Activity

Often it is thought that there are two ways to approach writing: Character driven, or plot driven. However, with well written writing, this does not need to be the case. In fact, it shouldn’t be the case. The two aspects should be interwoven and inseparable.

This also ends up being vital in mastering your suspense. Because, particularly in our modern day society, people want to feel super attached to the characters, but they still want the plot to be engaging and cleverly put together—To have mysteries that can be discovered by themselves.

A lot of my favourite books are there because they keep me guessing, and I care about the characters. Series such as The Stormlight Archives by Brandon Sanderson, (one day I may stop raving about them) and The Mission League by Jill Williamson, (THE NEXT BOOK IS COMING OUT AND AHHHH SO AWESOME!) are ones that I have almost as many theories about as I have legit plot. They have enough to keep the readers guessing brilliantly, and yet, some things I have decided as fact, just because they need to happen.

WARNING: If you proceed with this lesson, you could well end up being able to predict everything that shall happen in a book. Maybe. Just a heads up.

 

As you learned about in Plotting with Purpose, the character arc is basically how the plot flows. In the same way, it should be how the plot twists flow.

You generally know about when in a book to expect the plot twists to start flying out of nowhere: The Period of Despair. (Unless the book is by James Islington. Then you just need to brace yourself and not get murdered by the insane amount of twists that just leave you sitting there staring blankly at the page for a good ten minutes before you can continue reading. Cos y’know. That’s an Islington thing.) But aside from a few exceptions, that’s where the typical plot twist belongs.

But wait, Jess. How can you say where the plot twists belong? They’re meant to be unexpected.

Indeed my friends. That’s why this little concept scores an entire lesson. (And maybe more.)

 

As I have said in earlier lessons, you need to know when to give information. But how can one succeed to give enough information to keep the reader guessing, interested in the plot, and not distracted by the characters? Pretty simple. Follow their arcs.

Right from the Characteristic Moment, you should drop a hint toward a plot twist. If you are aiming for a twist in the moment of despair, make the readers realise how bad it would be if the main character’s trust was broken. Later on, you shock the readers by having someone totally betray the MC. This means that they could predict it coming, but won’t see it coming.

If you want the positive twist of someone having had survived, then have the character vaguely overhear a conversation in the marketplace about how there was said to be strange magic at work in that area. Things being healed, plants growing strangely well. Maybe have a character very fascinated and wanting to find the cause. Then, the readers will see it coming, but will still be shocked.

Ultimately, one of the biggest ways to use a plot twist is as follows: Have the character’s plot goal and thematic goal be separate things/clash. How can you achieve this? Basically, by having the characters desperately wanting A, then realising that they don’t need it, and what they need to do is different. (B)

The reader will have been routing for you character to achieve A, only to fall into shock as instead they swap at the critical moment from achieving A to B. To make this able to be somewhat guessed before hand if the reader is trying really hard, (This is a useful tip if you want fan theories to riot) you need to have B be the character’s needed thematic development.

Let’s look at an example:

Claire was very scared of having to fight. At the very start of the story she made this clear by running away, but one of her closest friends told her that that was cowardly.

Eventually, she is forced to fight in order to achieve peace on the land so that no one has to fight. She continues this way up until the Surge of Strength. Then, she sees her friend in trouble.

 

Now, Claire has a choice of two battles. One is purely for her own self gain (not having to fight again) and the other will sacrifice that offer of peace to save her friend and show her that she has learnt to fight with courage. Up until this point, the readers have been routing for her to win the battle for peace, but instead, she turns aside here to achieve a greater goal. This is always amazing and tends to leave the readers shocked.

 

Here are the ways of dropping hints to a plot twist so that it ties in with the characters and plot:

1. Mention the good possibility in the Characteristic Moment.
2. Mention the bad possibility in the Characteristic Moment.
3. Separate the Plot Goal and the Thematic Goal.
4. Drop hints as is appropriate to both the plot and the character’s development. (Though, they should be the same thing.)

(If you want the world’s best series that displays ALL of those types of plot twists, then The Wingfeather Saga by Andrew Peterson is a must-read.)

 

Today’s task is to find some good books with amazing plot twists that hold the reader in suspense throughout. I’ll probably do a follow on from this lesson next week, so don’t worry!

 

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