Plots and Twists
Ideas taken from 101 Great Plot Twist Ideas by Ken Miyamoto - updated on November 28, 2022
Is there anything better than a great plot twist? Twists, turns, big reveals, and surprise endings are some of the most coveted aspects of a great story, whether they are found within movies, TV shows, or novels. Plot twists break the monotony of conventional plots and stories, which is why script readers, audiences, and publishers love them.
"Every story ever told can be broken down into three parts. The beginning. The middle. And the plot twist - R.L. Stine."
But writing the right plot twist can be a challenge. A great plot twist can impact your audience with an emotional gut punch they'll never forget. While the wrong kind of plot twist will leave readers feeling cheated or even let down. That being said, you can't rely solely on plot twists to make your script engaging. You still need strong storytelling and characterization.
So before we get to the Plot Twist, we must first establish what makes a great Plot.
The plot of a story defines the sequence of events that propels the reader from beginning to end. Storytellers have experimented with the plot of a story since the dawn of literature. No matter what genre you write, understanding the possibilities of plot structure, as well as the different types of plots, will help bring your stories to life.
So, what is Plot? Is there a difference between plot vs. story?
ELEMENTS OF PLOT - WHAT IS THE PLOT OF A STORY?
Sean Glatch | November 17, 2023
The plot of a story must include the following elements:
Causation: one event causes another, and that cause-and-effect unleashes a whole chain of plot points that formulate the story.
Characters: stories are about people, so a plot must introduce the main players of the plot.
Conflict: a plot must involve people with competing interests or internal conflicts because, without conflict, there is no story or theme.
Combining these elements of Plot creates the structure of the story itself. Let’s take a look at those plot structures because there are many different ways to organize the story’s events.
Plot is people. Human emotions and desires are founded on the realities of life, working at cross purposes, getting hotter and fiercer as they strike against each other until finally there’s an explosion—that’s Plot. —Leigh Brackett
Plot involves structure, there is the event that sets things in motion. Some call it the "Explosion," others call it the "Trigger," or "Causation." Once things get moving, how that first action affect and effect the people involved (characters) builds the story. We see this in daily living. Boy moveds to town. Why he did so is back story and could provide some motivation for the character's actions. Next, Boy meets girl. Her story adds to the Plot. Why is she interested in this person? Is she desperate? Lonely? An ax murderer? What develops from here is the Plot. Add to that the usual conflicts that occur in a growing romantic relationship. And then, you throw in a monkey wrench. The girl is dying of some incurable disease, or the guy has a "history" with women and she finds out. You get the picture.
That's the Plot Twist. It is a literary device used to add an extreme change in a story to shock readers. It can appear anywhere in the story (but preferably not at the beginning since you're still building the connection between the book and the reader)
Here are a few main Plot Twists There are 101 of them, so I picked just a few.
Red Herring — All suspicion points to one character, but when the truth is revealed, it's another who did the terrible deed.
The narrator is not the person we thought they were.
The protagonist is living two lives.
The antagonist is living two lives.
When the protagonist solves the mystery, it opens up a Pandora's Box.
The conflict the protagonist was going through was a ruse.
The dead person isn't dead.
A terrible storm moves in, threatening all.
GOOD VS. EVIL PLOT TWISTS
The villain has a twin.
The protagonist is both the hero and the villain.
The supportive friend is the killer.
The villain is in love with the hero. .
The hero is related to the villain.
The villain is revealed to have been right under the hero's nose the whole time.
The villain has a change of heart and saves the day.
The hero ends up being revealed as the true villain.
TIMELINE PLOT TWISTS
The protagonist is revealed to be from the future.
The protagonist is revealed to be from the past.
The protagonist is revealed to be from another dimension or timeline.
The antagonist is revealed to be the protagonist's future self.
The antagonist is actually the protagonist's past self.
The ending is revealed to be the beginning.
The beginning is revealed to be the ending.
It's all a dream or memory.
MIND-BENDING PLOT TWISTS
The story being told is revealed to be a fictional book written by the protagonist.
The characters are manifestations of someone's multiple personality disorder.
The antagonist is a split personality of the protagonist.
A stranger enters the story, informing the characters that their reality isn't what it seems.
The love interest is actually a figment of a lonely person's imagination.
The detective hunting down the criminal is actually the criminal — they suffer from Dissociative Identity Disorder.
The physically challenged character isn't physically challenged.
The mentally stable character isn't mentally stable.
SUPERNATURAL PLOT TWIST IDEAS
The narrator is an angel, examining the lives of humans.
The narrator is Satan, reveling at the tormenting of God's little creatures known as humans.
Death narrates the story, witnessing a life he/she must take.
The dead body discovered is a dead ringer for the person who found it.
The ghosts aren't ghosts — they're from a parallel universe merging with the protagonist's universe.
An object has a special power.
Those we thought were dead are not.
The people we thought were alive are dead.
TECH & SCI-FI PLOT TWIST IDEAS
The events of the story were all a computer simulation.
The city the characters live within is actually on a spaceship.
The city the characters live within is actually set deep within a mountain after a nuclear war.
The spaceship where the story takes place is actually a prison—unbeknownst to the crew.
An otherwise straightforward drama leads into science fiction territory.
I was involved in a mock trial in which we, the jury were assigned the task of deciding on whether or not the plaintiff's claims were valid and if so, how much punitive damages they should receive. Some of us were on the side of the plaintive but as to the amount of punitive damages were due was a point of great discussion. I was holding out for a 5 million dollar settlement. As an author, felt there was something else to be revealed that would sway the other mock jurors, and wham! One of the last things the moderator told us was... and here was the twist, there was the testimony of a new witness which changed everything. I was right. Plot Twists happen all around us, so be watching for them.
For great plots, twists, and turns, check out Delivering Justice.