How to Nail a Plot Twist

Without confusing your readers

When done right, a plot twist can make a story memorable. However, when done without care, it can be confusing or seem cheap. Here are five ways to make your twists land with your readers.

1. Understand The Twist’s Purpose
Is your plot twist emotional, thematic, or structural? Does it deepen character, heighten the stakes, or reframe the story’s meaning? Twists should serve the narrative, not distract from it. You probably have a reason for wanting to add one, so keep that reason in mind as you write.

2. Make Sure the Story Earns It
A twist should feel surprising at first but seem inevitable afterward. Lay groundwork early with subtle clues, contradictions in details, or character traits that make the twist believable in hindsight. This way you avoid having a plot twist just for the sake of having one.

3. Avoid Cheap Shots
Plot twists follow all the rules of good writing. In particular, don’t withhold information from your readers, never make the twist that everything before was part of a dream sequence, and avoid making your twist a sudden, unexpected betrayal. Readers find these tricks to be manipulative. From a writing standpoint, they take no skill and don’t rely on a well-thought-out setup. A good twist will recontextualize what they’ve read, not invalidate it.

4. Foreshadow, But Don’t Telegraph
Plant seeds, not signposts. A twist should feel like a revelation, not something readers guess or see coming. Use misdirection, ambiguity, or parallel storylines to keep readers engaged without revealing too much too soon.

5. Make Sure It Improves Your Story
Once the twist hits, does the story still hold up? Reread your story with the twist in mind. Does it enhance earlier scenes, deepen themes, or increase tension? If not, what does it do? If it serves no purpose, maybe you should take it out.

Plot twists are more than just surprises; they’re important structural points in some stories. If you have an example of a cheap or weak plot twist from a story or movie, let us know in the comments.

Sources:

Story Structure by Larry Brooks

Structuring Your Novel by K.M. Weiland

Save the Cat by Blake Snyder