7 Tips For Writing Great Plot Twists: A good plot twist enhances a novel by adding interest, tension, or surprise.
Great plot twists frequently demonstrate or enhance the concepts of a novel. In the Roald Dahl example above, the author depicts a darker aspect of humdrum suburbia.
Rowling keeps us guessing by focusing a big plot twist on an unlikely character. She avoids revealing story surprises too early.
Setting in plot can pave the path for unexpected surprises. Emily Grierson, for example, is the iron-willed town hermit in William Faulkner’s classic short tale “A Rose for Emily”.
If you’re writing a novel or story that features a central villain or antagonist, a plot twist might provide them with unexpected, additional power.
A clever plot twist leads characters off course in mystery and thriller books. In Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s short story The Final Problem, for example, this is used fairly literally.
Plot twists help to shift suspicion in novels and stories when the key unknown is the identity of a criminal.
Plot twists do not necessarily heighten tension. Some story twists reverse suspense and expectation. For example, the novel “The Unconsoled” written by Kazuo Ishiguro (1995).