subtle Foreshadowing

There are tiny capillaries of information that are barely visible to the naked eye at first glance. Some elements are like prominent arteries to the story engine, upon which its very life depends.

The Beating Hear: Character

A plot twist often teases tiny capillaries of information that are barely visible to the naked eye at first glance. This could be a prop piece that the audience barely notices until a pivotal moment. It can also be a slip of the tongue that fills in a blank when we least expect it to.

Arteries: Major Clues

These are often moments that alert the viewer that something is up. We don’t immediately know exactly what it is. Sometimes, the audience is led to assume the opposite of the truth. However, these clues appear with the intention of getting the folks on the other side of the screen to draw a conclusion about a character or a situation.

The Beating Heart: Character

But they all have to meet up at the beating heart of it: Character.

Character is often said to be the most crucial building block of a story. So, when a character turns out to be something we never expected after the story has set us up to view them differently, the emotional response is resounding. The same goes for a carefully developed setting or situation. This is why some of my favorite plot twists are based upon intentional mischaracterization. But what does that mean?

More Essential Elements of a Plot Twist

Intentional Mischaracterization

“Intentional” doesn’t just mean “on purpose.” It means “with purpose.” Audiences grow understandably irate when a plot twist seems to plop out of nowhere. It’s hard to subvert an expectation when one wasn’t distinctly set up to begin with.

Again, we’ll take the example of the Skywalker paternity drama from the Star Wars universe. The absolute truth about Luke’s parentage comes as a double betrayal because Obi-Wan Kenobi initially tells Luke that his father was killed by Darth Vader. The cherry on top of this plot twist foreshadowing is ironically sweetened by the simple fact that, in a way, Obi-Wan is right. When Darth Vader destroys his real identity and becomes a Sith Lord, he does kill Anakin Skywalker.

This detail strikes a major character chord, not just for the Skywalkers, but for Obi-Wan who has represented the moral compass. And to shout out George Lucas’s finer threads of foreshadowing, the name “Vader” is derived from the Dutch and German words for “father.”

Puzzles Can Help You Plot Twist

The reason I’ve gravitated to writing stories in genres where plot twists are imperative conventions is that I grew up loving riddles, brainteasers, and puzzles. I still do. The way I conceive a plot twist, especially one at the climax or ending, is by treating the true crux of the story like a riddle.

That means giving it a double meaning, or double theme. This often comes down to “putting a hat” on the baseline theme. Let’s dive into a classic riddle to dissect this.

Q: What is in seasons, seconds, centuries, and minutes, but not in decades, years or days?

A: The letter N.

This riddle sets the reader up to focus on the theme of time. However, it leaves it up to us to consider the linguistic themes of consonance and congruence. Here, “in” has a double meaning. And the writer knows that our first instinct will be to consider the concepts of these words, not their literal forms. So, then the riddle becomes spelling. Hence, a twist.

A Twist in Thought Is a Twist in Plot

Irony is a bedrock for any compelling story, but especially one with a twist. At its core, irony is a parsing of information that plays a character’s awareness against the audience’s—and sometimes, other characters. It all comes down to who knows what or who thinks they know what.

Again, this includes the audience. But a story that knows itself on multiple levels is a story that can hold up to a zinger of a plot twist. Consider David Fincher’s Se7en (1995), written by Andrew Kevin Walker. This film’s mastery of theme and character says it all. It features a villain who codifies senseless evil and pits him against a man who is fighting a losing fight against it. But that iconic ending twist.

“What’s in the box?” from Se7en is a gift from the gods of irony. While he’s consumed with subduing this staggering depravity, our hero Detective Mills (Brad Pitt) loses the only beacon of hope and purpose in this chaotic Hell-on-Earth—his wife. The villain is caught. He’s killed by the good guy. But he’s ultimately won.

Though Mills’ job has already impacted his marriage to the point where his wife doesn’t know if she wants to carry her pregnancy to term anymore, the narrative entirely smothers his focus with the gruesome world of his work. He loses sight of what’s beautiful in his life until that, too, has been ravaged. Instead of saving the world, Mills loses his.

A powerful twist doesn’t just subvert an expectation, it toys with it.