Article written by Rory Hawkins.
When I start reading something new, I make a game of trying to figure out what the ending could be. Any additional tidbit of information is another piece of the puzzle, and it all eventually falls into place. You should try it – your days of passive reading will be over.
Plot twists are a welcome spanner in those works. Picking up a book, we assume that the overall conclusion will be somewhere in the shades of good, but we never know for sure. There has to be some kind of resolution (the plot gods demand it!) but what that is and how we’re lead to it are what keeps us reading, else what would be the point?
Plot twists are accepted as ‘a literary technique that introduces a radical change in the direction or expected outcome’. Rather than reach that oh so logical conclusion in such a straightforward manner, a twist surprises the audience and afterwards keeps them on their toes. What could possibly happen next?
Whether on page or screen, plot twists aim to remind the audience that (in exaggeration of our own reality) a fictional world doesn’t have to abide by the same rules all the time. The name ‘plot twist’ and its Shamalan-like connotations almost cheapen what the mechanic is actually doing: injecting new information into the plot.
This new information changes the audience’s perception of preceding events, or can introduce a new conflict that places it in a different context. A plot twist may be foreshadowed, to prepare the audience to accept it. The ‘twist’ element is just the how – an unexpected way with immediate consequences.
Plot twists work better in the latter half of a novel. At the beginning of a story, the fictional world is still being established for the reader. There isn’t enough to assume anything off. Once world and character stakes are substantial – that’s when you draw everything together.
Though there’s plenty of different methods to administering your own plot twist, I like to put them into two categories: progression and perception. The further either are used in a plot’s progression, the more potential they have to change that direction or overall outcome.
With 'progression-twists', an unexpected element is introduced to linear plot progression to move from one predicted result to another. This information is new to both characters and readers. Characters have to suddenly adapt to these new circumstances, for better or worse, revealing more characterisation. Standard plot twists fall into this category.
Anagnorisis – ‘critical discovery’
The sudden reveal of a story element’s true identity or nature, usually something previously unknown about a character; “It was the butler all along!” In its original Greek context, it meant ‘recognition’ – not only of a character, but for what they really stand for.
As melodramatic as my last example was, anagnorisis doesn’t have to be. This recognition could just come down to a new sense of self-awareness from having dealt with another antagonistic character. This mindfulness swerves the protagonist away from what would’ve been the expected path.
Deus ex Machina – ‘god out of the machine’
This refers to an unexpected, artificial or improbable character, device or event introduced suddenly in order to resolve the overall plot. The phrase originates from how in Greek theatre actors playing gods were lowered to the stage, solving mortal problems that seemed impossible to resolve in a happy ending.
This method is generally frowned upon as a means of concluding the overall plot; it makes whatever struggle characters have gone through seem inconsequential. If such a contrived outside force immediately resolves the situation, dramatic tension comes to naught.
Peripeteia – ‘reversal of fortune’
Thematically, the opposite to Deus ex Machina, as the sudden change (good or ill) comes from characters’ own circumstances and actions. It must be logical within the frame of the story. Inexplicable forces wouldn’t fit the themes of a hyper-realistic story.
This ‘reversal of fortune’ actually has a relationship with ‘critical discovery’: they can both cause and result in one another. Internal changes can yield external ones, and vice versa – who knew!
Something I think is akin to this is the ‘Chekhov’s gun’ principle: if you have a loaded gun on the wall, it needs to go off. Another rule of theatre, it demands that every element in a story be necessary. If not, it needs to be cut. On the flip side, this means that even the smallest of details will have some relevance later in the narrative.
Poetic justice
A literary device in which virtue is ultimately rewarded or vice punished in such a way that the reward or punishment has a logical connection to the original act. In today’s fiction, it is most commonly used as an ironic twist of fate where a character’s own machinations backfire.
Using poetic justice can be less a plot twist and more a kick in the character’s arse as they leave the stage. We love to see antagonists get their comeuppance – all the better if it’s down to their own vices.
'Progression-twists' done, let’s move on. Plot twists that rely on warping the reader’s perspective are a lot harder to use effectively. I find there needs to be reason behind why information is held back from the reader. Remember, everything would already be known to the characters.
Chronology – flashbacks and non-linear progression
Time jumps and plot 'back-and-forths' are easier to follow in reading, so authors make use of them all the time. These techniques are particularly helpful for narratives beginning in media res (‘in the middle of things’) as they build up background detail while the main plot progresses. They become plot twists when the cause for/or the inciting incident is revealed at the plot’s climax.
The most common technique is analepsis – the flashback. I don’t think I need to explain the principles behind this one; flashbacks can be combined with anagnoris, as the flashback incites a character’s recollection of important information.
But it’s non-linear progression in a narrative that can really mess with readers’ minds. Whilst flashbacks can be used for either short stories or full novels, non-linear progression is more suited to longer pieces of writing.
By revealing character and plot in non-chronological order, readers have to piece chunks of the story together themselves, making them think more critically about the content. Plot twists work in non-linear progression by holding back scenes that put characters and events in a different perspective, the narrative’s overall climax and conclusion.
Unreliable narration – omitted information
Information can be held back in more ways than just a story’s presented order. Unreliable narration requires the writer’s prose to be a character, first-person by either a participant in the events or an onlooker. They can lightly refer to or completely omit information they dislike until other participating or narrating characters reveal it.
However in order to do this well, their narrative bias has to be made clear, or the plot twist would seemingly come from nowhere. Over the plot’s course, establish their relations to missing information. Think of it like that one last piece of puzzle – you know what goes there just before you find it. The ‘twist’ moment is the reader’s own anagnorisis.
False protagonist
Another way a character can be directly used – a character presented to the reader as the protagonist at the beginning of the narrative but then is suddenly disposed of, usually by killing them. Doing this counteracts the original themes connected to the first character, perhaps being more traditional of a protagonist.
It’s a simple enough surprise to the reader and goes to show how easily narrative elements control our reading. Furthermore, this new protagonist can be developed in contrast to the previous, with a different line of thinking or understanding that leads to their survival. Like any other plot twist, doing this allows the writer to undermine the readers’ expectations and introduce unconventional themes.
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